The Green Grandma - All Comments

re: Thankful, Mindful, Hopeful: Light in the Dark of Winter

green_grandma — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 03:56:45 GMT

Red, White and Green Economy

Minnesota boy Thomas Friedman was recently interviewed on WCCO-TV by local green maven Don Shelby. His text was a green economy. He points out that responding to climate change can actually be good for business as well as for the planet: green technology provides jobs and income, green innovation can save individuals and businesses operating expenses — and, he says at last, with a little shudder, what’s the alternative? You can read a transcript of the interview at wcco.com/.../local_story_072091716.html

Really, what’s the alternative? When we moved from gaslight to electricity some homeowners were sure electrical lighting wouldn’t “last”; my old house still has the gas pipes in the walls, so that once the electricity “fad” was over the owner could go back to good old reliable gas: of course, that never happened.

My great-grandparents loved horses, and to pay for their small racing habit also raised animals for farm service. During the depression horses pulled machinery they couldn’t afford to haul with their repossessed tractor; during the rationing days of the war, they found they could make use of a few supernumerary horses alongside their gasoline ration and feed the nation.

Of course, not all the resourcefulness of our ancestors worked out well for them or us: the whale oil thing has had an awful downside, as has abundant coal for industrial development. We might want to think again before we go wild over asbestos and lead. But a mindset that called us to practice care and moderation in consumption could leave us richer in many ways.

Using only what we can replace or making up for what we use up in one aspect of our lives by restoring another was a lost state of mind for many years. Planting a tree that won’t bloom or bear fruit in your own lifetime can make up in part for that roadtrip to Phoenix; using a pail of greywater from your shower in the petunia beds can make up in part for the swimming pool filled courtesy of the Hoover Dam; refusing a second plastic or paper bag at the store will not just save a little planet for the next generation - it will give you a sense of pride and participation in that important project of saving the Earth for our posterity.

We humans have a genius for both self-destruction and self-sacrifice. If we can exercise our creative impulses as often as we do our selfish genes, we can do great things - and our children’s children and children without a jot of our DNA in their cells will be better for it.

And so will we.

re: Our Common Future: From One Earth to One World

Lynn — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 20:44:11 GMT

Catalpa trees with their long cigar seed pods are a memory I share (Chicago born). Baby Boomers finally have the time to participate fully in meaningful issues. We take responsibility seriously, (particularly if we are from the midwest). Keep writing!!!

re: Commuting Green

greengirl3 — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 02:28:48 GMT

I think it's great for you to take the bus. Even if you don't save much carbon, it's like a spiritual exercise that focuses you on the vulnerable young generation.

And it's nice that a grandmother is able to admit that her generation didn't do everything it could have. I believe your grandbaby WILL ask what you did: my friends and I can't believe that our grandparents are so oblivious to the fact that we are paying our student loans AND their social security.

It makes me mad (and I love my mom and her mom a lot) every time I see older people refuse to recycle because it's too much work, or buy a big sedan because they've 'earned' it -

You rock, Green Grandma.

and I looked up "hereditiments" and it's an archaic word - just means inheritance or bequest, like for an heir. It's not necessarily a green idea, but it's cool to think of a new word - or an old one - for what our elders will leave us when they leave us behind.

re: Green Grandma

Rosalind — Wed, 16 May 2007 03:59:49 GMT

So much of what grandparents do for kids seems to have to do with food and buying stuff. Couldn't they teach them to do things or make things?

re: Green Grandma

Olivia — Tue, 15 May 2007 20:21:23 GMT

Grandparents can make a big difference. When they criticize what parents are trying to do, they hurt their efforts to be eco conscious. If they want to help raise green children, they could avoid having unhealthy foods -- processed snacks and sugared cereal -- in their homes when grandkids visit. They can give gifts of organic cotton or for healthy entertainment and public transportation passcards. In some ways, their good influence is stronger than that of parents -- especially for teens.