The Wasteful Generation.

[blaine]

Some perspectives on how the older generation wasn’t as green as today’s generation

How Wasteful the Older Generation Was ...


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


He was right, that generation didn’t have the green thing in its day.


Back then, they returned their 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 they didn’t have the green thing back in that customer's day.

In her day, they walked up stairs, because they didn’t have an escalator in every store and office building. They walked to the grocery store and didn’t climb into a 300-horsepower machine
every time they had to go two blocks.

But she was right. They didn’t have the green thing in her day.

Back then, they washed the baby’s diapers 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 the size of a handkerchief, not a screen the size of the state of Montana. In the kitchen, they blended and stirred by hand because they didn’t have electric machines to do everything for you.
When they packaged a fragile item to send in the mail, they used a wadded up old newspaper to cushion it, not styrofoam or plastic bubble wrap.

Back then, they didn’t fire up an engine and burn gasoline 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 fountain when they were thirsty instead of using a cup or a plastic bottle every time they had a drink of water. They refilled their writing 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 streetcar or a bus and kids rode their bikes to school or rode the school bus instead of turning their moms 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 isn't it sad the current generation laments how wasteful the old folks were just because they didn't have the green thing back then?
:cool:

[Dickey]

I wouldn't venture it's all bad.

On the flip side, it used to be common-place to pour your old motor oil out on a dirt road to keep the dust down.

A working professional absolutely required a team to sort and manage the various calendar appointments and data transfers (do most companies even have a mailroom anymore?). Scads of paper were burned through in order to make minor adjustments to blue prints and the like, not to mention the chemicals involved with such items too. While things were slower paced and perhaps a bit less stressful on the employee, customers would simply have to accept that getting a specification change would take weeks to determine feasibility and scope much less be implemented.

Filerooms that were once measured in thousands of cubic feet and millions of scraps of paper can now be found on a piece of silicon the size of your pinky nail...and you can search them for particular data near instantaneously.

That 300hp machine referenced above likely gets more than twice the mileage of its equivalent from 40 years ago. I know that with even a 2 liter four cylinder, it isn't unheard of to bump 300hp/200tq and still manage 30mpg on a road trip if you keep your foot out of it. Granted, they don't sound like real cars by any stretch of the imagination. That modern monster also gets to operating temperature faster and cuts noxious emissions down dramatically. Not to mention how much safer it is now that crumple zones are located in places other than passengers.

The milk and soda bottle thing is a step back, but I'm thankful at least not to find either in a bag on the shelf when I go to the store.

Some battery operated mowers navigate themselves and even the ones you have to push are extremely quiet. Not even an option back when reel type mowers were the big players on the scene.

My hassle with the current batch of curmudgeons to be is that they aren't willing to give anything up until someone takes it from them.

[alanmcorcoran]

They sure recycle the hell out of the "Classic Rock" from the sixties and seventies. Many of my contemporaries don't know anything recorded after 1978, yet still insist that their 40 year old playlist is superior.

On a more serious note: like it or not, the "green" thing was absolutely a Boomer invention. Environmentalism was hatched in the latter part of the sixties, by many of the same folks that protested the Vietnam war. The first Earth Day was in 1970. Things like the EPA (1970) Clean Air act (1963, 1970), Clean Water Act (1977), South Coast Air Quality District (1976), etc - all Boomer driven.

I live in Southern California and I can personally attest that both the water and the air are less polluted now than they were in the seventies. And we have a hell of a lot more cars now than we did then.

[jonathan180iq]

I used a reel mower for over a year because I'm a tree-huggin' lefty and I can honestly say that using a power mower is more efficient for cutting my lawn @ .74 acres.

Using the reel mower, I have to overlap myself 2-3 times in order to get a satisfactory cut. And with the power mower, I can do the whole yard in one hour, sometimes less, and one gallon of gas will last me 2-4 cuts, depending on the quality of oil and spark plug that I have.

Also, with a reel mower, If I don't mow once per week at minimum, the yard gets too thick to cut. And honestly, mid summer, when growth is at its highest level, I have to cut twice per week... That makes like 8 times per month using a reel mower in July... As opposed to 3-4 times with the power mower.

