Monday 20 June 2016

pee standing up

For an old chap who is still reasonably continent, I think a lot, and have rather fixed ideas, about urination.  I don't know about yours, but my precious bodily fluid is valuable in the garden and I'm not about to waste the nitrogen flushing it down the t'ilet. No sir, not when the compost heap is only 45m away up some uneven steps in the dark.  I guess, given the fact that we get an occasional vagrant rat burrowing through the compost, that squatting down, even in full daylight, to contribute is not for everyone.  The other problem is that urine is rich in salt as well as essential nitrogen and salty brine is a rather good preservative because it inhibits the growth of many microbes including those which enrich the soil. So you may, with advantage, dilute it.

I'm a bit of a groupie for IFLS, so when this popped up [Why You Should Pee As You Shower, According To Mathematics] I was interested.  But here's a sentence in the 3rd paragraph "That means that each day of weeing takes 42 liters (11.1 gallons) of toilet water to flush away" No it doesn't! unless you flush the toilet every time you tinkle. We don't and none of us have died from failing to do so. Therefore, because the argument is based on a false premise, we can throw out most of the subsequent analysis which concludes that if everyone peed on their feet in their daily shower, then the US would save 700 million tons of clean drinkable water. But actually, the point is well taken even if expressed with more pith by the Duke of Edinburgh: "Biggest waste of water in the world: pee half a pint and flush two gallons" Water is precious! If they didn't shower every freaking day, they'd save a lot more. And anyone is welcome to come urinate on our compost heap.

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