We didn't have the green thing back in our day

[hemet dennis]

Checking out at the supermarket recently, the young cashier suggested I should bring my own bags because plastic bags weren’t good for the environment. I apologized and explained, “We didn’t have this green thing back in my earlier days“.

The clerk responded, “That’s our problem today. Your generation did not care enough to save our environment for future generations“.

She was right about one thing–our generation didn’t have the green thing in “Our” day. So what did we have back then? After some reflection and soul-searching on “Our” day, here’s what I remembered we did have….

Back then, we returned milk bottles, pop bottles and beer bottles to the store. The store sent them back to the plant to be washed and sterilized and refilled, so it could use the same bottles repeatedly. So they really were recycled. But we didn’t have the green thing back in our day.

We walked up stairs, because we didn’t have an escalator in every store and office building. We walked to the grocery store and didn’t climb into a 300-horsepower machine every time we had to go two blocks. But she was right. We didn’t have the green thing in our day.

Back then, we washed the baby’s nappies because we didn’t have the throw-away kind. We dried clothes on a line, not in an energy gobbling machine burning up 240 volts — wind and solar power really did dry our clothes back in our early days. Kids got hand-me-down clothes from their brothers or sisters, not always brand-new clothing. But that young lady is right. We didn’t have the green thing back in our day.

Back then, we had one TV, or radio, in the house — not a TV in every room. And the TV had a small screen the size of a handkerchief (remember them?), not a screen the size of Wales. In the kitchen, we blended & stirred by hand because we didn’t have electric machines to do everything for us. When we packaged a fragile item to send in the mail, we used wadded up old newspapers to cushion it, not Styrofoam or plastic bubble wrap.

Back then, we didn’t fire up an engine and burn petrol just to cut the lawn. We used a push mower that ran on human power. We exercised by working so we didn’t need to go to a health club to run on treadmills that operate on electricity. But she’s right. We didn’t have the green thing back then.

We drank from a water fountain when we were thirsty instead of using a cup or a plastic bottle every time we had a drink of water. We refilled writing pens with ink instead of buying a new pen, and we replaced the razor blades in a razor instead of throwing away the whole razor just because the blade got dull. But we didn’t have the green thing back then.

Back then, people took the bus, and kids rode their bikes to school or walked instead of turning their mums into a 24-hour taxi service. We had one electrical outlet in a room, not an entire bank of sockets to power a dozen appliances. And we didn’t need a computerized gadget to receive a signal beamed from satellites 2,000 miles out in space in order to find the nearest pizza joint.

But isn’t it sad the current generation laments how wasteful we old folks were just because we didn’t have the green thing back then?

 

[AuberyMirkwood]

I totally agree. And I'm 22. We've done more harm in the last 15 years then everything man-made before and that is definitely OUR day. But you know what, that's exactly what Americans are good at, blaming someone else for our problems and expecting our mommies and daddies or "Big brother Big sister" to fix it. I believe we need to combine our new technology and old time wisdom if we really want to make a difference

 

[Kaitie09]

I'm 21 and also agree. However, you also have to think that back in the "old days", parents did not worry about their children getting snatched up by predators. My mom grew up smack dab in the middle of Baltimore City, one of the top murder cities in the country now. In her time, she was not even allowed to stay in the house before the street lights came on. At age 9, she would frequently take the bus to Patterson Park and hang out with people. Today, your don't even want to walk in Patterson park because you will get robbed in broad daylight. You cross the wring sidewalk and your in a scary part of town. The best, safe neighborhoods range from $800,000 upwards for a tiny townhouse with only a rooftop deck.

Once crime started going up, parents started keeping kids in their yards or inside. They then needed something to do to occupy their time because the yards were so tiny, therefore home video games came to be. Kids got lazy, and passed in on to their children.

I can't really say anything for recycling, mainly because it just seems so easy to do. Luckily, my mom realized the city was changing and moved to the country before things got bad, so I've grown up with no air conditioning (up until a few years ago) and keeping the doors unlocked all day. We have always had a garden, and clothes are outside on nice days. My brother and I have always had the opportunity to play in the corn fields or built forts in the woods. Sadly, people are more used to suburban homes or city apartments, so kids now are not experiencing what the past had.

