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Being Green

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jawa:
Checking out at the store, the young cashier suggested to the older woman, that she should bring her own grocery bags because plastic bags weren't good for the environment.

The woman 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 -- 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 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 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 wadded up old newspapers 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 smart ass young person.

Remember: DON'T make old People mad!!!

WE DON'T like being old in the first place!!!, so it doesn't take much to piss us off!!

Admin:
That's cute, but nearly all of it can be rebutted.

Back then, we returned milk bottles, soda bottles and beer bottles to the store.

We still recycle most of our glass, only the process has changed. We also recycle plastic, paper and metal.

We walked up stairs, because we didn't have an escalator in every store and office building.

Office buildings weren't as tall before elevators. Escalators are more about safety and efficiency.

We walked to the grocery store and didn't climb into a 300-horsepower machine every time we had to go two blocks.

Like hell they didn't. Muscle cars ruled from the 40s through the 70s, it's today's cars which are far more fuel efficient.

Back then, we washed the baby's diapers because we didn't have the throw-away kind.

Actually, the amount of energy used to clean the diapers can be greater than the amount needed to make a new pair, and nearly all are now bio-degradable.

We dried clothes on a line, not in an energy gobbling machine burning up 220 volts -- wind and solar power really did dry our clothes back in our early days.

But their washing machines burned twice as much energy. Call it a draw.

Kids got hand-me-down clothes from their brothers or sisters, not always brand-new clothing.

Yeah, there was a depression followed by a war and families were, on average, two to three times larger. When you don't have as many brothers and sisters you kind of need to buy new clothes.

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.

This is my favorite. Those "little" CRT sets with their vacuum tubes driven by transformers the size of a shoebox drew more wattage than a whole house full of uber-efficient LCD TVs.

In the kitchen, we blended and stirred by hand because we didn't have electric machines to do everything for us.

I dunno about that, kitchen appliances have been around for quite a while. Electric refrigerators where one of the big reasons a lot of folks got connected to the grid, and those old models were hardly efficient. And speaking for myself, I do most of my mixing by hand, we only use a blender or mixer on rare occasions.

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.

Newspapers are heavy, which adds to the fuel consumption needed to transport it. There is a reason shippers use light materials.

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.

Human power = the kids. Some sacrifice. The Newt would love to see this brought back, immigrant labor can be expensive, you can force a kid to do it for next to nothing.

We exercised by working so we didn't need to go to a health club to run on treadmills that operate on electricity.

Yeah, like they never would have traded their pitchforks and pickaxes for a Wii... suuuure they wouldn't... they're the greatest, I tell ya, The Greatest.

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.

Better not have drink from the "wrong" fountain or they would break out the fire hoses and police dogs. But plastic bottles are wasteful, and more and more people are switching to reusable cups. I get most of my water from the refrigerator door and have several travel cups.

We refilled writing pens with ink instead of buying a new pen...

Which often leaked ink everywhere.

...and we replaced the razor blades in a razor instead of throwing away the whole razor just because the blade got dull.

Guess the author hasn't seen those disposable razor blades that have been around for the last 40 or so years.

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.

And then they moved to suburbia to raise their little demon spawns, which is why you don't see too many people riding streetcars these days. You also don't see too many kids walking five miles through the driven snow to get to school. On a related note, you don't hear about too many kids dying in snow drifts anymore. Damn over-protective parents keeping their (significantly fewer) children alive!

We had one electrical outlet in a room, not an entire bank of sockets to power a dozen appliances.

That's because they didn't have a dozen appliances. They only had a few appliances which used two dozen times more electricity.

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.

"Gee grandpa, that isn't really how we use our DishTV. The DishTV, grandpa, next to the TV... no, that's not a remote control it's an Android phone with a GPS, that's how we find the pizza joint... oh never mind."

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?

The two biggest wastes of energy is inefficient appliances and the transmission grid itself. For example, a new 32-inch LED TV uses about 75% less energy than a 32-inch cathode ray tube. The best way to reduce transmission loss is to generate power closer to where it is needed, ideally from your rooftop where feasible.

Old people make me SO MAD!  >:(

JillthePill:
Can we at least admit people did have the right idea at the time, both now and then? They made the most of what was available to them.

Okay, everyone be happy now! Time for your meds, cranky old folks!  ;D

Also: Kermit the Frog has always maintained his greenness. Good for him.  :D

Melissa:
Wasn't anyone else bothered by the fact that it wasn't the younger cashier that said "We didn't have this green thing" ? It was the older lady that said that... but then she bitched the whole time that the young lady said it...

stoopid old lady jawa...

:D

Admin:
I think the "old lady" was really Rush Limbaugh in drag. Who else could get all his facts wrong while mocking people who believe in protecting our environment... or as he would condescendingly put it, "the green thing."

Even a hand puppet knows it isn't easy being green.

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