Shit Happens…
Editor’s note: OK, we’re usually not so potty-mouthed, but, as you’ll see, it’s perfectly (and literally) appropriate this time around. We’re pleased to have Simran Sethi and Sarah Smarsh join us as guest contributors, and share with you their series on the surprising journeys of everyday things. They will be posting previews on Green Options before launching the posts on Huffington Post. Here’s a sneak peek at bathroom fun.
What you may not realize, cherie, is that whatever you flush down comes back around. Our waste fertilizes our fields and is pumped back into the waterways that are our major sources of drinking water. Let’s take the journey from toilet to tap, shall we? Oui oui. (We’re affecting French here for a touch of sophistication in a post centering on fecal matter.)
Americans use about 70 gallons of water indoors, every day. About three-quarters of that is used in the toilette—shower, bath, sink, crapper—and over one-quarter is used whisking away our waste. You can cut this water usage by making sure your toilet isn’t leaking, using a composting or low-flow toilet or even displacing the water in the tank with a brick or container filled with sand . Your toilet is not a trashcan, so save cigarette butts, tissues and used condoms for the basket, not the bowl.
We don’t want to bum you out, but cutting water usage means a lot in an era when more than a billion people lack access to safe drinking water. According to Claudia McMurray, U.S. Assistant Secretary for Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs, “On any given day, approximately 50% of the world’s hospital beds are filled with patients suffering from water and sanitation related diseases. Each year 1.8 million children in developing countries die from diarrheal disease - the second leading cause of death after pneumonia.”
When aiming for more equitable water usage, hippie wisdom comes in handy: If it’s brown flush it down; if it’s yellow, let it mellow. S’il vous plait. (Our hippie is French.)
The crapper journals continue on Huffington Post.
Thanks to the University of Kansas School of Journalism and Lacey Johnston for research assistance.
Photo credit: gemsling at Flickr under a Creative Commons license
I highly recommend the book “Poop Culture.” I learned a lot about our sewer system.
Thanks for the tip, Kendra!
I have learned more about our poop than I could have imagined, and my morning toilette is forever changed. This info is dated but is good for, um, shits and giggles:
http://www.poopreport.com/BMnewswire/189.html
Simran
I know just how that kid in the picture feels. And I too have seen “Poop Culture,” in my local bookstore, and now I’m gonna get it! (or, being cheap, take it into the adjoining coffee shop and read it).
I suppose the toilet is often a place to ponder…this post stayed in my mind and triggered a thought process regarding the kitchen sink, other water usage, and made me marvel at how disconnected I am to the easily accessible resources around me. Thank you for this funny, intelligent post that got me thinking beyond this page without feeling preached to. Any one out there have some suggestions regarding party etiquette and/or how to encourage guests to follow the hippie credo?
Laprox, I get some of my best thinking done between the throne and the shower. Thank YOU. I am wary of coming off like too much of a eco-warrior in a party setting so I just let people do what they feel comfy with. Some of my friends let it mellow. . .while others don’t. The brick that’s displacing water in my tank keeps me from going bonkers about water usage. If you wanted to make the humble suggest, perhaps a sweet handwritten sign at throne level?
The issue of leaking toilets is a big one and sometimes willingly ignored by those who don’t want to be bothered with it. The Portland Water Bureau link shows a great way to easily check on your own situation and gives the cost analysis/benefit that many people will be able to relate to. Even if people don’t quite understand the value of saving water they will appreciate not flushing $500.00 a year down the drain! My pet peeve is watching someone wash dishes with the water running full blast and stopping to talk while they do it, making me an accomplice to their waste. I can’t help but reach over and turn the water off. I tell them it makes me wince to see so much good water wasted. I’m not preaching to them - I’m just letting them know how I feel, and from my observation it makes them think a little bit about water waste.
Damn, Simran…that had more scat in it than an Ella Fitzgerald solo.
It is a hard line of trying to get friends and guests on the same page. I like the idea of the sign posted by the loo before a party. I have been reading lots of articles these days about living more thoughtfully. Thank you for making it fun and interesting. It is refreshing to read an article that is informative but doesn’t make me depressed at the end. I can’t wait to share this article with friends and family, esp the ones who don’t seem to be so on board with conservation.
There is a growing movement afoot: Save the World, Stop Pooping. From this point forward I will no longer grace the crapper, go #2, or make stinky. Imagine a world where everyone poos one less time each day. Sure we’d all be a little grumpy, but isn’t that a small price to pay for keeping the world safe for our children?
Seriously though thanks for another thoughtful post shedding light on those little things we do each day that really do have an impact. Love the posts and can’t wait to read more!
- Readers for a Poop-Free Planet
Tony, My pet peeve? People who toss everything into the bowl! As we mention in the Crapper Journals, your toilet is not a trashcan.
Gavon, My first and last attempt at this kind of improv. . .
E, Thanks for weighing in. I can’t promise some posts won’t depress you, but the goal is to get us thinking, which I hope this series will do.