Let’s Talk About Water, Baby! Let’s Talk About You and Pee!
How far do we really go to conserve energy? Or water? For example, it’s more or less mandated in the U.S. that we have to use low-flow toilets, but can’t we do better? I know it’s a bit indelicate to ask, but: Must you really flush every time you pee?
The answer is a resounding NO. My wife and I can tell you from much experience that flushing after every second or third trip is more than sufficient. Provided that one has a healthy diet and drinks plenty of water, one’s urine has virtually no color, nor odor. Wasting three gallons for every trip to the loo is incredibly wasteful, no?
Some math: The average U.S. citizen pees about six times per day. Flushing each time at a national average of 3 gallons/flush (not everyone is on the low-flow program) = 18 gallons of water used. Halving the amount of flushes = 9 gallons saved daily or 3200 gallons saved annually. Multiply by, say, a million participating “Flush Savers” and one has three billion gallons of water - enough water to fill Lake Michigan sixty times. Okay, not that much water. In fact, in the U.S., we use precisely that amount each day showering. Still, every drop counts.
So, next time you pee check the toilet. Is it clear and odor-free? No? Change your diet. Back off the processed foods and red meat. Yes? Don’t flush. Just walk away and wash your hands of the wastefulness of flushing four ounces of water with three gallons.
SAY IT LOUD! I DON’T FLUSH AND I’M PROUD!
Today’s song is by Canada’s all-time greatest band, Chixdiggit (seriously, can you even THINK of another Canadian band? And don’t say Bryan Adams or Barenaked Ladies) Their version of Duke Ellington’s “Toilet Seat’s Coming Down” is a thing of pure beauty. [audio:toilet.mp3]
(EDIT: It appears Sheryl Crow is joining the bathroom revolution. The singer/songwriter tells us to go lightly with toilet paper:
I propose a limitation be put on how many sqares of toilet paper can be used in any one sitting. Now, I don’t want to rob any law-abiding American of his or her God-given rights, but I think we are an industrious enough people that we can make it work with only one square per restroom visit, except, of course, on those pesky occasions where 2 to 3 could be required.
Read her blog to learn more about this and other interesting ‘green’ ideas. Poor girl is going to get ’shredded’ by many for these notions. My hat is off to her…why in the world she ever dated Lance Armstrong is beyond me)
[tags]poo. pee, sheryl-crow, chixdiggit, lance-armstrong[/tags]
Tags: environment
Amazing, we’ve addressed the same problem, water shortage, within the same week. Seems like we both find so many topics to write about that it’s rare that we settle on the same one within a short time span. You’re more focused than I am, plus you come up with the best photos. See why I say you’re one of the most interesting people I know?