Boomer Environmentalism

[HumanePain]

How Wasteful the Older Generation Was ...
In the line at the store, the young 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."
She 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 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.

[Timeless Rebellion]

Wow, I don't think I remember seeing you rant like this before.
But you are absolutely right, our laziness is to blame for a lot of the enviroment damage back then.

Though I fail to see why you are ranting about the statement of the old woman and then explaining why the store clerk is ignorant instead of ranting about the statement of the store clerk who whined about the generation who were actually closer to the solution than we are now.

[HumanePain]

Uh...it was a joke. Wasn't ranting. :\ Sorry if I came across that way.

[Timeless Rebellion]

Oh, I know :P
But it is an actual issue, isn't it?

[CptSternn]

In Europe some of that stuff is still in effect today.

For example, you can still get milk delivered. And most old buildings don't have an elevator. In many houses including my own, we only have one socket in each room.

Have you ever seen the average refrigerator in Ireland? It's the same size as the one I had in my room in college.

There are just as many families here that don't own cars compared to those who do, and it is rare for a family to have more than one car.

These things are changing and in the Dublin area it is changing quicker than everywhere else, but thanks to everyone going green and government regulations forcing us to go green it has effectively helped keep some older traditions alive sure.

[Solumina]

I get my milk delivered in glass jars (they also do butter, eggs, OJ, and other such things but I get most of that at the Wednesday market), it costs a tad bit more but the milk is so much better than what you can find in the stores, though I'm not as happy with the new company as I was with Yoder Dairy.

[Raptor]

Most people treat electronics as disposable too. It's ridiculous how many phones and the like that some people get through.

[Saya]

Thing is, after WWII consumerism got way out of hand, which is why we are here now, as well as industry pollution, inefficient cars, appliances, etc. It didn't happen over night so those born after the Depression probably remember their parent's frugal ways, but the retreat to suburbia, unregulated industry and conspicuous consumerism had a lot more to do with the world going to shit than using reusable bags or bottles. You went without because you had to or you were just used to it, now people have to be dragged kicking and screaming to go without sometimes.

[Renatus]

Originally Posted by Timeless Rebellion

Wow, I don't think I remember seeing you rant like this before.
But you are absolutely right, our laziness is to blame for a lot of the enviroment damage back then.

Though I fail to see why you are ranting about the statement of the old woman and then explaining why the store clerk is ignorant instead of ranting about the statement of the store clerk who whined about the generation who were actually closer to the solution than we are now.

I love getting milk out of glass bottles, it just seems more fun than milk jugs or milk bags, and I like the feel of cold glass compared to cold plastic. I would love to have milk delivered in glass jugs to my home.Unfortunately my parents are horrible at returning the jugs, so we have a bunch of them just sitting on the steps in our garage. We used to even at one point get eggs delivered.

But quite frankly I wouldn't say the store clerk is ignorant, he was merely born into a world created for him by the previous generation. If anyone is to be accused of being ignorant it is the woman, all these changes occurred well within her lifetime, and she didn't even notice them happen it seems, she didn't care.

[Ben Lahnger]

I might have placed in the rant thread, but the humor of it did make me pull a wry grin here and there.

I approve!