Today is World Water Day! This year is also the UN’s International Year of Sanitation!
To observe this day, march into your bathroom, stand before your throne and shower and throw your hands up in the air! Shout Hallelujah! You are among the few and the proud – earthlings with sanitation! Indoor toilets! Hot water!
You might even want to use your toilet, or flush it and admire its efficiency. Marvel at the water use. (and it’s overuse!) Gloat about how you can actually allow the toilet paper to swirl down with everything else. (Yes, most people in the world wouldn’t dare such a feat.)
Then you might consider marching down to your local neighborhood plumbing shop (not Wal-Mart or its clones, please!) and purchase a low-flush toilet or EVEN a no-flush toilet.
While you are doing this, think of the 2.6 billion unfortunate souls who have no access to improved sanitation today in the world. Sad, but true. Not only does improving sanitation save lives, diarrheal diseases killed 5000 children a day in 2004, it also increases safety and dignity for women. In many parts of the world, women put themselves at risk by walking alone to a secluded area to relieve themselves.
Curious about sanitation facilities in Asia? See Toilets of the World (Not nasty bathroom pics, but pics of what toilets look like in different parts of the world.) Sometimes I complain about toilets in China. A lot of them are awful, but thank god I have access to them, along with hot water, soap, bottled water, indoor showers, etc. I could be like the 700 million residents of India who have no toilets.
