Being Green- The Old Days
Thread Starter
Banned
MotoGP
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 5,942
From: Lake View Terrace, CA
Being Green- The Old Days
I thought this was very good. Copied from another forum:
The Green Thing
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 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 recycled. But we didn't have the green thing back in our day.
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 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 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 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?
The Green Thing
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 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 recycled. But we didn't have the green thing back in our day.
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 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 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 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?
Senior Member
MotoGP
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 3,452
From: San Clemente, CA
Good one Mike. I got that in an email from a friend not long ago.
Up until I was 11 years old, 1957, my Mom used solar power to dry our clothes. Then we moved into a new house with an electric clothes dryer.
I also returned many soda bottles for the 2 cent deposit in the 1950's and '60s... when you could actually buy something for 2 cents.
Up until I was 11 years old, 1957, my Mom used solar power to dry our clothes. Then we moved into a new house with an electric clothes dryer.
I also returned many soda bottles for the 2 cent deposit in the 1950's and '60s... when you could actually buy something for 2 cents.
Senior Member
Superstock
Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 258
From: Santa Clara, CA
But you see, the way the younger generation sees it (and yes I am part of it, no I don't agree with it) is that convenience comes above all else.
I rode my bike to school 10 miles for 6 years even when I did have a car.
That was typically only used for long distance commuting or bringing large loads to school that would have otherwise been impossible/impractical to take on an 18 speed.
There were kids in my school who lived maybe...... 3 blocks away and still chose to drive over using there own two feet.
I can understand the cases where it is not advisable to walk (one of my friends has friedreich's ataxia) but when you're too damn lazy to walk that's too much for me.
It's like the people who race around on the freeways going 95+mph.
What's easier, risking everyone else's life to get there from 2-10 minutes earlier (based on average commute time) or leaving 12 minutes earlier?
I do not get it.
I'm with Marcus; dumb. just dumb.
I rode my bike to school 10 miles for 6 years even when I did have a car.
That was typically only used for long distance commuting or bringing large loads to school that would have otherwise been impossible/impractical to take on an 18 speed.
There were kids in my school who lived maybe...... 3 blocks away and still chose to drive over using there own two feet.
I can understand the cases where it is not advisable to walk (one of my friends has friedreich's ataxia) but when you're too damn lazy to walk that's too much for me.
It's like the people who race around on the freeways going 95+mph.
What's easier, risking everyone else's life to get there from 2-10 minutes earlier (based on average commute time) or leaving 12 minutes earlier?
I do not get it.
I'm with Marcus; dumb. just dumb.
Senior Member
MotoGP
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 3,452
From: San Clemente, CA
You guys are missing the point. And after I bought a car ($60 for a straight bodied 1941 Chevy coupe) at 16 years old, I never rode a bike to school or work. I drove everywhere, and didn't even own a bicycle for about 10 years. Now I ride my bike (pedal powered version) almost daily, but only for recreation.
We have become a throw away society. People used to have their car engines rebuilt, until 4 valves per cylinder, balance shafts and variable valve timing put the cost of a rebuild through the roof. I'm not complaining about those advancements; I'm just saying that consumer items are not made to be repaired now-a-days.
It used to be, if your TV went out, you'd call a repairman who would come to your house and fix it. Or if you were brave, you could take all the "tubes" to the drugstore or supermarket and test them, then buy the new tube, plug it in and it's fixed. Now the TV gets junked, and you buy a new one. Just like about everything else in our lives... except Superhawks of course.
We have become a throw away society. People used to have their car engines rebuilt, until 4 valves per cylinder, balance shafts and variable valve timing put the cost of a rebuild through the roof. I'm not complaining about those advancements; I'm just saying that consumer items are not made to be repaired now-a-days.
It used to be, if your TV went out, you'd call a repairman who would come to your house and fix it. Or if you were brave, you could take all the "tubes" to the drugstore or supermarket and test them, then buy the new tube, plug it in and it's fixed. Now the TV gets junked, and you buy a new one. Just like about everything else in our lives... except Superhawks of course.
Senior Member
SuperSport
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 530
From: Central Fl.
And I walked to school three miles, uphill each way, when I was a kid.
C'mon, people don't change, only technology changes. Do we really want to return to the days of condenser/breaker point ignitions, inner-tube tires, non-sealed wheel bearings, and side valve motors?
In the good old days politicians were corrupt, police abused their powers and the neighborhood drunk was obnoxious.
The only thing I can change is me. And thats still a work in progress.
