When "Going Green" was called "Common Sense"

[Rich]

I got this in an email yesterday and thought it was a very appropriate statement on how we seem to have to make something into a cause nowadays when a couple of generations ago it was just the way things were done.


The Green Thing

In the line at the store, the cashier told an older woman that she should bring her own grocery bags because plastic bags weren't good for the environment. 

The woman apologized to him and explained, "We didn't have the green thing back in my day."

The clerk responded, "That's our problem today.  Your generation did not care enough to save our environment."

He was right -- our generation didn't have the green thing in its day.

Back then, we returned milk bottles, soda 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 over and over.  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 diapers because we didn't have the throw-away kind.  We dried clothes on a line, not in an energy gobbling machine burning up 220 volts -- wind and solar power really did dry the clothes.  Kids got hand-me-down clothes from their brothers or sisters, not always brand-new clothing. But that old 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 the state of Montana.



In the kitchen, we blended and 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 a wadded up old newspaper to cushion it, not Styrofoam or plastic bubble wrap.



Back then, we didn't fire up an engine and burn gasoline 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 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 streetcar or a bus and kids rode their bikes to school or walked instead of turning their moms 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?

Please forward this on to another selfish old person who needs a lesson in conservation from a smartass young person.

The Green Thing

[kodydog]

Makes you wonder how they managed to get by. Ha Ha  ;)

[mike802]

The clerk responded, "That's our problem today.  Your generation did not care enough to save our environment."

If an employee of mine insulted a customer with a statement like that they would be out of a job.

Rich: it's to bad that customer wasn't you, so that cashier could have gotten an education.  IMO the "green" word is just a buzz word to make people feel guilty, so politicians can regulate, control and take away more of our freedoms.  Big corporations came up with throw away, disposable products, so they could sell more stuff.  The old way of doing things have become very difficult if not imposable to do in some areas.  IE, ordinances where you cant hang clothes outside,  community's where it is to dangerous to walk to the store, not because of crime, but because of street layout and traffic.  No body washes bottles and reuses them that I know of because of the fear of catching something.  Cash for clunkers is a good example of Green Policy gone bad.  How is it green to destroy a good car that still had years of life in it, to instead buy a new one?  How much energy is used in producing a new vehicle vs fixing up, or restoring an old one?  My bet is fixing up, or restoring an old car uses less energy and raw materials than building a new one.  The energy saved far out weighs the small amount of extra gas that the old car may burn.  I have a 1951 Chevy that gets between 12 and 15 miles pr gallon, my wife has a 1984 Chevy Chevette that gets around 26 miles pr gallon and I also have a 2011 F150 that averages 13 miles to the gallon.  They found out in the UK that the wind turbines cost more to run than they save and they don't work at all in severe cold.  Solar power is still years away from being affordable to the average person.  So much corn is diverted to manufacturing Ethanol that the cost of corn has increased, making food cost more, it destroys fuel systems on old cars, is less energetic than gas, so more has to be burned to get the same amount of work.   Big corporations and the government have instilled all these policy's, not to mention the brain washing of the younger generation for going green and they want the consumer to feel guilty?  Going Green, just a bunch of corporate and governmental  BS to suck more money out of the public. IMHO

[Rich]

No, that customer shouldv'e been you Mike, b/c I couldn't have said it any better than that!

Basically, what you're saying is we're being fleeced. The means that government and the media use today to influence the public in the ways they want us to think and behave have reached such a high art that everyone is subject to it's control to some extent.
I totally agree.
Rich

[byhammerandhand]

I might add -- we were also "local-vores" 

We had over an acre of garden that fed most of our vegetables.  Peas, beans, corn, squash, carrots, cabbage, peppers, tomatoes, pumpkins, berries, onions, potatoes, rhubarb, parsnips, turnips, cucumbers, pickles, lettuce, and whatever else.   Two cows provided milk, cottage cheese and butter. What we didn't grow, we generally went to a pick-your-own orchard for apples, peaches, cherries, and pears.  Everything was canned and a few things were frozen.  Most of the summer was spent on the business end of a hoe or harvesting and "putting up."  My dad milked the cows every day before breakfast and going off to work and when he got home, before "supper".    Saturdays were spent "barn cleaning" and summer vacations often meant weeding the garden.

