Water Water Everywhere...

*If you don't have the time (or patience, or whatever) to read my rant, please just click on the first website at the bottom of this post*

"Don't drink the water!" is what everyone said when they found out I was going to China. I heeded this advice, and everytime I took a shower, strategically keeping my face dry (ten days in all--astringent is a beautiful thing), I thought of a story I once heard about a crew member on one of the Indian Jones movies putting duct tape over his mouth everytime he showered while the movie shot on location. He was the only one who didn't get disentery (or "the runs" as I recall Harrison Ford referred to it).

Indeed, nothing will make you appreciate drinkable water more than spending time in a country like China, and nothing will make you realize how much water you waste like spending time in Japan.

During my time in the motherland of skating and now dance king Apolo Anton Ohno (I digress), I incountered public bath houses, a shower with a lever that gave you 10-15 seconds of water everytime you pushed it, and a toilet that gives you the option for a full or half flush in just about every bathroom (of course, considering I don't read conji, I had a few misflushes). I'm telling you, the Japanese have got it right.

Here are two websites about water conservation. The first has great "tips," and the second is the site of a local organization called Drought Response Information Project (yeah. who knew?)

http://www.monolake.org/socalwater/wctips.htm#topten

http://www.thedripwebsite.com/

Go Planet!

NEW LONG TERM GOAL: compost