C'mon, people don't change, only technology changes. Do we really want to return to the days of condenser/breaker point ignitions, inner-tube tires, non-sealed wheel bearings, and side valve motors?
In the good old days politicians were corrupt, police abused their powers and the neighborhood drunk was obnoxious.
The only thing I can change is me. And thats still a work in progress.
Out of my mind, back in 5
MotoGP
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 6,109
From: Skurup, Sweden
Nope, i got it... And I agree, we have as a large become a throw away society...
I'm wired the other way around, mainly since my dad taught me a long time ago that throwing away perfectly useful things was a bad thing... So, I keep doing it the old fashioned way, repairing stuff, even though other people (my Gf included, at least sometimes) think I'm a bit wierd... I just hate to throw away useful stuff...
I'm wired the other way around, mainly since my dad taught me a long time ago that throwing away perfectly useful things was a bad thing... So, I keep doing it the old fashioned way, repairing stuff, even though other people (my Gf included, at least sometimes) think I'm a bit wierd... I just hate to throw away useful stuff...
2nd mouse gets the cheese
SuperBike
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 1,697
From: Beaverton, OR
Well at the moment "green" is just a fashion statement and people don't really think it through. For instance the whole hybrid car thing being good for the environment, maybe out the tail pipe. I think though the fact I am still using a 1965 bus with 500k+ miles is more environmentally friendly. Re-using is more green than consuming but you won't hear that because at the moment the "green" thing is just a marketing ploy to motivate stupid people to buy a product that they still throw away.
Senior Member
MotoGP
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 3,844
From: Gainesville FLA.
Unfortunately a lot of it has to do with the way things are manufactured these days. My father had his own business for about 20 years repairing electronics until the mid 90's. It got to the point where we could no longer sustain a profitable shop because people would say why would I pay that much to repair it when I could buy a new one for just a few dollars more? It also got to the point where companies would come out with the latest and greatest so fast whatever they owned was obsolete.
The other problem I have is that a larger population means a greater # of pediphiles so there is NO FREAKING way I'm letting my 10yr old daughter and 8yr old son ride their bike to school or any where else for that matter by themselves! Just another plus of our modern society but at least I can get on my wasteful computer and see where the known registered sex offenders are.
The other problem I have is that a larger population means a greater # of pediphiles so there is NO FREAKING way I'm letting my 10yr old daughter and 8yr old son ride their bike to school or any where else for that matter by themselves! Just another plus of our modern society but at least I can get on my wasteful computer and see where the known registered sex offenders are.
Senior Member
MotoGP
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 3,452
From: San Clemente, CA
Unfortunately a lot of it has to do with the way things are manufactured these days. My father had his own business for about 20 years repairing electronics until the mid 90's. It got to the point where we could no longer sustain a profitable shop because people would say why would I pay that much to repair it when I could buy a new one for just a few dollars more? It also got to the point where companies would come out with the latest and greatest so fast whatever they owned was obsolete.
The other problem I have is that a larger population means a greater # of pediphiles so there is NO FREAKING way I'm letting my 10yr old daughter and 8yr old son ride their bike to school or any where else for that matter by themselves! Just another plus of our modern society but at least I can get on my wasteful computer and see where the known registered sex offenders are.
The other problem I have is that a larger population means a greater # of pediphiles so there is NO FREAKING way I'm letting my 10yr old daughter and 8yr old son ride their bike to school or any where else for that matter by themselves! Just another plus of our modern society but at least I can get on my wasteful computer and see where the known registered sex offenders are.
The new iPhone5 is coming out next week, I believe. And probably 6 months after that the iPhone6 will be out. Our MacBook Pro is 6 years old, and one guy in the Apple store was talking like it was a Model T a couple of months ago.
As for the K through 5 school in our neighborhood, I see some kids riding bikes to school, but they are usually accompanied by a parent. Those pedophiles should be put away for life... they're not curable.
Senior Member
MotoGP
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 3,452
From: San Clemente, CA
The Feds and weirdo greenies will have to pry my incandescent light bulbs from my cold dead hands.
And how about the Chevy Volt? Its battery pack, one of the largest and most expensive components on the car, is made in Korea. I've got nothing against that, but just how many taxpayer dollars have gone into the Volt? And it is Government Motors after all. What about the American jobs?
And how about the Chevy Volt? Its battery pack, one of the largest and most expensive components on the car, is made in Korea. I've got nothing against that, but just how many taxpayer dollars have gone into the Volt? And it is Government Motors after all. What about the American jobs?
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
