The Green Thing 02/04/2012
In the line 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 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 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 blocks. 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 the state of Montana. 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 gasoline 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 streetcar or a 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? Please forward this on to another selfish old person who needs a lesson in conservation from a smart Alec young person. (This was posted here, having received it from an e-mail that was forwarded to me by my Dad.) 1 Comment  Not sure what this picture on the left is, but it's interesting! Anyway, going green is not as hard as it seems. There are many things we can do to go green in our daily lives. One thing we can do is just pick up after ourselves. At home, work, play, school, Church, event, or whatever. We can do so whenever, and wherever, too! If we all were to take responsibility for doing so on a daily basis, sure some garbage collector might lose a job, but less energy expended by that entity that runs the venue or building or facility is helping the planet, and ourselves out in the long run. In doing so, we can "lower our carbon footprint", -right? If they use less energy in doing so, that means that another entity or person that needs that energy can do so easier. Or, we become more energy efficient or energy independent, right? So it pays to pick up after yourself or to chip in to do so after your event, meeting, etc. has finished. Something our parents have been harping on us for generations, I'd bet! So what's old, -is new again! If you do not have an opportunity to do such, then you live in a cleaner world then most; -or, you need to find an opportunity to do so. Local Churches, Schools, Shelters, Soup-Kitchens, etc. are the obvious choice to offer one's services to help clean-up. Then there are Cities, Counties, States and Countries that can also provide opportunities to clean-up, or pitch in. If you would like to post your organization's offering of an opportunity to be of service to one's community, and to thus "Go Green!", then please feel free to do so within this blog. Thank you, Michael  If you are looking into the latest in Green Materials, then you need to get to PCBC in San Francisco, from June 22-24, 2011. I have found some pretty cool items there over the years, and now for you, -IT'S FREE!!! All you need to do is: send me an e-mail and I'll send you a free pass! If anything, simply post a comment to this article on my blog, and I'll send you a free pass! -I'd love to meet you there! Happy hunting!  While LEED Platinum is tough to meet for any project, while even just attaining LEED Gold is also not too easy of a task. Initial LEED meetings are showing that the PLaK House Project (Renderings Below) will be at the least LEED Gold, and who knows, if everything works out, maybe it can achieve LEED Platinum. We are certainly going to try, especially if the project can use a Rammed Earth Wall System, there might be enough points gained to reach the lofty Platinum level! While there are not many LEED Platinum homes in the L.A. City yet, we hope that this will be attainable with the given budget constraints. This could be that innovative solution that will show what our team can do, and help put us "on the map". Keep your eyes peeled to this Green Blog page with more progress reports as things are moving forward!  The Giants won the World Series and my two older boys and I went down to City Hall, next to the Bill Graham Auditorium to see the Victory Parade. Was it crowded! Marcus and Max at first were overwhelmed but we made it past the crowds to a spot where we could see a little bit. I think it was important for the boys to experience that together with me. This might not happen again in our lifetime, looking at the previous track record of the Giants! It was fun to go and experience, but we did return home before the speeches, as I didn't want the boys to get caught in the mad push once this thing was over. Otherwise, it made for a fun event. I am not sure if there was any green content to this whole shin-dig, but there was a lot of ORANGE and a lot of community spirit! A lot of people where high-5-ing just about anyone with an SF logo or Giants logo on them! - We actually saw an "A's" fan in a car driving a block off of Van Ness and did they get heckled! Check out the video we put together of the celebration. Repeat! Repeat! Repeat! San Francisco Giants - World Champions! p.s. - Please e-mail me if you would like to have a FREE ringtone of the Giants "Bye Bye Baby!" fight song! | AuthorMichael Williamson is the President of the San Francisco based Design / Materials / Build firm: Green Tek Haus. ArchivesMarch 2012 CategoriesAll |
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