Greener pastures?

I really wouldn’t describe myself as green…even on St. Patrick’s Day. Yeah, sure, I recycle and trip link and enjoy the literal fruits and veggies of Rob’s labors in the garden. I even have a few Energy Star appliances. But I don’t compost. I don’t pay more for products simply because they sport a special endorsement. I don’t drive a frighteningly fast Prius. I don’t have a chicken. I don’t like to be wasteful but I also don’t like creating more work for myself. So consider me sort of olive drab.

Not long ago, I enjoyed a great evening of conversation with two other couples. I can’t remember how we got there but the discussion turned to the homefront war efforts of World War I and II. Being the youngest by 20 years (not counting Rob), I could only ask questions but I was fascinated by what these older generations had to say about life during minimal resources.

Jan spoke about how so many products used to come in glass jars and bottles to be reused. Milk was delivered in glass and then returned to be refilled. After jam and jelly were consumed, the jars became drinking glasses. Bob talked about collecting scrap metal and tin cans and all other sorts of metals for regularly scheduled drives to give the materials to the government to make ships and weapons. Phyllis talked about silk pantyhose being replaced by make-up and eyebrow pencil (for the seam) applied to legs to simulate hose since silk was needed for parachutes. Dan reminisced about his annual pair of shoes and the shirts his mom made for him out of flour sacks. Apparently the really big bags of flour (like 50lbs) came in a variety of printed sacks: plaids for boys and floral for girls (flower flour sacks!). Women would pick their bag of flour based on what material print they wanted to work with for the year. Soon the entire family would be sporting matching shirts and dresses.

When the conversation turned to Victory Gardens – front and backyards and public parks that were planted with fruits, vegetables, and herbs to help reduce the pressure on the food supply – the similarities between the war years and now hit me. With only a tiny smirk I asked if urban families had chickens back then. (The answer was no.)

Although the motivation is very different, today’s Green Movement isn’t nearly the novel idea that I thought it was. As it turns out, my grandparents and their friends were much more “environmental” than anyone I know today. However, they wouldn’t have used that term. No, I suspect they would have called it “patriotic” and “doing our duty for the war effort.” While today's composters and organic farmers’ market shoppers are proud of their part in helping save the planet, I imagine the recycling veterans of the late teens and ‘40s were a bit more local in their scope and were proud to help to save our country.

Although I much prefer today’s motivation of being eco-aware, it did seem from the conversation that during the war days, the passion for and participation in the reduce-reusue-recycle effort was almost universal. Sadly – even as part of the problem – I can’t say the same today.