Thomas wrote:I'm giving a speech to persuade people not to buy disposable stuff, and instead buy stuff that lasts.
Abstract: America is transitioning into a disposable society. It seems like everything we buy, will either be thrown away or replaced within 5 years. Some of the most obvious things are plastic water bottles, plastic toys, and even things no one would dream of keeping such as diapers or tissues. These products are not designed to last or to keep, but as little as twenty years ago, they were. People used to use canteens which they just refilled with water, toys were made out of metal and were meant to be passed down, diapers were made of cloth and meant to be washed, and people used to blow their noses on handkerchiefs.
Some examples:
canteens / plastic water bottles
cloth diapers / disposable diapers
metal children's toys / plastic toys
re-used glass milk contains / plastic milk containers
handkerchiefs / tissues
Some reasons:
save money in the long run
less trash (better for environment)
less jobs to China which makes this crap
Some statistics:
- Americans' total yearly waste would fill a convoy of garbage trucks long enough to wrap around the Earth six times and reach halfway to the moon. It is estimated that this year 222 million tons of waste will be generated by Americans.
- Since 1950, people in the United States have used more resources than any generation who ever lived before them. Each American individual uses up 20 tons of basic raw materials annually.
There was a joke or something that I recently read about someone criticizing an old person for not use a new "re-usable" bag, claiming the previous generation is ruining the world for them. I thought I read it on this forum, but I can't find it. Does anyone know what I'm talking about and can share that?
Does anyone have more examples, reasons, or statistics?
Thanks in advance,
Thomas
is this it?
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' 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?
