3 ms·

I remember getting it in the late 70s and early 80s. More in the 80s but that was also when i relocated to city life. Before that we were a commune and there wa

I remember getting it in the late 70s and early 80s. More in the 80s but that was also when i relocated to city life. Before that we were a commune and there was always "mother earth news" readers (or writers) around, so I got exposed the very flakiest of the cutting edge of progressive thought.

eesmith 2y ago
I have a very tough time finding any discussion of the topic before the late 1980s. Here's one from 1989, at https://archive.org/details/homefamilyguidep0000unse/page/20/mode/2up?q=%22mother+earth+news%22+%22plastic+or+paper%22 https://archive.org/details/homefamilyguidep0000unse/page/20... , recommending "Refuse plastic bags when shopping. Take along your own cloth or string bag or a backpack." Here's another from 1989, at https://archive.org/details/envisioningsusta0000lest/page/260/mode/2up?q=%22mother+earth+news%22+%22plastic+or+paper%22 https://archive.org/details/envisioningsusta0000lest/page/26... , saying "Not only do plastic bags utilize a nonrenewable resource that is better used for other purposes, but people cast them into nature, marring the landscape for many years." Archive.org has few materials from Mother Earth News. None of the handful have anything about the plastic-or-paper bag topic. I did find this 1984 Mother Earth News piece at https://archive.org/details/livingonless00hend/page/234/mode/2up?q=plastic https://archive.org/details/livingonless00hend/page/234/mode... which suggests the reader audience is not that into plastic: "A young mother on a West Virginia homestead felt that in her environmentally committed life there was no place for nonessential plastic. It seemed right to her that her firstborn should be delivered naturally, thrive on mother's milk, and wear plain cotton diapers. The baby's dresses were fashioned from simple patterns and natural fibers. Everything about this little one seemed part of a larger harmony— everything except the plastic pants that had to be used over her diapers." In any case, you said you got "lectures in school from people who called themselves environmental activists", which seems very unlikely given my memories of the 1970s of only having paper bags available. Your overall point is that 'the same people are saying the exact opposite; without ever having been "wrong" somehow' but now it looks like you are specifically talking about 'the very flakiest of the cutting edge of progressive thought'? Why would you expect anything else from flakiness?

eesmith 2y ago

I have a very tough time finding any discussion of the topic before the late 1980s. Here's one from 1989, at https://archive.org/details/homefamilyguidep0000unse/page/20/mode/2up?q=%22mother+earth+news%22+%22plastic+or+paper%22 https://archive.org/details/homefamilyguidep0000unse/page/20... , recommending "Refuse plastic bags when shopping. Take along your own cloth or string bag or a backpack." Here's another from 1989, at https://archive.org/details/envisioningsusta0000lest/page/260/mode/2up?q=%22mother+earth+news%22+%22plastic+or+paper%22 https://archive.org/details/envisioningsusta0000lest/page/26... , saying "Not only do plastic bags utilize a nonrenewable resource that is better used for other purposes, but people cast them into nature, marring the landscape for many years." Archive.org has few materials from Mother Earth News. None of the handful have anything about the plastic-or-paper bag topic. I did find this 1984 Mother Earth News piece at https://archive.org/details/livingonless00hend/page/234/mode/2up?q=plastic https://archive.org/details/livingonless00hend/page/234/mode... which suggests the reader audience is not that into plastic: "A young mother on a West Virginia homestead felt that in her environmentally committed life there was no place for nonessential plastic. It seemed right to her that her firstborn should be delivered naturally, thrive on mother's milk, and wear plain cotton diapers. The baby's dresses were fashioned from simple patterns and natural fibers. Everything about this little one seemed part of a larger harmony— everything except the plastic pants that had to be used over her diapers." In any case, you said you got "lectures in school from people who called themselves environmental activists", which seems very unlikely given my memories of the 1970s of only having paper bags available. Your overall point is that 'the same people are saying the exact opposite; without ever having been "wrong" somehow' but now it looks like you are specifically talking about 'the very flakiest of the cutting edge of progressive thought'? Why would you expect anything else from flakiness?