[Rosemary]

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

 

[Sandy]

So true, I keep thinking that all we had was one small rubbish bin up until not too long ago, and that was enough for a family with larger items going to the tip. I hate these huge wheelie bins, when they came into play we could not have one as our house was up steps, now, all streets are spoilt by left out wheelie bins!!!!

I also remeber shopping was done once a week, with a milkman, breadman comming to your door, now, we only 2 of us, we have much more rubbish, and shop more!!!!!


 

[tizaala]

My Gran used to walk the 4 miles from town carrying two bulging cloth bags of grocery that was the weeks shopping for a family of seven plus 1 lodger. We went without nothing.

[Fleecewife]

Well found Rosemary 

[waterhouse]

What a really splendid rant, and done so politely.  Needed saying.

[SallyintNorth]

What a really splendid rant, and done so politely.  Needed saying.

Hear hear :applause:

[ellisr]

I was talking to a mum-to-be the other day and we got on to the subject of nappies and I said how I always used terries (which ended up me showing her how to use one) she said the idea was sound but it took so long to fold and put on (??) So I agreed to make reuseable nappies for her in the stylie of disposables (velcro fastening) as she said she would love to use terries but just didn't have the time.
Is it me or have the minutes shrunk as I have 9 kids and always had time and I worked. Washing was always done, house cleaned and we still had time for play at the park.
I have started taking my own boxes, bags or basket to the butchers and grocers so that I can save on waste. I try to avoid the supermarket as the packaging is just too much. If I do have to buy dried good in packaging I try to go to a wholesalers so that I buy large amounts which works out less money and packaging.
My grandma used to save her candlewick bedspreads to make dressing gowns for us, I picked up her habit and jeans are normally turned into bags for storage after they are beyond repair, I make all my own soft furnishings and try to recycle all old clothing or blankets into something else.
Plastic milk bottles get turned into scoops for animal feed or egg carriers, plastic carrier bags normally get cut up and woven into sit mats for days out or stronger bags for shopping all taught to me by my grandma.

So the older generation definately didn't recycle or re-use obviously during the wartimes there was plenty of things to go around so they could just buy new and be wasteful..........I think not.

[suziequeue]

Absolutely fantastic.

Thankyou Rosemary.

 

[Sandy]

  The trustly nappy bucket!!!!!

9 ??

[bazzais]

I quite really like that.

We are all going through a revolution in terms of production and consumerism - not a revolution really but more of a journey.

Each country and person has to get to the 'precipice' (something I heard in a film) in order to realise what they are doing and what they have to change.

While what you say is true, there is no denying that in the past as consumers - we consumed and we consumed good.  We still are infact consuming more than we can rectify - you cant have life without consuming something. 

Its really about how much we place back in to compensate it, to balance the 'books'.

You should only be prepared to take that plastic bag if you have the resources to payback.

You might say that this means its only landowners and the wealthy that have the ability to do this - then you'd be right.

Their should be a tax on plastic bags and it should be taxed at source or import - the consumer in general does not care.

Baz