Life in the 21st century isn’t bad.
We can zip e-mails and text messages across the globe in mere seconds. We can listen to music, pay bills, take pictures, check our calendars and call a friend — all on a tiny cellphone.
We can even order up an episode of “The Office” or other TV shows whenever we want with just a few clicks of a mouse.
Yet, even with all of these technological advances, you can’t help but notice that some of our new ideas really aren’t that new.
Take energy, for example.
When Gov. Bill Ritter signed a renewable-energy bill earlier this year, part of his new-energy-economy platform, he was surrounded by a bank of experimental wind turbines. Harnessing wind to produce energy? Why didn’t someone think of that earlier?
Well, the first windmill is believed to have been built in Persia (now Iran) sometime between the 7th and 9th centuries, according to Wikipedia. That’s not to say it’s not a good idea — it’s a great one — it’s just not exactly new (much like Wikipedia, a 21st century encyclopedia).
Take transportation.
Half a century or more ago, Denverites hopped on trolley cars to take them downtown, or rail cars to whisk them way out west to Lakewood and Golden. Then, some wise guys buried the rails that criss-crossed Denver under inches of asphalt. The future, they decided, was in cars and buses.
Now, of course, we’re desperately trying to find ways to get more cars off the roadways, and taxpayers are footing the bill for a $4.7 billion expansion of RTD’s light-rail system. Within a few years, more Denver residents will be able to hop a train for downtown, or venture way out west to Lakewood and Golden. Imagine that.
Take politics, too.
Half a century or more ago, Coloradans flooded to the polls to elect the likes of Daniel Thornton as governor of Colorado and Dwight Eisenhower as president of the United States, and in many counties they cast paper ballots.
Next year, Coloradans will elect a new U.S. senator and help elect a new president and, because of worries over electronic voting machines, some county clerks and at least one citizens’ group are urging the re-adoption of — drum roll, please — paper ballots.
Everything old is new again.
Is it possible that previous generations — even without all of the technological gizmos — had it right all along?
Take the environment.
We’ve never been more concerned about being “green” and enviro-friendly, yet we buy billions of plastic bottles full of what’s essentially tap water each year. It takes lots of energy (which means pollution) to create those bottles, which then can languish in landfills ’til the end of time.
Yet not too long ago, we actually filled up washable cups or glasses when we were thirsty, saving landfills and energy.
Previous generations hung their clothes out to dry, too. Not only did Mother Nature act as the clothes dryer, saving energy, but as a letter-writer recently pointed out, the sun worked its bleaching magic — alleviating the need for chemical bleach that eventually ends up somewhere.
Talk about clean, safe energy.
Given the tight rules of homeowners’ associations that exist in many communities, it’s unlikely clotheslines will make a huge comeback.
But we can hope common sense continues making a comeback. Not everything old needs to be new again, of course. Shag carpet, bell bottoms there are things that should stay buried in the past.
Otherwise, what’s next? Getting up to change the TV channel?
Let’s hope not.
Editorial page editor Dan Haley can be reached at dhaley@denverpost.com.
