Pissing in the Pool

It's almost July and the days have gone all sultry.  Now we'll all be doing what we can to keep our core temperatures near normal for the next two or three months.  For me this means dressing to accentuate natural evaporative cooling, scheduling my day to take best advantage of the cool times of the day, and, of course, frequent trips to the creek.  For many, many others a major part of keeping cool involves a swimming pool. 

When I think about swimming in public pools I always remember that my dear husband's grandpa used to look at everyone getting their swimming gear together and say "Why would I want to swim in a public urinal?"

Someone has pissed in that pool.  Indeed probably many people have pissed in that pool.  There is even the chance that you have pissed in that pool.  The Water Quality and Health Council has determined that 1 in 5 people engage in such activities, and I believe surveys like that one always underestimate.  Are you grossed out yet?  You probably should be.

But then again maybe it's not that big of a deal.  After all look at the rest of the world around us.  Are we not all pissing in the pool pretty much all of the time?

If you drive a car, you're pissing in the pool.  If you own anything plastic you are pissing in the pool.  If you purchase produce that has been shipped half-way around the world you are pissing in the pool.  The list goes on and on.  None of us are exempt.  So why bother writing about it, why not just ignore it and go on as if it's not happening?

Well, I guess because I think there is a benefit to admitting that I am a pool pisser.  One of the first steps to getting over any addiction is to admitting that you have a problem.  (For the dedicated 12 steppers out there, I am aware that this is a gross paraphrase.)  Think of it this way, if the only pool available is a known pool full of piss, but some parts of it have less piss than others, which part would you prefer to be in?  I for one would prefer to be in the lower piss density part.  And so in non-metaphorical terms, I am trying (as are all of us here at Groundwell Farm) to reduce the level to which I am contributing to the degradation of the environment.

Growing as much of our food as possible reduces the mileage footprint of our food.  Cooking that food myself rather than eating out does the same thing.  Avoiding buying new when something used will do, avoiding buying anything at all when I don't really need anything, and driving an old car that gets 51 mpg are all ways that I try to piss in the pool less.

So next time you head out to the pool, think about the piss in it and transfer that to all areas of you life.  We can swim in cleaner water if we try.

(Thanks to Google Images and Youtube for picture and video)