The only good thing I can say is at least the "green" thing is now popular, so people will conform to fit in, which I guess will eventually result in maybe some turnaround (hopefully).

 

[thaiturkey]

It was much the same in the UK in 'the old days'. We could all probably add more to the list.

As society became more wealthy, damaging substance were forced upon us. For example, I don't remember customers asking shops to stop supplying paper bags and give us plastic ones instead. How were we to know then that batteries were difficult to dispose of, excessive use of nitrates on the land would poison the soil or cfc gases from old fridges would be the ruination of the atmosphere?

Aubrey, the habit of younger people to blame previous generations isn't part of your national culture. It results from propaganda and it's the same in Europe. They are told that their parents were wasters who have ruined the planet, and with the help of taxes and new, expensive products, young people can put it all right again.

It goes further than this. My kids school, nearly thirty years ago, showed the students videos of the worst slaughterhouse practices you can imagine and the two of them came home committed vegetarians. That was without a word before or after to parents who then had to cope with vegetarian diets in a day when satisfying them with a balanced alternative to a proper diet wasn't easy.

Then there's eco-friendly energy. Companies like Siemens are making fortunes out of those useless wind farms.

We have wall to wall sunshine here most days so I looked into buying a solar energy system for the home. I was quoted the equivalent of about $16,000 and it would run only the appliances with a small demand such as lights and computers. It would need a bank of twelve car batteries that, in our climate, would need to be replaced every two years. The manufacture and disposal of batteries is not an eco-friendly business.

If only plastic bags were the main problem today. What about the precious metals and plastics needed for mobile 'phones and computers these days?

The young lady in the shop might like to know that the generation she blames didn't have plastic bags.

 

[chickened]

Consumerism has not helped either. Every gadget we buy and use has a carbon footprint and needs energy of some form to operate it. I really think some of them we can live without but it is difficult once we become dependant upon those devices.

I am self employed and a cell phone is invaluable to me in my business. In the rest of my life I could probably get by without it.

As for the environment I really think this earth will outlive us, it may take time but it has managed to repair all man has thrown at it. They say the radiation from WWII in Japan is untraceable (not the recent problem).

Maybe the folks living under the bridges have it right??

 

[chickened]

It was much the same in the UK in 'the old days'. We could all probably add more to the list.

As society became more wealthy, damaging substance were forced upon us. For example, I don't remember customers asking shops to stop supplying paper bags and give us plastic ones instead. How were we to know then that batteries were difficult to dispose of, excessive use of nitrates on the land would poison the soil or cfc gases from old fridges would be the ruination of the atmosphere?

Aubrey, the habit of younger people to blame previous generations isn't part of your national culture. It results from propaganda and it's the same in Europe. They are told that their parents were wasters who have ruined the planet, and with the help of taxes and new, expensive products, young people can put it all right again.

It goes further than this. My kids school, nearly thirty years ago, showed the students videos of the worst slaughterhouse practices you can imagine and the two of them came home committed vegetarians. That was without a word before or after to parents who then had to cope with vegetarian diets in a day when satisfying them with a balanced alternative to a proper diet wasn't easy.

Then there's eco-friendly energy. Companies like Siemens are making fortunes out of those useless wind farms.

We have wall to wall sunshine here most days so I looked into buying a solar energy system for the home. I was quoted the equivalent of about $16,000 and it would run only the appliances with a small demand such as lights and computers. It would need a bank of twelve car batteries that, in our climate, would need to be replaced every two years. The manufacture and disposal of batteries is not an eco-friendly business.

If only plastic bags were the main problem today. What about the precious metals and plastics needed for mobile 'phones and computers these days?

The young lady in the shop might like to know that the generation she blames didn't have plastic bags.

The problem with wind is on days with inversions there is no power. Hydro is the real "green" reliable power supply. We have dams on the Columbia that produce power enough to sell to California's 40 million and are having record runs of salmon lately with new fish passage technology.

