WATER

Last night I attended a delicious pre-holiday party. At one point, I went to the bathroom. Our hosts had a toilet with two flushes, infinitesimal and full steam ahead. Would that all toilets were so installed! It should become a national issue.

American’s disregard for precious water should not be tolerated. There is no doubt in my mind, if we continue this way, within twenty or so years, we will have a national drought I guess I am glad to be as old as I am. I am sad that my off spring, all three generations of them will not be that lucky. Several years ago I remember saying, “Remember as little kids we would start ‘digging a hole to China’? Well, it wouldn’t surprise me at all if the Bush Crowd had already dug such a hole to assure their water supply.” Such precautions, however, will be useless, for the masses, without water who will storm the barricades with their own Bastille Revolution. We can go without everything except water.

Old time Vermonters remember the expression: “Yellow is mellow; brown flush it down!” If we do not have toilets as above, that is the principle every single individual should practice today, right now, and every day thereafter. The same procedure can be established at public toilets. It should not embarrass you if you are leaving the yellow mellow for the next person. Au contraire, you should be proud of yourself for caring for the planet in this small way!

When washing dishes, do not keep the water running! Wash them in a large pan. Then take them out and rinse them using as little water as possible. When you brush your teeth you should follow the same ritual. Wet the brush. Turn off the water. Brush your teeth. Turn on the water and rinse.

As for dishwashers, there could not be a more flagrant waste of water! Those using such a method should make a point of filling the dishwasher to its ultimate capacity. Too many run the machine with only a few dishes. Another tip re energy conservation, you do not need to utilize the drying period. The water is sufficiently hot, as is the inside of the machine, so that the dishes and silverware will dry quite satisfactorily, thank you!

You may have noticed my writing tends to run toward exclamation points. This is so I know because these writings tend to be subjects that demand exclamations. When it comes to conserving water, I feel like filling the entire page with exclamation points. We are careless and arrogant, actually, about our ignorance regarding the water supply. Last year, residents of the South remember well the scarcity, the difficulty, the pain they underwent when water became a mere dribble. I would be interested to know how those same men, women, children are doing now; if their habits have altered.

Which brings me round to lawns: I have friends in Utah where water is customarily in short supply. Their beautiful plot of ground is handsomely landscaped with bushes, plants, trees that do not demand watering whereas neighbors seem to believe a large grassy lawn is more chic, more attractive. Utter nonsense! I visit these friends yearly. I have been there when drought warnings are issued regularly on radio and television, yet we walk the neighborhood to find sprinklers going all over. Shame, shame! Yet they feel no shame, believing the green lawn is a sign of elegance. It is a sign of opulent disregard for Mother Nature and her –so far- generous gift of water! Mark my words, not much longer!

The same disregard for water occurs in restaurants and bars. It would be a great idea if the employees thought about the water they use when wiping up or dispensing ice. I remember long ago, when we went to restaurants water was not automatically produced on the table. We certainly need to drink it regularly as do we need to wash our hands. However, we can pour only as much as we will drink. We can wash our hands, as with the dishes, without letting the water run. Wash without running the water, then rinse after washing, exclamation point!

Americans are obsessed with cleanliness. If each of us diligently takes that one small step, just like the importance of just one vote, the results may literally be your, our survival or your, our demise. I’m not just whistling Dixie, kids. I could not be more deadly serious. Think about it.