The Green Thing

In 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 do 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 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.
But that old lady is right; we didn't have the green thing back in our day. 

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.
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 plastic bottle every time we had a drink of water.
But we didn't have the green thing back then.

adapted from anonymous