The 'Green' Generation.

[dunover]

Anyone over the age of 32 should read this, as I copied this from a friend...

Checking out at the supermarket recently, the young cashier suggested I should bring my own carrier bags because plastic bags weren't good for the environment. I apologised and explained, "We didn't have this green thing back in my earlier days." The cashier responded, "That's our problem today. Your generation did not care enough to save our environment for future generations." She was right about one thing -- our generation didn't have the green thing in “Our” day.

So what did we have back then…? After some reflection and soul-searching on "Our" day here's what I remembered we did have.... Back then, we returned milk bottles, fizzy pop bottles and beer bottles to the store. The store sent them back to the plant to be washed and sterilised and refilled, so it could use the same bottles repeatedly. 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 or lift in every store and office building. We walked to the supermarket and didn't climb into a 300-horsepower machine every time we had to go two minutes up the road. But she was right. We didn't have the green thing in our day.

Back then, we washed the baby's nappies because we didn't have the throw-away kind. We dried clothes on a line, not in an energy gobbling machine burning up 240 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 England. 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 screwed up old newspapers to cushion it, not Styrofoam or plastic bubble wrap. Back then, we didn't fire up an engine and burn petrol 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 bus, and kids rode their bikes to school or walked instead of turning their mums 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 computerised gadget to receive a signal beamed from satellites 2,000miles 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 post this on your Facebook profile so another selfish old person who needs a lesson in conservation from a smarty-pants young person can add this to their page...

 

[Dinahnana]

Anyone over the age of 32 should read this, as I copied this from a friend...

Checking out at the supermarket recently, the young cashier suggested I should bring my own carrier bags because plastic bags weren't good for the environment. I apologised and explained, "We didn't have this green thing back in my earlier days." The cashier responded, "That's our problem today. Your generation did not care enough to save our environment for future generations." She was right about one thing -- our generation didn't have the green thing in “Our” day.

So what did we have back then…? After some reflection and soul-searching on "Our" day here's what I remembered we did have.... Back then, we returned milk bottles, fizzy pop bottles and beer bottles to the store. The store sent them back to the plant to be washed and sterilised and refilled, so it could use the same bottles repeatedly. 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 or lift in every store and office building. We walked to the supermarket and didn't climb into a 300-horsepower machine every time we had to go two minutes up the road. But she was right. We didn't have the green thing in our day.

Back then, we washed the baby's nappies because we didn't have the throw-away kind. We dried clothes on a line, not in an energy gobbling machine burning up 240 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 England. 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 screwed up old newspapers to cushion it, not Styrofoam or plastic bubble wrap. Back then, we didn't fire up an engine and burn petrol 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 bus, and kids rode their bikes to school or walked instead of turning their mums 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 computerised gadget to receive a signal beamed from satellites 2,000miles 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 post this on your Facebook profile so another selfish old person who needs a lesson in conservation from a smarty-pants young person can add this to their page...

Good post and very true

 

[weesie]

Definitely shared!!

Thank you!

 

[asm]

<nitpick> most of that doesn't apply to someone who is just a tad over 32 tho

Might be a bit location related too. In Finland we still recycle glass bottles, but cans are also recycled and are actually more environmentally sound than bottles. At least that is what I am lead to assume. Most people who I know who have kids and are environmentally conscious do use washable diapers and other stuff like that </nitpick>

Good post and I think everyone should read it, regardless of age.

 

[Jory]

I don't think either generation cares any more or less about the environment than the other, we just live in different worlds. It's not like people were refusing to buy computers and mobile phones because they cared about the environment, the technology simply wasn't available at the time and if it were, they would have been using it also.

A lot of those comparisons are more about people just trying to save money than anything else. They weren't consciously trying to protect the environment because they "cared" more, it just made good economical sense to live that way.

The only real difference is that today there is a greater awareness and understanding of things like global warming, but every one is just as guilty as each other, so there is no need to point the finger. People don't switch off their devices or lights to protect the environment, most do so simply because they want to save money.

 

[goatwack]

Yup like Jory said also, people today are just a product of their environment and can't really be blamed for their perceived lack of understanding.

Problem with today's generation is that they consider anything pre- internet era irrelevant, and so believe that by reading things on social media or wikipedia that they are well- versed in anything and everything. It's fair to say that nowadays our unabashed pummeling of the planet is at an all time high thanks to all these modern 'conveniences' we all like to use that simply were not present back in the day. So sparing a throwaway plastic bag isn't likely to save the planet and is laughably ignorant.

I've always maintained there is nothing wrong with today's technology, it's that every Tom, Dick & Harry has access to them cheaply, especially kids. I'd hate to be a teacher, classrooms must be like being plugged in to the matrix. I remember when my teacher confiscated my gameboy for the day as it was a distracting influence lol.

I've seen how life was before, I'd love to see everyone's gadgets taken away from them for a while just to see the their look of bewilderment and puzzled frustration. There would be a global outcry. Except most people wouldn't be able to vent their anger about it on Twitter and would have to walk to the shops to buy a paper, or even - gasp - talk to a fellow human being about it.

That should make this generation more 'Green' aware in no time. Where do I sign??