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the green thing 
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something i read and found funny ...

THE GREEN THING!

In the line at the store, the cashier told an older woman that she should bring her own grocery bags 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. Your generation did not care enough to save our environment."

He 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 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 elevator 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 throw-away kind. We 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; 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 a wadded up old newspaper 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 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 we old folks were just because we didn't have the green thing back then?

Please forward this on to another selfish old person who needs a lesson in conservation from a smartass young person.

Remember: Don't make old People mad.

We don't like being old in the first place, so it doesn't take much to piss us off.

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Tue Dec 13, 2011 10:42 am
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I was only thinking the other day that milk bottles were much better when they were glass. I’m not keen on the plastic ones. I have no way of knowing if the plastic bottle I have today was a plastic bottle in a previous life. I know the bottle will be ground up, melted down and turned into something else. However, if I am correct, I understand that plastic can only go through this process a number of times before it starts to be useless? Is that right?

There were a lot of things in the past that made more sense. Returning bottles, walking places, using bicycles. I’m 45 next month, and in that life span I think we’ve become so much more wasteful, and to salve our conscience, we’ve applied a “greenwash” to many processes.

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Tue Dec 13, 2011 10:59 am
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Love it.

Can you let me know where you found it so I can blog it properly elsewhere, please?

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Tue Dec 13, 2011 11:01 am
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paulzolo wrote:
I was only thinking the other day that milk bottles were much better when they were glass. I’m not keen on the plastic ones. I have no way of knowing if the plastic bottle I have today was a plastic bottle in a previous life. I know the bottle will be ground up, melted down and turned into something else. However, if I am correct, I understand that plastic can only go through this process a number of times before it starts to be useless? Is that right?

Wouldn't surprise me. I've recently stopped buying milk in those plastic bottles, the stuff I get now comes in 'pouches'. OK still plastic but less of it and definitely recyclable. Plus I only use milk on cereal, so it's maybe a pint every four days anyway. I'd happily buy in glass and take it back for recycling, even if I didn't get a discount for doing so.

paulzolo wrote:
There were a lot of things in the past that made more sense. Returning bottles, walking places, using bicycles. I’m 45 next month, and in that life span I think we’ve become so much more wasteful, and to salve our conscience, we’ve applied a “greenwash” to many processes.

Indeed. I remember when I was a kid not only was milk in glass bottles that you gave back, but pop was too. Once a week we used to get a lorry come round with loads of different flavours of pop in bottles and you got 10p back on your old bottles against the price of the ones you bought. OK, this was 30 years ago but I honestly don't know why it died out. How is going to Tescos more convenient than having it delivered to your door?

There's a big kerfuffle today with Mary Portas's report to the government on how to regenerate our city centres as places to shop. I'd actually much rather shop locally than go to an out of town supermarket. But the choice is being removed - I have some local shops but you can tell they are struggling. I use them, but how many other people just go to the supermarket 5 minutes drive away? For all supermarkets claim to provide choice they actually don't want you to have a choice - they want you to only have them.

Jon


Tue Dec 13, 2011 11:10 am
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HeatherKay wrote:
Love it.

Can you let me know where you found it so I can blog it properly elsewhere, please?




me too its great
;)

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Tue Dec 13, 2011 11:39 am
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jonbwfc wrote:
paulzolo wrote:
I was only thinking the other day that milk bottles were much better when they were glass. I’m not keen on the plastic ones. I have no way of knowing if the plastic bottle I have today was a plastic bottle in a previous life. I know the bottle will be ground up, melted down and turned into something else. However, if I am correct, I understand that plastic can only go through this process a number of times before it starts to be useless? Is that right?

Wouldn't surprise me. I've recently stopped buying milk in those plastic bottles, the stuff I get now comes in 'pouches'.


Pouches for milk aren’t new. My grandma, who lived in the Midlands, used to get milk delivered in pouches in the 1970s. The dairy the milk came from also provided a jug that held the pouch in a convenient way for pouring. I only ever saw those there.

The milk, BTW, was delivered every day on an electric vehicle. She also paid for milk using tokens. I think she bought so many tokens a week, and put one out when she needed milk. One token per pouch.

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Tue Dec 13, 2011 12:13 pm
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jonbwfc wrote:
I've recently stopped buying milk in those plastic bottles, the stuff I get now comes in 'pouches'.

We get them from time to time. Took their time to do it though, I was in Canada for a fair while over 15 years ago and we were using the pouches back then.

paulzolo wrote:
Indeed. I remember when I was a kid not only was milk in glass bottles that you gave back, but pop was too. Once a week we used to get a lorry come round with loads of different flavours of pop in bottles and you got 10p back on your old bottles against the price of the ones you bought. OK, this was 30 years ago but I honestly don't know why it died out. How is going to Tescos more convenient than having it delivered to your door?

I remember that too, we were far less wasteful in so many ways 20/30 years ago, the only areas where we were more wasteful were generally those which industry and manufacturing have had to improve on in order to enable us to be even moreseo.

On a personal and local level we were, relatively speaking, less environmentally harmful than we are today. I mean just how many of my brothers clothes did I have to wear FFS! :D

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Tue Dec 13, 2011 12:54 pm
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HeatherKay wrote:
Love it.

Can you let me know where you found it so I can blog it properly elsewhere, please?


it was sent to me by my good lady, i will ask for the link ...

the link, enjoy ...
http://www.misscellania.com/miss-cellan ... thing.html

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Last edited by MrStevenRogers on Tue Dec 13, 2011 1:51 pm, edited 1 time in total.



Tue Dec 13, 2011 1:03 pm
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"That's our problem today. Your generation did not care enough to save our environment." - but which generation is this?

Over 90% of the the invironmental impact humans have inflicted on the planet was commited in the last 50 years. Yes in 1950 the life style of the average person was very green indeed, but by 1980 consumerism was in full flow. Who was doing all the damage? Middle class middle aged high-earners.

Those people who retired at 65 in 1980 are now 96 years old. These were the last people to lead the green life we now aspire to - and a bloody hard life it was too. These people also fought the last big wars and generally paved the way for the shining future with amazing prospects we actually have today.

Those that were 10 year old children in 1950 were 40 in 1980 and are now 71 - these are the people to blame. They started the damage, and they spawned a generation of selfish spoiled capatilist pigs who didn't know any better than to purpetuate the damage.

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Tue Dec 13, 2011 1:32 pm
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JJW009 wrote:
"That's our problem today. Your generation did not care enough to save our environment." - but which generation is this?

Over 90% of the the invironmental impact humans have inflicted on the planet was commited in the last 50 years. Yes in 1950 the life style of the average person was very green indeed, but by 1980 consumerism was in full flow. Who was doing all the damage? Middle class middle aged high-earners.

Those people who retired at 65 in 1980 are now 96 years old. These were the last people to lead the green life we now aspire to - and a bloody hard life it was too. These people also fought the last big wars and generally paved the way for the shining future with amazing prospects we actually have today.

Those that were 10 year old children in 1950 were 40 in 1980 and are now 71 - these are the people to blame. They started the damage, and they spawned a generation of selfish spoiled capatilist pigs who didn't know any better than to purpetuate the damage.


+1


Tue Dec 13, 2011 3:06 pm
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