Climate Change Right From Our Homes

My elderly English landlady taught me one better than any university professor when it came to washing dishes. Just one basin with no flowing water was enough. The detergent was added to a half-full basin, the dishes washed and then dipped into the same water before placing them on the mesh to dry. I thought I had not seen it well, but I could not tell my host that she was forgetting something. With Alzheimer’s affecting so many, I had started fearing for her. May be she read my mind as she extended her tutorial about saving water. I was amazed by her diligence. After that, I assumed that taking a bath would be the reasonable option. I half-filled my bath, making sure that she heard I was taking her cue. But after my cleansing, the second lesson was that showers were often the more economical- first wetting for the soaping and scrubbing with water turned off, followed by a rinsing.

Luckily, I did save her lots of water as my severe constipation and low fluid intakes have never seen me ever too pushed for a lavatory- all I often need is one visit in the morning and I am well away until time for bed.

Recently, a friend of mine told me of an experience in Germany. The host was rinsing her dishes with water from a bottle, sprinkling the amount sparingly through a tiny hole bored into the cap. My friend, too, was amazed, especially being one very concerned about water bills.

I, too, consider myself a water conserver by nature. When I brush my teeth, I don’t turn on the tap until rinsing, unlike my two ruffian kids who have rebelled against my wisdom. In addition, my daughter likes baths- the tab full to the brim. My son prefers showers, and he can take half an hour. I have stopped trying to tell them that it doesn’t matter the time taken in the bathroom. But that would be wasted breath, for they have support from my friend who is almost religious about washing hands. I have a clear image of frustrated Pharisees at the Apostles’ way of washing their hands, and especially after Jesus snubbed them scribes.

In the West (make that the North) where almost everyone has piped water- except, perhaps, that Scot proud owner of a natural spring- the concept of water conservation is remotely perceived. More oft, city water is in large storage or reservoirs and taps never run dry, unless after a disconnection that the water suppliers and the councils announce three weeks prior to, and follow that up with reminders by posts and advertisements in the local newspapers.