Category | Arts & Living

Want to go green? Ask grandma

Published on October 7, 2008 by The Sentinel

    If you’re having trouble going green, try visiting Grandma’s house first.

    I know what you’re thinking: going green is a new trend. What could Grandma, who doesn’t even surf the Net, possibly know about things green? As sure as she walked ten miles uphill to school (both ways), she knows more than we do about conserving and repurposing.

    It took stumbling onto a Web site full of World War II propaganda posters for me to realize that not only are our grandparents the Greatest Generation, they are also the original Green Generation.

    The parallels between today and the Great Depression of the 1930’s are startling. Both eras saw a drawn-out war, high unemployment, failing banks and a limited supply of resources. And interestingly enough, our grandparents saw the same proposed solutions then that we’re seeing today, only in a slightly different guise. For example, a World War II-era propaganda poster created for Douglas Aircraft Company features a Hitler likeness made up of pencils, paper clips, washers and various other scrap metals is emblazoned with the words, “Waste helps the enemy. Conserve material.” Compare that to today’s “Reduce. Reuse. Recycle.”

    An Office of War Information poster shows a cheerful mother and daughter busy working in the kitchen in front of pantry shelves heavy with colorful canned fruits and vegetables. The little girl, sunshine-blonde and All-American, asks, “We’ll have lots to eat this winter, won’t we, Mother?” And the caption proclaims, “Grow your own. Can your own.” Compare World War II Victory Gardens to today’s Local  Food Movement. Community gardens are sprouting up all over urban areas, and even apartment dwellers are finding space for micro-gardens on tiny balconies and window boxes.

    The poster that lead to this whole “aha moment” shows a businessman alone in his convertible save for a suspicious ghostly mustachioed form in his driver’s seat. “When you ride ALONE you ride with Hitler!” the poster declares.  “Join a Car-Sharing Club today!” Compare that to the Clean Air Campaign’s RideSmart initiative, a program that connects drivers with potential carpool partners.

    We can all take a cue from Grandma when it comes to going green. If your Grandma is anything like mine, she keeps a kitchen garden. Ask her for tips you won’t find in the gardening guides, such as scaring birds away from fragile new buds with strategically placed aluminum cans. If she gardens, she probably keeps a compost pile. Instead of sending kitchen waste to the landfill, composting allows a savvy gardener to add nutrients to soil without investing in expensive fertilizers. Food will be larger, prettier, cheaper and tastier.

    Grandma may also hang her clothes out on a clothesline. If so, she’s smart; electric dryers can use up to 4,000 watts in just an hour. Letting a few loads of laundry dry in the sunshine not only makes your clothes smell great but saves on your power bill. And, if we’ve ever been on a two-lane road behind Grandma, we know she won’t be qualifying in a Formula 1 trial anytime soon.  But she’s on to something: quick acceleration and hard braking use more gas than maintaining a consistent speed. Not to get all technical, because Grandma probably won’t, but driving over 40 miles per hour increases wind resistance, which means you get fewer miles per gallon.

    An economic Depression and an unrelenting war forced Grandma to conserve. Sound familiar? When the rising costs of food and gas have got you down and you’re considering green solutions, call Grandma. She’s been waiting to hear from you.