[Rich]

I was born in Brooklyn.
But we DID have a garden for awhile! Tomatoes, squash, basilico (basil if your not Italian) and even corn. The older Italian men on the block had grapes delivered in crates to make wine and my next door neighbors canned their own tomatoes for sauce or whatever. Yeah, it was a different world. And I do remember the clink of milk bottles being delivered by the milk man and diaper service trucks picking up and delivering in the neighborhood. My dad tells me that in his day, you could bring your own container (mug, or whatever) to the neighborhood bar and get a refill of your favorite beer. Didn't even need to return a bottle!
Rich

[mike802]

I love where this thread is going :D Here is a little video you guys might enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5YmeZGKThM

[Rich]

Greeeen Acres is the place for me.......! ;D
Rich

[byhammerandhand]

My grandfather was  truck farmer well into his 80s.  My father worked the farm with him full time (in addition to driving school buses) until I was about five, and part time thereafter.  The nearby city was predominately Italian and we sold a lot of vegetables to them.   One Italian family used to have a standing order for 50 bushels of canning tomatoes every year.  My favorite expression was "Whazzamadda u?"

I was born in Brooklyn.
But we DID have a garden for awhile! Tomatoes, squash, basilico (basil if your not Italian) and even corn. The older Italian meneighborhood bar and get a refill of your favorite beer. Didn't even need to return a bottle!
Rich

[scottymc]

I was born in Brooklyn.
But we DID have a garden for awhile! Tomatoes, squash, basilico (basil if your not Italian) and even corn. The older Italian men on the block had grapes delivered in crates to make wine and my next door neighbors canned their own tomatoes for sauce or whatever. Yeah, it was a different world. And I do remember the clink of milk bottles being delivered by the milk man and diaper service trucks picking up and delivering in the neighborhood. My dad tells me that in his day, you could bring your own container (mug, or whatever) to the neighborhood bar and get a refill of your favorite beer. Didn't even need to return a bottle!
Rich

I grew up in a place I suppose similar to brooklyn ,a lot of Italian migrants.I always wondered why those old men hung out in the coffee shops all day. It wasn't until I went to Europe that I realized that "any" shop front was a bar. ;)

[bobbin]

I've been dutifully bringing my own grocery bags for many years now (long enough that people thought it was a pretty weird thing to do).  I reuse the cheapie plastic bags that you peel off the roll for produce, and I reuse the clear plastic tubs the grocery store provides for "bulk" items.

There is a deposit paid on all cans, plastic bottles, and wine bottles sold in my state.  I am on a first name basis at the redemption centre.  I bring them in once a month on my way home from work.  Easy-peasy. 

My parents always had a gaHden and canning was part of the late summer/fall drill.  The husband is seriously into gaHdening, a long standing member of MOFGA.  The gaHden is small, but farmed intensively in raised beds.  We begin harvesting in early June and last year we celebrated New Year's Day with garden fresh Brussel Sprouts.  His grandparents were German immigrants fleeing the horrible depression that followed WWI (and spawned Adolph Hitler) and they were obessessed with food and having enough.  Grosmama canned vegetables, fruit, preserved eggs (consider that hens lay more in the longer days of spring and summer), and made hard sausages that could be stored at "room temperature". 

My parents were Depression kids and both remembered the abject poverty and long lines of people waiting for the one meal they would get in a day.  They were reminded that the only reason they weren't in one of those lines was just "luck" and one's luck could quickly change.  "Waste not, want not" was part of the family mantra for as long as I can remember.  To this day I still "brown bag" it, drink my coffee at home along with my breakfast (an egg and toast) and a meal "out" is a rare treat... not so much because of money, but more because we like the food at home more! and eating at home means there is more discretionary money for things like movies (mid-week matinees), theatre tickets, etc..

I don't often share this, but I really do look down my nose at people who thoughtlessly insist on a  plastic bag for one or two items.  I'll be frank, I think they're just plain stupid.  I don't put altered clothing in bags for customers.  I tell them up front if you want them in a bag you will need to bring one.  I do press them and put them on hangers... but only if they provide the hangers! other than that, they are neatly folded.  I have shop bags for delivered draperies/cushions and once they're installed I take the bags home with me!

We've never owned:
A microwave
A dishwasher
An air conditioner (we use awnings and occasionally a fan)
A dryer
A new car

We own 1 TV and I am the voice raised in opposition to $30/mo. for basic cable... before it all went digital the stations we now have pay for were free.  And they're not worth paying for since the quality of programming is so piss-poor.  PBS and NPR are the only things we are happy to pay for!

