Posted by Raymond Plumbing Heating and Air Conditioning on Wed, Jan 20, 2010
Start Saving Water Now Before we are Forced to Choose Between Driking Water and Using it for Santitation
“No Loo? No I do.” is the catchy, chuckle-inducing jingle that is responsible for the construction of 1.4 million toilets in India. But a lot of young men aren’t chuckling. In rural India, new brides are refusing to walk down the aisle unless the groom promises them a toilet. “No Toilet, No Bride” is the slogan of a women’s rights campaign geared to bring indoor plumbing to rural India where half the population – nearly 665 million people – still lacks access to private toilets.
Community toilets and latrines or the open fields are often the only lavatory option in the small villages that dot India’s countryside. Lack of modern sanitary facilities is more than a lack of convenience. Poor sanitation can spread diseases like typhoid, diarrhea and malaria. Women are driving change with new-found social power. They want bathrooms with modern toilets and it looks like they’re going to get them. As one love-struck 22-year-old recently commented to The Washington Post, “I will have to work hard to afford a toilet. We won’t get any bride if we don’t have one now.”
India’s privy plight might bring a chuckle, but it should also make us appreciate what we have. Of course, climatologists warn that if we don’t start conserving our water supply, the day may come when we don’t have enough water to flush our nice, modern toilets. Last summer, severe drought in California, Georgia and the Southwest had some folks catching shower, bath and dirty dish water in buckets and using it to flush their toilets. Some fear that climate change will force us to eventually choose between drinking water and using it for sanitation. Scientists are urging people to start saving water now before we reach a crisis point.
Find out what you can do! Water conservation tips you can implement at home.
Water saving toilets qualify for the energy-efficient tax credit. Save substantially on your monthly energy bills and help the environment at the same time!