Days 50-52: How green were our ancestors anyway?

I just took a couple of "highly scientific" quizzes online to find out how "crunchy" I am.

Word Origin & History

crunchy 

1892, from crunch. Student slang sense of "annoyingly intense abouthealth or environmental issues" is 1980s, short for crunchy granola;not entirely pejorative at first.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source

It seems there is some question as to whether or not this is a demeaning title. I would hope that I am not annoyingly intense.

The quizzes agreed with me: not only am I not annoyingly intense, I'm apparently not all that crunchy. One quiz said "you are basically normal but keep trying and you'll get crunchier." This is open to debate, as I checked the boxes yes for cloth diapers and washable rags/napkins. Apparently, not having a homebirth cancels it out. Oh well, win some, lose some.

So I started thinking about our ancestors and if you could really call them "environmentalists." Sure, they grew most of their own food, built their houses without power tools, and had the (highly esteemed in online quizzes) home births but what would their other options have been?

I'll admit I'm a little short on personal acquaintances who traveled west behind a team of oxen, but I wonder what would be said if I got a chance to talk to one of my fore-mothers.

A lot of green living is based on community and cultural norms. Sure, ditching the car sounds nice, but in the absence of a horse (or a reliable bus line) how feasible is it?

Although I don't have friends in the 150 year old age bracket, I have come across one or two individuals in their 60's who question my cloth diaper choice. Having grown up with only that option, it's curious to them why I would choose that, given the modern convenience also available. It's harder to convince an entire generation to do something radically different once they've tasted the easier way (and have the backing of those who have been there, done that with a lot less).

All this to say that we look back on the "good old days" with a kind of nostalgia and the feeling that we should somehow aspire to be like our ancestors. But I wonder if those ancestors had the choice, what would they have chosen?

Should we consider ourselves blessed to have the options, even if we sometimes feel like we have to choose between the lesser of two evils?

I know I'm grateful for modern medicine that would have saved many of those pioneers. Likewise, I'm grateful to have an option other than home birth. With any step forward, there are bound to be detriments. Isn't that one of the laws of motion?

No answers, just a lot of questions today.