The young Check-out cashier suggested to a much older lady that she should bring her own grocery bags, because plastic bags are not good for the environment. The woman apologised to the young girl and then sighed, “We didn’t have this ‘green thing’ back in my earlier days.” The young clerk responded, “That’s our problem today. You folk didn’t do enough to save our environment for future generations.” The older woman proceeded to give the young cashier examples of how the older generations were far more caring of the environment that those of today.

The Environment is by far one of the issues most of us take for granted. What most of us forget that by being Green or environmentally aware ourselves is only the beginning; we often overlook the need to influence and affect people around us to be aware and lead environmentally mindful lifestyles. We can all do better to care for God’s creation.

Listen to the episode below, or continue on to read the transcript.

Episode Transcript:

At a supermarket, the young Check-out cashier suggested to a much older lady that she should bring her own grocery bags, because plastic bags are not good for the environment. The woman apologised to the young girl and then sighed, “We didn’t have this ‘green thing’ back in my earlier days.” The young clerk responded, “That’s our problem today. You folk didn’t do enough to save our environment for future generations.”

The older lady said “Ahh yes you’re right — our generation didn’t have the “green thing” in its day.” She sighed then continued: Back then, we returned milk bottles, lemonade bottles and beer bottles to the shops. The shops then sent them back to the plant to be washed, sterilised and refilled, so those same bottles were used over and over, thus really were recycled. But we didn’t have the “green thing” back in our day. Grocery stores put our groceries into brown paper bags that we reused for numerous things. Most memorable was the use of brown paper bags as book covers for our schoolbooks. This was to ensure that public property, the books provided for our use by the school, were not defaced by our scribblings. Then we were able to personalise our books on their brown paper bag/covers. But too bad we didn’t do the “green thing” back then.

I remember how we walked up stairs because we didn’t have an escalator in every store or office building; walked to the grocery store and didn’t climb into a 300-horsepower machine every time we had to go 200 metres. . . . But you are right. We didn’t have the “green thing” in our day.

Back then we washed the baby’s nappies because we didn’t have the throw away kind. We dried clothes on a line, not in an energy-gobbling machine burning up 230 volts. Wind & solar power really did dry our clothes back in our days. Kids got hand-me-down clothes from their brothers or sisters, not always brand-new clothing. But young lady, you’re right; we didn’t have the “green thing” back in our day.

Back then we had one radio, in the house — not a TV in every room. And if anyone did own a TV, it had a small screen the size of a handkerchief, not a screen the size of a football pitch. When cooking 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 by post, we used layers of old newspaper to cushion it, not styrofoam or plastic bubble wrap.

Back then, we didn’t fire up an engine and burn petrol 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 you’re right; we didn’t have the “green thing” back then.

We drank from a tap or 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 blade 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 bus and kids rode bikes to school or walked instead of turning their mothers into a 24-hour taxi service in the family’s expensive car or van, which cost what a whole house did before the “green thing”. Oh, and 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 computerised gadget to receive a signal beamed from satellites 23,000 kilometres out in space in order to find the nearest park. But it so sad this current generation laments how wasteful we old folks were just because we didn’t have the “green thing” back then?

The Environment is by far one of the issues most of us take for granted. What most of us forget that by being Green or environmentally aware ourselves is only the beginning; we often overlook the need to influence and affect people around us to be aware and lead environmentally mindful lifestyles.

We can all do better. In Scripture, Jesus says: Look at the birds in the sky; they do not sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are not you more important than they?

Look for the Silver Lining.

This is Terry Lees

[Music: This Land is Your Land – The Seekers]