The next major war will likely be fought over water. The Red Cross says, "More than 3 million people die annually from diseases spread
though dirty water and poor sanitation facilities". 20% of the planet's population face water shortages, a
figure that is expected to hit 30% by 2025, according to the
UN. Nearly half of the world's population lacks sanitary toilet facilities and 7,500 people die every day due to this lack of
sanitation.
All of this is in my mind as I gawk at the flagrant inefficiency of these urinals at UCSC. I know some people (women) still have to walk 10-20 miles each day to fetch water, and even then the water isn't really that clean. Even here in the USA, the poor and neglected -- such as those in the Navajo Nation -- deal with horrible water conditions. And here I am flushing several gallons of clean, treated water down the drain with my pee.
If you think about it, all of the modern toilets are a water-wasting scandal. Billions of people living in more primitive conditions would be thrilled to have our toilet water for drinking, cooking, and washing. It's much cleaner and safer than the water they have access to. And here we are polluting it with our waste and flushing it down the drain, both literally and figuratively. It's crazy.
It seems pretty straightforward for a system to gather up gray water from sinks and showers in the house and feed this supply into the toilet. Is anyone doing this? We're going to have to start soon if we hope to avert the impending global water crisis.
All of this is in my mind as I gawk at the flagrant inefficiency of these urinals at UCSC. I know some people (women) still have to walk 10-20 miles each day to fetch water, and even then the water isn't really that clean. Even here in the USA, the poor and neglected -- such as those in the Navajo Nation -- deal with horrible water conditions. And here I am flushing several gallons of clean, treated water down the drain with my pee.
If you think about it, all of the modern toilets are a water-wasting scandal. Billions of people living in more primitive conditions would be thrilled to have our toilet water for drinking, cooking, and washing. It's much cleaner and safer than the water they have access to. And here we are polluting it with our waste and flushing it down the drain, both literally and figuratively. It's crazy.
It seems pretty straightforward for a system to gather up gray water from sinks and showers in the house and feed this supply into the toilet. Is anyone doing this? We're going to have to start soon if we hope to avert the impending global water crisis.
I was watching an episode of 'This Old House', probably about 4-5 weeks ago and they were showing new buildings in New Orleans. The toilets in this house were fed by rain water that was held in a cistern.
Over in Europe (and catching on here a little) they have toilets that have 2 'flushers'... one for #1 and another for solids.
I run a small (seasonal) business and we have to re-do the plumbing this year. We go through a heck of a lot of water for toilets... The rain idea keeps popping up in my mind.