O.T. (LONG) Something to think about

In the line at the store, the cashier told the older woman that she should
Bring her own grocery bag 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.
The former generation did not care enough to save our environment."

He was right; that generation didn't have the "green thing" in its day.

Back then, they returned their 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 they didn't have the "green thing" back in that customer's day.

In her day, they walked up stairs,
Because they didn't have an escalator in every store and office building.
They walked to the grocery store and
Didn't climb into a 300-horsepower machine
Every time they had to go two blocks.

But she was right. They didn't have the "green thing" in her day.

Back then, they washed the baby's diapers
Because they didn't have the throw-away kind.
They 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, they didn't have the "green thing" back in her day.

Back then, they 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,
Not a screen the size of the state of Montana .
In the kitchen, they blended and stirred by hand because
They didn't have electric machines to do everything for you.
When they packaged a fragile item to send in the mail,
They used a wadded up old newspaper to cushion it,
Not Styrofoam or plastic bubble wrap.

Back then, they didn't fire up an engine and burn gasoline
Just to cut the lawn. They used a push mower that ran on human power.
They exercised by working so they didn't need to go to a health club
To run on treadmills that operate on electricity.

But she's right, they didn't have the "green thing" back then.

They drank from a fountain when they were thirsty
Instead of using a cup or a plastic bottle every time
They had a drink of water.
They refilled their writing pens with ink instead of buying a new pen,
And they replaced the razor blades in a razor
Instead of throwing away the whole razor just because the blade got dull.

But they 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.
They had one electrical outlet in a room,
Not an entire bank of sockets to power a dozen appliances.
And they 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 the old folks
Were just because they didn't have the "green thing" back then?

WOW!!!!!!!!!!!

AMEN to that.I think in this country could benefit in alot of ways by going back to at least some of the old ways of doing things.

I remember going to the ice house. To get a block of ice for my grandmothers icebox. How many today have ever heard of doing such a thing.

Ice for our icebox was delivered by a guy with a horse drawn wagon.(1944) The kids would follow along behind to get the chips and slivers. That was our "popsicle" then.

I have noticed several times that most of the people who bray about being ''green'' are the most extravagant, arrogant, wasteful and spoiled turds you could imagine.

BTDT. Wouldn't mind going back.

Yep but yet the young people blame those that lived with out for the way things are now when in fact people lived with out a lot of stuff and put in gardens etc and didn't even know what fertilizer was unless you where talking about manure

Most people today would die of shock if they had to live like we did in the 1950's and really we lived better than than now.

Still have the old ice room in the barn, Now used for storage

I definitely wouldn't mind going back to the way things were
done back then. The farmer I work for is in his late 80's and we
do alot of things by hand. Pick rocks by hand ( we do use a
loader bucket), go through the field with a hoe not a sprayer.
One summer he wanted me to learn how things were done back
then, Had me cut the lawn with a sye. used the tow behind
transplanter for planting tomatoes. Split wood by hand with an
axe (not a log splitter). Tons of other things but i wouldn't mind
going back I will walk to the store 2 miles away instead of taking
my car. That being said, I have an appreciation for what you
older gentlemen did back in the day. Im just a young guy (20)

Gore comes to mind.

My wagon was a Western Flyer with a burlap bag in it to cover the ice. Five blocks from the ice house to her house. Not bad in the cool days. But the Texas summer heat made it a race to get home. Before I had a wagon full of ice and water.

I see lots of stuff back in the day like oil drained on the ground, Old pesticides ( and every other thing) burried to get rid of it. Poor excavation and lots of errosion. Poor septic that is now being replaced. You all seem to forget this stuff.

Back in the day, oil was used, to keep dust down on gravel roads. Did you know that there are microbes in the soil that break down the oil? That's why it's not a problem, today. That's why it is hard to find oil, in the gulf, today, A year after the biggest spill, ever, or whatever they claim, because as oil levels increase, so does the population of the useful microbes. They eat up the oil, produce their version of eggs, and exit the scene! As to your assertion that pesticides in the landfills, I say possible. Around here if we paid for it, we damnsure used it up for it's intended purpose, or a similar purpose. Being raised on a farm, encourages thrift, and recycling.

Think
about it

I am still finding things that my great grandparents dumped out in the woods, and it was suppose to have been cleaned up years ago. HAd to get DHEC to come do some testing on my well a few years ago, when digging a water line buried tires were found within 20 ft of my well.

I have to agree with the spoiled part. Seen it too many times myself. A little humility goes a long way.

Christopher

Budddy worked for a company that cleaned up property that had closed gas stations/dug underground tanks out on them so it could be resold. It was normal for this company to bill a 30K-60K charge to do this for the owner. Petroleum products are toxic to soil and water. They had to actually remove soil that tested any quantity of petroleum residue around the tanks and haul it offsite. Oil/gas chemical compounds not healthy for any soil or water body and critters we can"t see that live there.

It is true that we are consuming natural resources at a faster rate than ever before in history. But that doesn't get past generations off the hook, any more than we will be forgiven by future generations for our current inability to conserve resources and protect the environment.

Think DDT, mercury in landfills, contaminated groundwater and killer smog. These are all sins of the past that we at least try to prevent today.

The "green thing" is only new for those born within the last 25 years or so.
I was born in the early 70's and I remember everything coming in glass bottles which were returned for refund and recycled........one heck of a lot more economical than recycling today!
I know that in the decades before I was born that even more things were built to last and made to be used more than once. We are very spoiled and lazy now.
I liked that so much I copied it and emailed it to some folks who I think could appreciate it.