There was a story in the San Francisco Chronicle
that of course I forgot to save
But it was about a lady who lived in the 'good old days'
When a century was born and a century had died
And about these 'good old days' the old lady replied
"Why they were just a lot of people doing the best they could"
"Just a lot of people doing the best they could"
And then the lady said that they did it, "pretty up and walking good"
- John Stewart, Mother Country
I just finished reading a series of books that mainly covered the World War Two era and the thing I noticed most was how the population of the USA supported the war effort in a very impressive way. Whole industries changed over from making luxury cars and consumer goods to building tanks and suchlike. There was a national speed limit to reduce the use of fossil fuels and rubber. People recycled their tin foil and tin cans to enable the building of fighters and Liberty ships...
Our parents and grandparents were very "can do" generations...
Sadly the same can not be said for those running the show these days who, while using the "Can do" sales pitch, just can't seem to get past the "Can't really" stage and we the people who should be telling our elected officials to get to doing don't seem to have the right stuff to follow through and just maybe cut back on our use of fossil fuels and needless toys because as a whole we simply cannot be bothered.
Sad that...
For us boat folk, a simple matter of sailing more and motoring less becomes part of the solution... So does swapping down to a smaller outboard for your dinghy and the bonus of running a 5HP over a 15HP will save you big bucks in the process. If you already have downsized horsepower you might want to switch from two stroke to four stroke (or maybe even "oar" strokes) which will more than double your miles to gallon while cutting your personal pollution down by 90%.
The point is there are a whole lot of "can do" solutions that are neither painful, expensive, or even hassle making, and well within our abilities.
Sadly, I don't have high hopes that the right stuff our parents and grandparents took for granted exists anymore but some times I hope...
"Just a lot of people doing the best they could"
And then the lady said that they did it, "pretty up and walking good"
