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Video: Should You Pee in the Shower?
There's a lot of things the Golden State will do to save water (including declaring a State of Emergency and virtually closing the water supply to the Central Valley) but pushing Californians to pee in the shower is NOT one of them.
"That's not something we've advocated, no," said Water Department spokesman Matt Knotley, who seemed shocked by the suggestion, apparently all the rage in Brazil, that folks should pee in the shower to save water. "If that's what they want to do in their country, fine. There are plenty of other ways that are very easy to save water."
Unfortunately, none of those have a cute Portugese PA video.
In case you're totally grossed out, you should know that this is not the first time we've approached water conservation through toilet humor. In the late 80s, when I was potty training, you could sum California's drought policy in a simple rhyme: If it's yellow, let it mellow. If it's brown, flush it down.
According to xixinobahno.org, we could save thousands of gallons of water a year if we quit flushing so much. But, since this is America, you can just Cash-for-Clunkers your water-wasting throne and call it a day.
If that's too much of a hassle, there are even less difficult ways to save. Knotley suggested boring solutions like turning off the tap while you brush your teeth (8 gallons a day) or taking shorter showers (up to 10 gallons a minute). You can even call the local water district and have them check your place for leaks. In short, there's really no need to save your pee.
If one is careful to rinse
If one is careful to rinse afterwards I'm not really sure what is unsanitary about peeing in the shower. It ends up in the same place, and the 'wash your hands' thing is almost automatic. If it saves you a flush isn't that good? Note I'm talking private showers here, not the public shower at the neighborhood pool for crying out loud.
I like your poem, but I think the categories of yellow and brown are too restrictive. How about:
If it's red you might be dead.
If it's clear you've had much beer.
If it's green, check your spleen, which is not correct but liver and bile did not rhyme.
If it's tough try more green stuff.
If it's loose try less prune juice.
Tripp
If it's red hope she gives
If it's red hope she gives you head instead?
Personal Water Use Choices?
Before we get our pants all rumpled over individual efforts to conserve water, consider that municipal residential water use is 1% to 5% of a region's usage. The vast majority is from industry and agriculture.
Read Derrick Jensen's Forget Shorter Showers
http://www.orionmagazine.org/index.php/articles/article/4801
And keep in mind Brazil is cutting down forests as if there were no tomorrow...maybe we should be watching that more closely. They cut down Washington State's forests and now the drought and the odd weather are haunting them. Well, actually, some folks in Washington State seem not to be aware of the cause and effect because of their deep denial...or was it the heavy doses of disinformation?
So do your greywater recycling, your water cachement, your shorter showers if you must, but get realistic about this: until we have elected officials that can stand up to corporations and tell them to stop externalizing costs and pay for the damage they've done, we're cooked. Literally.
Why Not, It's Sterile
One should also keep in mind that urine is sterile. I have been told previously that if you have to shower in a public shower and lack shower shoes that urinating where you shower can prevent contraction of things like foot fungus.