[Rich]

Well, I thought we were pretty frugal, but you have us beat. On the platic bag issue, We take our groceries in those plastic bags at the super market, but we never throw them away after just one use.
Some of the uses we have for them:
-Bag lunches or snacks
-Litter box contents
-Tie around my shoes when weed whacking
-Hang on my dashboard to collect trash
-Other uses I can't think of right now, but you get the picture.
It really is true, I believe, that people who either grew up during the Depression or who were raised by those who did have a much better appreciation for avoiding waste and protecting the environment than those who have experienced it only as a politically correct cause.
Rich

[bobbin]

Lol, Rich, we use one of those plastic bags/wk. in the winter to deal with litter pan minings, too!  Now that it's summer and the pride spends more time outside than inside I'd forgotten.  I also like the bag over the shoes when weed wacking, good one!

I don't generally believe in legislating common sense, but I certainly do believe in pointing out the foolishness of thoughtless consumption and I see nothing wrong with charging people for their trash; hit 'em in the purse and they smarten up pretty quickly.  Every little bit counts.  I was really shocked to learn that metro NYC ships its garbage to rural VA for "disposal"...

(was rethinking the air conditioner thing yesterday as it hit 100 degrees here; New England rarely gets too oppressively hot, but yesterday was a record-breaker.  Yowza!)

[Rich]

Every little bit counts.  I was really shocked to learn that metro NYC ships its garbage to rural VA for "disposal"...

That reminds me of the "Garbage Barge". I think it was back in the 80's when a barge loaded with NYC trash went from port to port around the country to find a final resting place only to be denied every place it went. I don't remember where it finally ended up, but someone finally took it.

(was rethinking the air conditioner thing yesterday as it hit 100 degrees here; New England rarely gets too oppressively hot, but yesterday was a record-breaker.  Yowza!)

Yes indeed! I had a job to do in downtown DC yesterday and had to park my truck on the street around the corner. (parking garage attendants usually just wave me on b/c they think the truck is too big). Walking in that heat to feed the meter and carrying my gear was an experience! (But, like I said to someone in the elevator coming back, I'll take hot and sweltering over the torture of biting cold any day!)
Rich
Rich

[mike802]

My Grandparents grew up in the depression and so are my children.  I know the corporate media, or the gov wont admit it, but we have 20% unemployment and thousands of people are loosing their homes and jobs.  In today's depression there are no soup lines because it's illegal to feed the homeless.  As many of you know I am converting a bus into an RV.  I have spent a lot of time on you tube watching others do the same, trying to learn and gain in site from others.  I have watched many young people convert buses because they need a place to live, it  beats a tent, but it sure is sad.  One I watched called Follow that Bus, the couple was loosing their home, the man had lost his job and they were making an old school bus into a home and he was having a hard time with it.  I sure hope I don't end up living in mine.  Any way we are also very frugal as well.

We shop once a month at grocery stores that do not supply bags, we bring our own boxes.
We grow as much of our own produce as possible and each year we get better at it.
We raise chickens for meat and eggs.
We supplement our heating bill by burning wood, also cook with it.  I am looking into installing an additional wood stove to supplement even more.
We rarely eat out, or go to movies. instead we use Netflix.
We do not have cable, or satellite TV, or get the paper.
We do all our own home and car repairs. (mostly)
We ride our motorcycles as much as possible to save on gas. ( Ill admit this one is kind of a toss up)
We return our bottles for the deposit.
We don't spend money on flowers, or gifts for each other, but show our love in other less materialistic ways.
We use the same cup all day.
In Vermont salt is used on the roads and cars rust out fast.  We have a beater car that we use when the roads are salt covered, but because of that I do have a 2011 ford f150.  A 4 wheel drive here is almost a necessity.  My last truck lasted 12 years and I could have stretched that out a little longer, but it was starting to become unreliable.  I do a lot of pick up and delivery's, so a good looking vehicle is important for my business image, but with business the way it is it may become less important.

That's about all I can think of, my wife could probably add to the list.

Things we are thinking of doing.
buying a cow for milk
buying a cow for meat
may compromise with goats, or pigs.  Not quite ready to go there yet.  I don't know if I could do the butchering thing, I tend to get to attached.  I have butchered several of our chickens, but I felt real bad about it.   :'(