Are You Doing the Green Thing?
There is an email going around (again) with the phrase "We didn't have the green thing back in my day." It turns out that at least one website identifies the article as coming from Jim Knowles, editor of the San Leandro Times. If you do an Internet search on that phrase, you will find it is on the Internet over 4 million times. I found it on web sites, blogs, forums, and all kinds of places.
The article from The National Senior Conservation Corps website starts out with a woman in line at a store and the cashier was explaining that plastic bags weren't good for the environment. The woman explains, "We didn't have the green thing back in my day." This sets the tone for the entire piece. The narrator of the article tells how in "her" day they returned milk bottles, Coke bottles, and beer bottles to the store where they were prepared to be used again creating a recycling process. And then it states, "But they didn't have the green thing back her day."
The article gave other examples of how things were different "back then" and it sounds like people were more eco-friendly then than now. They only had one TV in the house, reused newspapers as packaging (not Styrofoam "peanuts"), and cut the lawn with a mower that did not have an engine.
It would seem we are really not so different than people of the past, but we do have different perspectives. We now realize how important our environment is and the kinds of mistakes we have been making. On the one hand, we have materials like plastics that are used for everything. On the other hand, we have to think about how we can use and re-use those same materials. Our landfills can only take so much.
This story or information or musing has struck a chord in many people. People are nostalgic for a past that seemed simpler and better than today. In some of the posts where people made comments, it was clear that some agreed with the ideas expressed and others did not. I would not be surprised if many of the people who agreed were over 70 and those who disagreed were under 30. I could not tell who was what age and this is my opinion not fact.
The main thought of the article is that they didn't have the "Green Thing" back in her day. Do a little research and you will find that concerns about the environment in America have been around since the 1830s. In America, the National Park Service was established in 1916, but the idea of preserving parts of our country started many years before that. The exploratory photographers of the 1900s started much of this as they took pictures of the West and all its wonders.
It could even be argued that concern for the earth has been around as long as people have. Look into the quotes of Native Americans, for example, and you will see concern for the earth and all that is on or in it. Other cultures around the globe care about their environment. The Bible has many passages about the earth and the fact that people should use it wisely and not consume it. Many Jewish laws were written to protect the people, animals, and land because God knew humans needed direction.
Leave a comment about your thoughts on this article. Do you think the "green thing" has been around a while or is this a new concept? It would be interesting to get the opinions of people who are concerned enough about the environment to read a blog about green ideas and then make comments.
The article from The National Senior Conservation Corps website starts out with a woman in line at a store and the cashier was explaining that plastic bags weren't good for the environment. The woman explains, "We didn't have the green thing back in my day." This sets the tone for the entire piece. The narrator of the article tells how in "her" day they returned milk bottles, Coke bottles, and beer bottles to the store where they were prepared to be used again creating a recycling process. And then it states, "But they didn't have the green thing back her day."
The article gave other examples of how things were different "back then" and it sounds like people were more eco-friendly then than now. They only had one TV in the house, reused newspapers as packaging (not Styrofoam "peanuts"), and cut the lawn with a mower that did not have an engine.
It would seem we are really not so different than people of the past, but we do have different perspectives. We now realize how important our environment is and the kinds of mistakes we have been making. On the one hand, we have materials like plastics that are used for everything. On the other hand, we have to think about how we can use and re-use those same materials. Our landfills can only take so much.
This story or information or musing has struck a chord in many people. People are nostalgic for a past that seemed simpler and better than today. In some of the posts where people made comments, it was clear that some agreed with the ideas expressed and others did not. I would not be surprised if many of the people who agreed were over 70 and those who disagreed were under 30. I could not tell who was what age and this is my opinion not fact.
The main thought of the article is that they didn't have the "Green Thing" back in her day. Do a little research and you will find that concerns about the environment in America have been around since the 1830s. In America, the National Park Service was established in 1916, but the idea of preserving parts of our country started many years before that. The exploratory photographers of the 1900s started much of this as they took pictures of the West and all its wonders.
It could even be argued that concern for the earth has been around as long as people have. Look into the quotes of Native Americans, for example, and you will see concern for the earth and all that is on or in it. Other cultures around the globe care about their environment. The Bible has many passages about the earth and the fact that people should use it wisely and not consume it. Many Jewish laws were written to protect the people, animals, and land because God knew humans needed direction.
Leave a comment about your thoughts on this article. Do you think the "green thing" has been around a while or is this a new concept? It would be interesting to get the opinions of people who are concerned enough about the environment to read a blog about green ideas and then make comments.
