Being Green...
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 young 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 truly recycled.
But we didn't have the green thing back in our day.
Grocery stores bagged our groceries in brown paper bags, that we reused
for numerous things, most memorable besides household garbage bags, was
the use of brown paper bags as book covers for our schoolbooks. This
was to ensure that public property, (the books provided for our use by
the school) was not defaced by our scribblings. Then we were able to
personalize our books on the brown paper bags.
But too bad we didn't do the green thing back then.
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
throwaway 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 23,000 miles out in
space in order to find the nearest burger 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?
It is true that there were some overweight people back in the days but it was a sign of wealth and having servants. Now our servants are electrical blenders and cars. Maybe we should give them a day off, actually use our bodies for some work and maybe help the environment more.
By decreasing the amount of pollution we give our bodies more healthy air to breathe. So make sure your recycle not just in the recycling can but utilize those things at home too! Go paper bags instead of plastic. The uses of paper bags outweigh plastic bags and they recycle cleaner as well.
Hanging your cloths out to dry saves you money and it is a good workout! My arms get tired after hanging my cloths.
Getting kids cloths used is a saver on your wallet and on your nerves of them destroying a new outfit. Check out local thrift stores or ask around for old baby cloths. Most people are happy to get rid of them.
I need to work on this one. I have stores within walking distance of my home and I could sacrifice the extra half hour to walk there. Let's all try and walk to the stores if they are closer to you and also make fewer trips by planning ahead.
Our governments work to keep our water clean (at least in the United States). Spending Billions of dollars to make it so, yet we spend at least twice that much on bottled water that is no better or worse for you. Buy a home filter if you are paranoid about your tap water but stop polluting our world with the waste of plastic bottles.
Let your kids walk to school!!!!! It was my biggest pet peive when someone dove me to my school that was a 15 minute walk downhill. It was not as fun in the snow or rain but our parents survived and so did I. For safety, have your kids walk with friends or walk with them (you might actually burn some calories too). Have them car poll if the distance is too far and the buses don't reach you (that was my issue in high school, no buses in my area). The walk won't kill them, if anything it will get us one step closer to lowering childhood obesity!
Hope you find this informative and enlightening, I sure did!
