Leadership by Example!
The Caribbean Drought and Precipitation Monitoring Network (CDPMN) says that Barbados will be hit by a severe drought for the next three months. Newspaper editorials and the government are urging Bajans not to waste water, and further to do everything they can to reduce the amount they normally use. (Nation News editorial: Wasting of water has to stop.)
There is one thing that all of us can do right now that saves thousands of gallons of water a year in each home where this water saving technique is used.
We can pee in the shower every morning instead of using a gallon of water to flush a tiny bit of urine down the toilet.
How much water can be saved? Lots and Lots!
Walk to your front door right now, stick your head out and take a look at all the homes around yours. Let’s see – there’s three people in that home, two in that one, four in that one – and each morning most every person flushes the toilet and then heads for the shower. Add it up just on your street: number of people X 1 gallon of water X 365 days. Now think of the entire country and say that only 10% of the homes were “pee in the shower” members. That’s still a huge amount of water saved.
Brazil did the numbers and realized just how effective this simple technique could be. Here’s the television advertisement they ran to convince their people to pee in the shower…
Here are a few articles about how important this initiative can be to saving water:
Bohemian Revolution: Pee in the shower to save water.
The Guardian: Peeing in the shower – The Rules
Huffington Post: Brazil wants its residents to pee in the shower
How About Some Leadership from the Thompson Government?
The stakes are high, the drought is coming and this one simple step has the potential to save millions of gallons a year in Barbados.
Yup, peeing in the shower sounds icky and it probably offends the Victorian sensibilities of some politicians in the DLP government – but it is a simple step that could be very effective nationally if folks were convinced of the need.
Will Environment Minister Denis Lowe now come out publicly with a statement that he pees in the shower? Will he encourage everyone to do the same?
Over to you, Minister Lowe!
Further Reading at BFP
April 9, 2006: Can Barbados Pee It’s Way To More Water?
Barbados Free Press 
would have to shower as soon as i get out of bed. Cannot hold it that long!!!
Well.. You save money by saving the whole tank that would have been flushed away in the toilet.
…… or if it’s yellow let it mellow, if it’s brown flush it down.
gross
While I would not expect a Minister to demonstrate this new social style, government could take the lead or set a good example in many ways, eg ensuring that all of its buildings had means to capture and store rain water. In the same way that solar panels are the common feature on buildings, so too should water tanks be seen in and around government buildings.
Ain’t nothing new in this suggestion … I been doing this almost all my life … 🙂
For a start, putting a full 16 oz pet bottle in your tank will save a lot of water each time you flush, and it doesn’t compromise the effectiveness of the flush. This would be very effective if done at business places. Also, how much water would we save if we only washed our cars once a month, especially in a drought? Oh, I forgot. Such a suggestion is tantamount to sacrilege in Barbados. Will there be restrictions on irrigation of lawns at the fancy houses? We will be in serious trouble by April unless conservation begins now.
FLY TRAP
In that case, your name would seem to be appropriate!
I make it a habit of taking a whiz over me neighbors fence. Been doing it for years. He thinks the dead grass is because of his cat.
Why not not flush at every wee plus put a pet bottle in the tank and a detergent scent in the toilet to mask the times you don’t flush. It beats peeing in the bath cos I don’t believe you will get the smell of urine gone by just running a bit of water. And by the by we don’t have to do everything everyone else comes up with. We can do better.
There is a lotta tings yuh cud do in de shower. Could even bathe tuhgedder…. an soap one anudder…
Dat save the second shower….tho de firse may take a lot longer…
We have several large stones in the bottom of the cistern, so not so much water is used when flushing & we don’t flush often (only 2 in the household though!) & only when necessary!! & no there is no smell!
People keep the pipe running when cleaning their teeth, not necessary, if no run off water for watering the garden use water from washing clothes etc, we re routed the water from the washing machine I remember in the UK when there was a drought in the early 80’s & signs popped up everywhere
‘Save water bathe with a friend’
‘Save water drink beer’
THIS DLP GOVERNMENT IS DOOMED !
WHAT
February 3, 2010 at 12:34 am
THIS DLP GOVERNMENT IS DOOMED !
……………………………………………………………….
And like DEMS want tuh carry de whole ah Buhbados wid DEMS!!!
WHAT…the HOOD !
If Barbados survived Owen Arthur and Mia Mottley at the helm……it will surely survived the calm and assured leadership of the Hon. David Thompson and his dynamic team.
Here is a good reason to believe WHY :
* We are yet to see under the DEMS a GREENLAND like fiasco…$ 80 million spent and the dump still remains close after 12 years.
* We are yet to see under the DEMS a GEMS like fiasco ….$ 320 million spent and the hotels to be saved were eventually closed after 6 years.
* We are yet to see under the DEMS a T&T Fishing Agreement like fiasco…..Ms. Mottley spent $ 120 million in legal fees to broker an agreement and left office some 5 years after without one in place.
Just a small synopsis of how the Arthur / Mottley BLP team spent over $ 600 million on projects that are still languishing in the year 2010.
I even did not mention the ABC highway, Dodds Prison, Glendairy Prison, South Coast Sewage Project , Al Barack case…..Oh GOSH .
Me head ah hurt me…..as the projects come to mind !!!
Millions down the drain that the country needs now that the GLOBAL RECESSION is upon us.
To de HOOD…….WHAT a SHAME !
Peeing while taking a shower in order to save water, no problem. One less flush. How about those low flush toilets? The ones whose goal is to save water. Now, how can you be saving water if you have to flush two or more times to clear the toilet bowl?
Trinidad introduced water use restrictions from midnight, see http://guardian.co.tt/news/general/2010/02/02/water-restrictions-begin-midnight-lead-pg3
Well thanks. I was just about to eat lunch…