briggie
30-03-2011, 12:09
In the line at the supermarket, the cashier told the older woman that plastic bags
weren’t good for the environment. The woman apologized to her and explained,
“We didn’t have the green thing back in my day.”
That’s right, they didn’t have the green thing in her day. Back then,
they returned their milk bottles to the milk man, Coke bottles and beer bottles to
the shop. The shop sent them back to the factory to be washed and sterilized and
refilled, using the same bottles over and over. So they really were recycled.
But they didn’t have the green thing back in her day.
In her day, they walked up stairs, because they didn’t have an
escalator in every shop and office building. They walked to the local shops
and didn’t climb into a 300-horsepower machine every
time they had to go anywhere.
But she’s right. They didn’t have the green thing in her day.
Back then, they washed the baby’s nappies 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,
not a screen the size of a cinema. In the kitchen, they
blended and stirred by hand because they didn’t have electric
machines to do everything for you. When they packed a fragile item
to send in the post, they used wadded up newspaper to cushion it, not
styrofoam or plastic bubble wrap.
Back then, they didn’t fire up an engine and burn fuel 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 tap when they were thirsty, instead of using a
a plastic bottle every time they had a drink of water. They
refilled 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 bus and kids rode their bikes to
school or rode the school bus, instead of turning their mums 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. And they
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 they didn't have the green thing back then!
weren’t good for the environment. The woman apologized to her and explained,
“We didn’t have the green thing back in my day.”
That’s right, they didn’t have the green thing in her day. Back then,
they returned their milk bottles to the milk man, Coke bottles and beer bottles to
the shop. The shop sent them back to the factory to be washed and sterilized and
refilled, using the same bottles over and over. So they really were recycled.
But they didn’t have the green thing back in her day.
In her day, they walked up stairs, because they didn’t have an
escalator in every shop and office building. They walked to the local shops
and didn’t climb into a 300-horsepower machine every
time they had to go anywhere.
But she’s right. They didn’t have the green thing in her day.
Back then, they washed the baby’s nappies 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,
not a screen the size of a cinema. In the kitchen, they
blended and stirred by hand because they didn’t have electric
machines to do everything for you. When they packed a fragile item
to send in the post, they used wadded up newspaper to cushion it, not
styrofoam or plastic bubble wrap.
Back then, they didn’t fire up an engine and burn fuel 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 tap when they were thirsty, instead of using a
a plastic bottle every time they had a drink of water. They
refilled 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 bus and kids rode their bikes to
school or rode the school bus, instead of turning their mums 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. And they
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 they didn't have the green thing back then!