General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsOn behalf of my generation of grandparents to all of you, I want to apologize.
On behalf of my generation of grandparents to all of you, I want to apologize.
I am sorry we used up all the oil. It took a million years for those layers of carbon goo to form under the Earths crust and we used up most of it in a geological instant. No doubt there will be some left and perhaps you can get around the fact that what remains is already distant, dirty, and dangerous, but the low-hanging fruit will be long-gone by the time you are my age. We took it all.
Theres no excuse, really. We are gas-hogs, plain and simple. We got hooked on faster-bigger-more and charged right over the carrying capacity of the planet. Oil made it possible.
Machines are our slaves and coal, oil, and gas are their food. They helped us grow so much of our own food that we could overpopulate the Earth. We could ship stuff and travel all over the globe, and still have enough fuel left to drive home alone in trucks in time to watch Monday Night Football.
......................
http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/a_letter_of_apology_to_my_granddaughter_20120328/?ln
bart95
(488 posts)well, at least we did it in style
all kidding aside, I thought the late 1990's chevy suburban The largest sport utility vehicle on the planet ad campaign was despicable, and would inevitably lead us to the high gas prices we have today, as well as your very legitimate concerns, which i have always shared
el_bryanto
(11,804 posts)Doesn't the author realize that our generation, based on the knowledge of the time, would do the same thing. Possibly worse as we have even less sense of community than those who ran things in the 50s and 60s did?
Bryant
RadiationTherapy
(5,818 posts)The point is moot, though, because in the context of the time and place they were being marketed to, it was unlikely there was anything particular about them that made them more susceptible to the techniques that encourage consumerism. It was a confluence of world domination of production by the US, marketing consumerism, and the largest generation this nation had known.
slackmaster
(60,567 posts)pinboy3niner
(53,339 posts)jwirr
(39,215 posts)he is not doing much to change it so I said "watch what you say because in 20+ years you will be saying the same thing to your children". I too am sorry it has gotten this bad. I would just like to go back to Oct. 1941 when I was born and try again. Unfortunately that is not an option.