It is almost safe to say that urgent concerns about climate change have become mainstream.
Granted some sectors of society have either lost their minds completely over it or on the flip side continue to be deniers. But overall, I would like to think most of us try and do our little bit to quash our emissions.
And yet with all the will in the world, we still have an epic problem on our hands.
It seems to be a vicious cycle of failure and our earth continues to cling on somehow to its home. Given the situation it is understandable why people are so far extreme on either side of the debate.
As I have documented on numerous occasions, I still feel the issue lies with a serious lack of solid facts being communicated to us.
One such subject that seems to be lacking in documentation is believe it or not, our toilet habits. Yep a subject we all find (here in the UK at least) taboo, uncomfortable and well rude. Perhaps this is the reason for the lack of PR, who knows.
But regardless of the reasons, we cannot shy away from the cold, hard fact that our toilet habits are having a detrimental effect on our planet!
Of course, we all have to do our business, that is not in dispute. However, the way in which we clean up after the deed is in fact a huge problem that we cannot just wipe away.
Us humans consume millions of tons of toilet paper every day and the demand is forever growing as our population expands.
Advanced apologies for stating the obvious here, but toilet paper is in fact paper. And where does paper come from? That’s right, trees. And thousands of trees are being felled on a daily basis in order satisfy our voracious requirements.
As also mentioned in previous blogs, deforestation is one of the driving contributes to the acceleration in climate change. Without enough trees to suck up all that carbon dioxide we are churning out, we are all in the s***
The good news is that there are some solutions out there. The bad news is that they are mouth-wateringly expensive. The main example I refer to is of course toilet paper that is made from bamboo. Maybe the production of this ingredient is a costly one, but regardless of the reason I just cannot imagine your average Joe like me or you paying £1 per roll just to wipe your arse, when you would usually pay less than half that amount.
Hopefully with time and innovation, the alternatives to toilet roll will become much more cost effective, but how long that might take is anyone’s guess. You only have to consider the journey from fuel run to electric cars. This switch has been in development for decades and even though we have a few half decent motors now, the technology still has an abundance of flaws.
I wonder if the solution in fact resides in our general toilet habits. For those of us out there old enough to remember, what ever happened to the good old Bidet? If you do not own one, or even know what one is, this is essentially a low riding sink equipped with a tap which is used to clean yourself down there after, well you know; various tasks.
Laugh or cringe as you will, but experts believe this is a more hygienic way to go. The sceptics amongst us may argue about the environmental impact of water usage. I never said it was the answer to all prayers. However, my argument would be, I would rather have more trees to suck up the carbon emitted rather than hacking down those trees and thus allowing more carbon to poison our atmosphere.
Many countries across the world do still use the Bidet and you only have to take a visit to Japan to get a real insight into how toileting should be done.
Amongst the many uncomfortable issues our country likes to push under the carpet, this seemingly trivial issue should not be flushed away as some sort of comical overreaction. Let us not waste this one opportunity we have to save our planet.
C.P Riches 