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They didn't have that "Green" thing back then

In the line at the store, the cashier told the older woman that plastic bags weren't good for the environment. The woman apologized to her and explained,

"We didn't have the green thing back in my day."

That's right, they didn't have the green thing in her day. Back then, they returned their milk bottles, Coke bottles, and beer bottles to the store. The store sent them back to the plant to be washed and sterilized and refilled, using the same bottles over and over. So they really were recycled.

But they didn't have the green thing back her 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's 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 pizza dish, 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 wadded up 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 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 and kids rode their bikes to school or rode the school bus, 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 that old lady is right. They didn't have the green thing back in her day.

Hmmm....makes you think....

************************************************** ****

First time I've ever put up one of those emails that goes around. But I like this one. :thumbup:

...and, all the kids had to walk at least a mile to school, even when it was raining (gosh!)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frank Lee (Post 232955)

First time I've ever put up one of those emails that goes around. But I like this one. :thumbup:

As long as the emails are as good as this one you're aok.... :) :p

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frank Lee (Post 232955)

Or as someone else put it.:p

In the line at the store, the cashier told the older woman that plastic bags weren’t good for the environment. The woman apologized to her and explained, “We didn’t have the green thing back in my day.”

That’s right, they didn’t have the green thing in her day. Back then, they returned their milk bottles, Coke bottles and beer bottles to the store. The store sent them back to the plant to be washed and sterilized and refilled, using the same bottles over and over. So they really were recycled. But they didn’t have the green thing back her day.

Back in those days, when she found ants in the kitchen cupboards, you just sent the kids through the house with the DDT pump sprayer. The darned stuff smelled great, too and was great fun. But they didn't have the EPA thing in her 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’s right. They didn’t have the green thing in her day.

Kids rode their bikes to school, to go fishing, an all over town without the bother of helmets. Sure, some died of head injuries, but many survived to have productive lives in wheelchairs that were not motorized. But they didn't have the highway-traffic-safety-law 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.

Moms stayed home and didn't MIND handling human feces and soiled linens, or spending all their time hanging clothes outside and praying for warm weather; in fact, there was nothing they liked better! Which is why it took so very many years for disposal diapers, and modern washers and dryers to catch on. They didn't have the it-takes-two-full-time-careers-to-support-the-family thing 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 pizza dish, 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 wadded up newspaper to cushion it, not styrofoam or plastic bubble wrap.

In those days, a single TV cost as much money as most men made in a month or more. And there were only two or three things to watch anyway. All those new-fangled labor-saving appliances were just so darned expensive that women could only DREAM about them. Newspapers for packaging -- you bet! Back then, everybody took the newspaper; how else were you supposed to keep up with the great big world? They didn't have the cheap-consumer-electronics, cable-TV, and continuous-multimedia-information-technology thing in her day.

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.

Back then, when they fired up an engine and burned gasoline, it was good, pure gasoline with lots of lead in it. And it burned hot, and fierce, and was exhausted straight into the very air they breathed. And when they changed the oil in those engines, the old oil could just be dumped into the ground, anywhere. And all the sewage and all the waste water could be dumped straight into the rivers and the bays, because that's how they did it then. And all the factories and the businesses could do the same, just as they pleased, and everybody liked it, but wouldn't eat the fish. But, no, they didn't have that pollution-control thing 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 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.

When they were thirsty, they had a cigarette or a cuppa joe; there was never a water fountain around when you needed one. They refilled pens with ink, but had to throw away perfectly good ink-stained shirts all the time; they jumped for joy when the ball-point pen hit the market. They replaced razor blades then, just like most people do still -- only their blades weren't $30 for a four-pack of refills; they also cut themselves a lot. No, they didn't have the modern-consumer-goods thing then.

Back then, people took the streetcar and kids rode their bikes to school or rode the school bus, 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.

Back then, they took the streetcar or the train lots of places, and didn't need to use their cars very much; it seems people had more gumption to build such things then. They didn't need signals from space to race around around town, but they were all FOR the race to space; even if they couldn't imagine the things it would bring into their grandchildrens' lives, they knew it was important, and they opened up their pocketbooks. No, they didn't have the short-sighted, selfish thing then.

But that old lady is right. They didn’t have the green thing back in her day.

That old lady is just old. They didn't have lots of things in her day. I hope my grandchildren can say the same some day.

I think you missed the point here Laz. It isn't so you will try to distill out the worst practices of both eras, but the best. We really screwed the pooch on plastic in bottles and bags and etc, which is a petroleum product.

I agree dcb, and it's refreshing to have the hope/possibility we can retain the values we had 80 years ago while enjoying the technological advantages of the present. Sometime I think we don't but this thread highlights where we came from.

Great post Frank, well put.

I've been mulling over lately how sick I am of hearing about "green" this and that in my travels. Like the new wireless keyboard I saw at Best Buy last night that touts its solar-charged and has less packaging so somehow its "green"... Or people buying CFL's and "greener" water bottles to save the planet. All these great little "green" steps people tote home proudly in a reusable bag, driving a shiny new 4x4 SUV or 2500HD the 40 minute drive to the 'burbs at 15mpg. Or the really green folks get a x-over and get 22mpg. Hypocrisy... once again great post.

