If It’s Yellow

Oceans are fed by rivers.

A river runs through the small town I grew up in. This river has taught me a lot down through the years.

Let’s start with the number one lesson—yes, we have a river. But that does not now, nor has it ever, given us exclusive rights to the water that flows past us every day. It leaves us what it can, and goes on to the next place, because that is what rivers do.

I remember the first time our little town, which is classified as semi-arid or semi-dessert, experienced a water shortage. I asked my father, “What shortage? There’s water in the river!”

He explained that the water wasn’t only for our town, but for all the towns it passed though, and eventually for the ocean. “We need to do our part,” he explained, “to make sure it makes it to the ocean, clean and clear and full of life. Because, without the rivers and oceans, we all die.”

My dad was a wise man.

That summer, there were orders in place regarding lawn watering, showers and all manner of water-conservation planning.

Here are some lessons learned that I continue to practice.

1. Pee in the shower. That’s one less flush per day.

2. Brush your teeth in the shower.

3. When showering, wet your body and hair, and then turn off the water and lather up! This is especially important if you’ve got some shaving to do. Then turn the water back on to rinse off.

4. If it’s yellow, let it mellow.

5. If it’s brown, flush it down.

6. Don’t let the water run while shaving or brushing your teeth.

7. Water the lawn and garden in the early morning or late evening every other day; less often if things are especially dry. A good soak after sunset goes a long way.

For me, number 4 has always been the hardest thing to do. And I have my own little rules about that pesky “if it’s yellow” thing.

First of all, if you’re in a public restroom, forget about it. Flush the damn toilet, no matter what color you’ve left in the stool, for the love of all and everything!

At home, though? Personally, I feel that if I don’t share a bathroom with anyone else, this is doable. I have a basement bedroom and a bathroom that I rarely have to share. I’m okay with flushing every other time instead of every single time. And in the middle of the night (I’m old, okay? I get up a few times!) I let it wait until morning.

The main bathroom is upstairs. Sometimes I’m too lazy to go down and use mine. Flush! Someone else will be using the room after me, so I can’t not flush the yellow.

But yeah—you don’t have to flush every single time. (Also, close the lid before you do flush. No need to spread germs.)

At this point, you’re all screaming, “Too much information!” Oh, well. Everybody pees.

The river taught me other lessons, too. For example, things thrown in are there forever.

As a child, I threw a Coca-Cola can out into the water once while fishing with Dad. “What the hell was that?” he demanded.

I shrugged. “It’s gone,” I declared. “It sunk.”

“I did sink,” he agreed. “But it’s not gone. And it’s never going to be gone. And in the meantime, it will rust and dirty the water. Small fish might get stuck in the opening and die. Or some fisherman might catch it and throw it on the bank—anyway you look at it, you just polluted the river.”

I started to wade in, but he grabbed me and said, “Nope. You can’t take it back. And the water that gives us life can take yours in an instant. You’re not going out in that current!”

Sick with guilt—I was a polluter!—I started to cry. “Too late for that,” Dad told me. “Crying over what has already been tossed won’t fix anything. But—” he added, pointing a finger at me, “—are you going to do that again?”

“No, Daddy.”

“Always remember this: the river isn’t just water. It is home to fish and frogs and toads. Ducks and geese swim here and get their food here. Dragonflies eat tiny bugs from the surface, and fish eat bugs, too. I know you’ve seen them jump for them.”

“I know, Dad.”

“Other animals fish for food—not just you and me. Raccoons have to eat. And some animals, like moose, eat the moss that grows in the water. Every time someone pollutes the river, it’s the same as taking food from all those animals who live and eat there.”

I told you my father was wise.

Dirty the river, and we all die.

A soda can sunken in the river—out of my sight, but not gone. And it’s not always what is seen that can kill. More often, it’s what is out of sight.

Now, consider the oceans. On the surface, we might see nothing amiss. But humans have dumped tons of plastic into waterways all over the world, and rivers have deposited these enormous loads of garbage into the oceans. Out of sight does not mean everything is fine beneath the surface.

When I was a child, soda came in cans or glass bottles. Our milk, too, came in glass bottles or cardboard containers.

Then came this explosion of plastic containers, and for some reason, we all were led to believe it was better.

Personally, I have never cared much for the taste of soda out of a plastic bottle, and cans are not much better. That glass bottle kept my soda cold and refreshing. Plus, you could return the bottle to the store for a few cents. We used to case the neighborhood for discarded bottles and head to the store with a couple dozen at a time. You could buy a soda and a candy bar with your bounty on a good day.

Plastic bottles, though—they went to the dump. And they stayed there. Forever.

In my area, there was some pushback on plastic bottles. I’m from Trona Central: Green River, Wyoming. Trona is the raw material refined into soda ash, which in turn is used to make glass, among other products. It was economical to support glass bottles, or so everyone said.

But it has been years now since I have seen a billboard urging me to support the glass industry. And these days, I’ve been hard-pressed to find many glass soda bottles at our stores here. It would be very disheartening to me if I was a big soda drinker. Luckily, I am not. On those rare occasions when I do buy soda, I buy glass when I can find it, and cans otherwise. At least those can be recycled more than one time.

I only recently learned that plastic containers can be recycled just once. This—after ages of washing out milk jugs and salad dressing bottles, mustard jars and laundry detergent bottles, and putting them out in the recycle garbage cans! Once? I scrubbed a peanut butter jar out, and it’s going to a landfill?

How would I know if the plastic jugs my laundry detergent came in could be recycled? Was there a code? Is there something I can look for before making a purchase?

More research awaits me...

Oh, the guilty feelings I suffered, looking at the plastic bottles in the laundry room!

Luckily, I did find a solution for that problem! You can read about it here.

I’m only one person, but even one person can make of herself a part of the solution instead of part of the problem.

My big plan to save oceans is to start with my own river. And a big start to that is to eliminate as much plastic use as possible.

1. Reusable shopping bags

2. Cardboard containers for milk and juice

3. Glass bottles for soda, juice and milk (where available)

4. Recyclable cans for soda, juice, canned goods

5. Powdered detergent in cardboard boxes or products like Earth Breeze

6. No single-use plastic containers

Number 6 is really important. Single use water bottles are sitting in landfills NOT decomposing. Invest in a nice-multi use bottle and fill it with filtered water. It’s not hard. Get something that fits your personality and show it off! Seriously, even a high end bottle will pay for itself with your single-use bottle purchases gone for good.

For example, look for something like this. It is a very nice multi-use option for hot or cold drinks , the Glacier Bindle Bottle.

If you do have to buy a plastic container, find a way to reuse it instead of tossing it. There are lots of ways to repurpose plastic bottles. Build your own igloo. (It’s a thing.)

As always, if it can be recycled I will wash it out or break it down.

It’s all part of my plan to make sure my grandchildren’s children have clean water and breathable air. Take care of the water in your area, and the benefits will go downstream from there!

As a side note--I had a lot of fun watching people make igloos out of milk jugs.

If you enjoyed this article, please consider leaving me a heart by clicking below. As always, tips--while never mandatory--are always greatly appreciated.