I balance this out by not using central A/C in the summer. We have a central house fan, like the ones that were big in the 70s, and a handful of oscillating fans to keep cool. In the winter we just rely on the gas fireplace to heat the whole house. Surprisingly, it works.

I reuse crap when I can and if it weren't for my wife wanting clothes to smell like sunshine and raindance waterlillies everytime they came out of the dryer, I would proudly hang them out to dry instead.

[Dickey]

I have a question about your reel mower. I'm actually considering one since my regular go to mower has some issues and because most of my property is wooded and the actual area with grass to mow is less than 1/2 acre. I've seen quite a few reel types that can go for upwards of $200 and claim to do fairly well. I've never used one, do they rely on their mass and your pushing alone to create enough torque to spin the blades? Are they geared in some manner so the blades spin faster than the mower is pushed?

[Water Warrior 2]

The reel mower I used as a kid was geared to spin the blades faster than the wheel rotation. That was all fine and dandy assumimg you were not in real tight corners and had to continually stop and start. Also when dear old dad won't let you put a few drops of oil in the required spots thing get really hard to push and turn.
Would I go back to the old days.............not a chance. Do I like everything about today's world.....no way but what is the alternative ? I may like old rock an roll but only on a modern sound system. Are newer cars any less polluting in their manner of manufacture than old metal and more metal cars of yesteryear ? I can't answer that question because there are just too many variables involved. I do know that a newer vehicle uses less fuel, burns cleaner and is miles ahead of older vehicles in terms of safety and comfort. Modern vehicles are also made from materials that have been or will be recycled. That is great but then something I read a while back said recycling sometimes costs more than starting from scratch with new materials.
Ho hum, time to go to starbucks, have a coffee and throw the cup in the garbage.

[5th_bike]

I used to have one too.

Originally Posted by Dickey

do they rely on their mass and your pushing alone to create enough torque to spin the blades?

Yes.

Originally Posted by Dickey

Are they geared in some manner so the blades spin faster than the mower is pushed?

With actual gears indeed. And a ratchet so when you pull back, the gears are not affected and the blade keeps its spin.

Originally Posted by blaine

And the TV had a small screen the size of a handkerchief, not a screen the size of the state of Montana.

And what TV uses less energy... ? :roll:

[jonathan180iq]

Originally Posted by Dickey

I have a question about your reel mower. I'm actually considering one since my regular go to mower has some issues and because most of my property is wooded and the actual area with grass to mow is less than 1/2 acre. I've seen quite a few reel types that can go for upwards of $200 and claim to do fairly well. I've never used one, do they rely on their mass and your pushing alone to create enough torque to spin the blades? Are they geared in some manner so the blades spin faster than the mower is pushed?

You can't go wrong with the Scotts that is sold at Home Depot and another brand that comes highly recommended is Brill. Their Razorcut line is about as good as it gets in the reel mower world.

Don't buy anything less than 19-20". Even with a 20 inch mower, you're lucky to get 18" of solid cut. There is always a section on the end where the blade cannot contact the cutting surface as tight as it can in the middle. So, if you buy a 16", you're only really using a 14" cutting swath, with is just barely better than mowing your lawn with scissors.

They have gears and cogs inside the wheels that spin the 5 blades much faster than walking speed. Anything in the yard over 3 inches will not get cut, simply because of the geometry involved in the way those things are built. Keep an even steady walking speed to increase the uniformity of your cut. (You can even run up hills if you want. Trust me, the blades can keep up.)

If you only have about 1/2 an acre to cut and the grass is a pretty good quality blade then you will really enjoy it. I love the experience of cutting with a real mower. It's very relaxed and even fun. You can have a conversation with your neighbors while you're mowing or even take a phone call and never have to worry about shooting wooden projectiles at your kids playing on the playground...

However, much larger than 1/2 and acre and you're going to spend maybe 3-6 hours per week cutting your grass. And, to be honest, as much as I love being outside, I don't want to spend 6 hours cutting grass.

[lucas1986]

OK,it is very Interesting?very nice