I'm done ranting now :D

Quote:

Originally Posted by tim3058 (Post 233093)

I've been mulling over lately how sick I am of hearing about "green" this and that in my travels.

Over here it's considered "green" to have grossly over-subsidized and over-dimensioned PV arrays installed, then waste all the energy they generate.
It's free and available in abundance - again - so why not waste it ?

Green energy is quickly turning into wasting even more energy.

Quote:

Or people buying CFL's and "greener" water bottles to save the planet. All these great little "green" steps people tote home proudly in a reusable bag, driving a shiny new 4x4 SUV or 2500HD the 40 minute drive to the 'burbs at 15mpg.

Grabbing the fringe benefits and leaving the low hanging fruit to rot away ...

Laz has a point; it wasn't all good back in the day. They put nasty chemicals on stuff... but MAN did those chemicals work!!! They promoted smoking as healthiful. In fact it was the "greatest" generation that reproduced like freekin rabbits helping lead to today's mess.

But I see more what Euro is talking about- everybody screaming for more energy resources, green or not, so that they can waste even more. Where does it end?

Come to think of it, I have never bought little plastic bottles of drinking water.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frank Lee (Post 233109)

Come to think of it, I have never bought little plastic bottles of drinking water.

...yeah, my "water bottle" was a metal canteen (stamped USN), carried in a dark green canvas cover.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Old Tele man (Post 233125)

...yeah, my "water bottle" was a metal canteen (stamped USN), carried in a dark green canvas cover.

same here. i buy powerade and canned soda all the time. all those bottles and cans get tossed into their respective totes and once the totes are full i toss them in the back of the jeep and head to the recyclers, with that money i buy my ecomodding stuff (mostly coroplast, which i verified with my local dealer is 75% post consumer recycled already) so i kill 2 (or 3, depending on how you look at it) birds with one stone.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Old Tele man (Post 233125)

...yeah, my "water bottle" was a metal canteen (stamped USN), carried in a dark green canvas cover.

But the 1-2 liter size plastic water (or soda) bottles are far better canteens for hiking than canteens. They're free, weigh almost nothing, and last for years.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frank Lee (Post 232955)

They refilled pens with ink, instead of buying a new pen

Fountain pens rock! They write so much smoother than roller balls.

I should really look into the whole reusable razer thing.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Angmaar (Post 233348)

Fountain pens rock! They write so much smoother than roller balls.

Fountain pens? Is that some sort of new input technology? It'll never replace the keyboard :-)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frank Lee (Post 233109)

Come to think of it, I have never bought little plastic bottles of drinking water.

Neither have I, but I have 2-3 of them in my toilet tank to lower the amount of water it uses. The last bottle I put in there was found in the woods, next to a trail.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jamesqf (Post 233476)

Fountain pens? Is that some sort of new input technology? It'll never replace the keyboard :-)

But a fountain pen is so much more versatile than a keyboard. The older style lever fill fountain pens that you refilled from an inkwell could do double duty as a squirt gun and was employed such as a common school yard prank. Also the variable width ink trace produced when writing with a fountain pen is so much classier than constant width track left by a ballpoint pen.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jamesqf (Post 233331)

But the 1-2 liter size plastic water (or soda) bottles are far better canteens for hiking than canteens. They're free, weigh almost nothing, and last for years.

But they leave a plastic taste (bisphenol-a?) in the water, especially when they have been left sitting in the sun for awhile. Metal leaves a bit of a taste in the water as well, but not as bad. I prefer to use glass for water containers, it doesn't taint the water left in it.

...glass containers seldom "last" very long under combat conditions.

Quote:

Originally Posted by basjoos (Post 233539)

Also the variable width ink trace produced when writing with a fountain pen...

So this is something to do with font selection? Sorry, but I'll stick with good old Times Roman and friends :-)

Quote:

Originally Posted by basjoos (Post 233540)

I've never been able to detect any plastic taste from soda/water type bottles, though I can taste just a bit from e.g. bike water bottles. As for glass... well, aside from the weight, I think I'd re-think that the first time I slipped, or dropped the backpack on some rocks...

Quote:

Originally Posted by jamesqf (Post 233602)

Polycarbonate doesn't taint your water, and it's light weight and durable. The only drawback I can think of is cost.

Most drink bottles are made of PET (Polyethylene terephthalate) that is supposedly non-leaching, but it does leave a plastic taste in the water that I can taste to the point to where if the bottle has been left out in the hot sun for a few hours the, plasticy taste makes it practically undrinkable to me. Its probably one of those things that you don't notice if you are exposed to it every day, but I only very rarely drink out of plastic containers (once a year at most) so the taste is very obvious to me. I figure that if I can taste it, there is something being leached into the water.

Polycarbonate contains bisphenol-a which can start leaching out of the plastic as the plastic ages or gets dishwashered often. This has been brought up as a problem with polycarbonate baby bottles.

The easiest way to avoid the breakability problem with glass bottles is to encase it with a foam cover, which also insulates the container so it stays cold longer.

Quote:

Originally Posted by basjoos (Post 233657)

The easiest way to avoid the breakability problem with glass bottles is to encase it with a foam cover, which also insulates the container so it stays cold longer.

Which adds more weight, and volume. And the breakability is still there - knock your pack just the wrong way against a sharp rock, and it's gone.