 

[hemet dennis]

I am self employed and a cell phone is invaluable to me in my business. In the rest of my life I could probably get by without it.

Were you self employed before there was cell phones ? I was and got along fine without one but now the customer expects me to have one. I think now a new customer would think twice about having my company do work if I didn't have a cell phone.

 

[chickened]

Were you self employed before there was cell phones ? I was and got along fine without one but now the customer expects me to have one. I think now a new customer would think twice about having my company do work if I didn't have a cell phone.

I was, for a few years then got a brick phone and that thing worked anywhere. Then a bag phone, my first cell provider was U. S. West a division of Ma Bell out of Denver. I have to have communications and if I was helicopter logging I was given a radio but I actually got my first cell for emergencies only.

I cannot figure out how I worked with out it really.

 

[donrae]

I was picking my middle schooler up from school recently and watched something interesting.

Two middle school girls were walking down the street. A car pulled over in front of them and another middle school girl opened the door and called out "my mom wants to know it you want a ride?"
The two walkers conferred briefly then declined, stating they were just going two blocks to one's mom's work. The mother driving the car continued to offer then insist they take a ride. The girls finally got in the car.

This was at a school, middle of the day, low crime area. Except for the school traffic, low traffic area. Sidewalks the entire way they were going.

Why on earth did that mom not want those girls to walk? It's like she was offended by it or something, it was actually kinda weird.

I wish we lived on a road I was okay with my kids walking on, they'd be walking their little selves home every day!

 

[redhen]

Checking out at the supermarket recently, the young cashier suggested I should bring my own bags because plastic bags weren’t good for the environment. I apologized and explained, “We didn’t have this green thing back in my earlier days“. The clerk responded, “That’s our problem today. Your generation did not care enough to save our environment for future generations“. She was right about one thing–our generation didn’t have the green thing in “Our” day. So what did we have back then? After some reflection and soul-searching on “Our” day, here’s what I remembered we did have…. Back then, we returned milk bottles, pop bottles and beer bottles to the store. The store sent them back to the plant to be washed and sterilized and refilled, so it could use the same bottles repeatedly. So they really were recycled. But we didn’t have the green thing back in our day. We walked up stairs, because we didn’t have an escalator in every store and office building. We walked to the grocery store and didn’t climb into a 300-horsepower machine every time we had to go two blocks. But she was right. We didn’t have the green thing in our day. Back then, we washed the baby’s nappies because we didn’t have the throw-away kind. We dried clothes on a line, not in an energy gobbling machine burning up 240 volts — wind and solar power really did dry our clothes back in our early days. Kids got hand-me-down clothes from their brothers or sisters, not always brand-new clothing. But that young lady is right. We didn’t have the green thing back in our day. Back then, we had one TV, or radio, in the house — not a TV in every room. And the TV had a small screen the size of a handkerchief (remember them?), not a screen the size of Wales. In the kitchen, we blended & stirred by hand because we didn’t have electric machines to do everything for us. When we packaged a fragile item to send in the mail, we used wadded up old newspapers to cushion it, not Styrofoam or plastic bubble wrap. Back then, we didn’t fire up an engine and burn petrol just to cut the lawn. We used a push mower that ran on human power. We exercised by working so we didn’t need to go to a health club to run on treadmills that operate on electricity. But she’s right. We didn’t have the green thing back then. We drank from a water fountain when we were thirsty instead of using a cup or a plastic bottle every time we had a drink of water. We refilled writing pens with ink instead of buying a new pen, and we replaced the razor blades in a razor instead of throwing away the whole razor just because the blade got dull. But we didn’t have the green thing back then. Back then, people took the bus, and kids rode their bikes to school or walked instead of turning their mums into a 24-hour taxi service. We had one electrical outlet in a room, not an entire bank of sockets to power a dozen appliances. And we didn’t need a computerized gadget to receive a signal beamed from satellites 2,000 miles out in space in order to find the nearest pizza joint. But isn’t it sad the current generation laments how wasteful we old folks were just because we didn’t have the green thing back then?

Great post, Hemet..