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
Brenna, my bathroom in Paris was so small that I had to sit crooked on the potty to avoid my knees hitting the wall (I’m 5’3″ in shoes). This seemed to me a symbol of the French mindset about bath time– get in and get out, and don’t waste precious space on a bathroom that could be used for wine storage.
Bethb, I also grew up on a farm, and if we got too crazy with our flushing habits, the sewage ditch would back up, an unpleasant punishment that always kept us in check!
Thanks, all, for reading.
“If it’s brown flush it down; if it’s yellow, let it mellow.”
That’s disgusting. Not only will it leave rings and make your restroom smell, anyone that comes over is going to be grossed out. We have running toilet water for a reason… so we don’t have to smell our waste. Damn hippies.
Sonya, how often do you hear of someone from Africa going to the hospital for flu? What about someone from China or India? What about Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, or Utah? Never? Ok then. That should answer your question on why we don’t read about it.
This is naive. Water isn’t portable. Excess water in one location isn’t worth moving to another location (unless it’s Pellegrino water, in which case, I’ll take it). Many parts of the world have a surplus of pure, clean water, and the parts of the world that need it have no way to get it. So for most of us, saving water isn’t going to help anyone.
And you also need to face the fact that in most of the world, water used in toilets is a tiny fraction of total water consumption– a percent or two of the total. So get a low-flow toilet and use it when you need to, okay? All this bleeding-heart hand-wringing doesn’t mean shit.
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Yep, thats the spirit… Let your excrement fester to save the planet
whilst your neighbor shops at the home depot for his “raincloud” shower head
water needs to cost more than gasoline and then I will do my part to save
why should I walk around on a 3 shower day a week so celine dion can use 7 million gallons of water?
rip away
I’m your straw target
I just wonder is the life cycle of desks going to elicit such a rousing response? It is juicy! Stay tuned and thanks for loving on our little series…
Fifty percent of the world’s hospital beds?? That number is unbelievable. I have wondered – if drinking water is getting so mucked up, why don’t we hear more stories about people getting sick? This number helps bring the seriousness of the issue to light. I’ll finish my degree and get to work on reporting those stories though so the issue is a little more tangible. And louder- I’m really surprised by that stat.
I grew up on a farm with a well. During the long dry summers, navy showers and mellowing were pretty common. Wash my hair or flush? A daily question.
Same deal for my life in the islands later where one fresh water shower (cold) per week was allowed and nothing safe to drink coming out of the tap. It changes your perspective, I hope things don’t have to get that bad before people make adjustments.
I actually found your use of French realy appropriate. I just came back from a semester in France where everyone is acutely aware of water conservation. I think my time there has completely changed my personal awareness. Not only do toilets waste water, but so do long showers. I learned to turn off water while shaving, while lathering – it helps with your PERSONAL bill as well.
There are so many things we use in our everyday lives, and don’t question. We expect things to work for us, get very upset if they don’t. Thanks to S & S for making us think a little more.
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.
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
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.
Damn, Simran…that had more scat in it than an Ella Fitzgerald solo.
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.
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?
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?
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).
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 highly recommend the book “Poop Culture.” I learned a lot about our sewer system. 🙂