The Green Thing

In the queue at the store, the cashier told an older woman that she should bring her own grocery bags 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. Your generation did not care enough to save our environment.”

He 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 shop. The shop 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 hundred yards.

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 the clothes. Kids got hand-me-down clothes from their brothers or sisters, not always brand-new clothing. But that old 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 Yorkshire. 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 a wadded up 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 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 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?

Celebrate Ability Tue 23 Aug, 10am to 4pm at Energise

Energise is hosting a one-day festival of disability sport, offering citizens of York the opportunity to come and try out a wide variety of disability and inclusive sports. Activities include Paralympic sports such as swimming, athletics, boccia, football, goalball, wheelchair basketball. There are also sessions for the other accessible forms of physical activity that are available within the City of York including wheelchair rugby, danceability, new age kurling, and gymability. Residents wanting to try climbing, swimming and the gym will need to book their place directly with Energise Tel:01904 552424. The day will feature special guest Alan Rayment, Paratriathlete, who hopes to represent Great Britain when his event is included in the Paralympic programme for the first time in 2016. The day will also celebrate Energise successfully gaining reaccreditation of the Inclusive Fitness Initiative for their gym. You don’t need to have a disability to take part, the event is open to anyone who would like to try out a disability sport. For more information contact Simon Kumar on 01904 553440.

Union Terrace update

A Focus newsletter is currently being delivered by Guildhall Ward Liberal Democrats. Amongst the stories contained in it is a request for objectors to assemble outside the Guildhall at 5:00pm on Thursday 4th August (the evening that the Council is debating the Union Terrace sale).
Guildhall Liberal Democrats have also set up a Twitter account to provide daily updates on their campaigns @LibDemsYork.
Some news on the compromise proposal which would see parking retained on the site with additional accommodation for St Johns also provided in what might be a 3 storey development. We understand the University have indicated that, provided there was some additional development permitted on their existing campus, then this idea might work for them.
Written confirmation has been provided by myself and Andrew Waller that neither of us requested any “report” into the future of the Union Terrace site when we held power in the City. We have indicated that our statements can be made public. A senior official has confirmed that our understanding of the sequence of events is correct.
We now await the publication of evidence to support the claim made by James Alexander/Julie Gunnell that we “commissioned” a Union Terrace report.