Comments on: Chronicles of a Water Crisis: Litzman Sheds Crocodile Tears and MK Tirosh Advocates Civil Disobedience

By: triLcat

triLcat — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 14:49:33 +0000

btw – an olive tree shouldn’t need watering – and certainly not more than 3-4 liters a week. BAD example.

By: mominisrael

mominisrael — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 09:14:57 +0000

Thanks TC for your input. You can also reuse bath water for the first stage of the washing machine.

By: mominisrael

mominisrael — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 09:14:10 +0000

Akiva, first of all, I wish you the best at finding a new job. If you want me to post about it here let me know.
Keren Neubach should have invited you to speak instead of the man with the olive tree.
I apologize for generalizing about haredim. However, Litzman represents a constituency that educates its children that it is anathema to serve to serve and much of his political clout goes to perpetuating the situation.
Obviously there are many exceptions in the haredi world, and there are many on the left and in the national religious camp who advocate not serving.
Best wishes to your daughter. One of my son’s showers will soon be on the army’s budget too.

By: triLcat

triLcat — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 07:55:57 +0000

There absolutely has to be a balance. People have to understand that water is precious, but it’s also crucial to keep a normal amount of water for daily use in economic reach for everyone.

A few tips for keeping regular bathing in reach – I’m still bathing my almost 2.5 year old in the baby tub. takes about 1/4 as much water as a real tub. Unless the water’s gross, I bathe her and the baby in the same water (separately). Even if I have to dump the water and start over (sometimes, it looks positively murky), I’m still using a lot less than I would if I were using the full tub.

You can soap up/use shampoo without the water running. Teach your kids to be efficient. Rinse for 30 seconds. Soap up. Rinse for 1 minute. If you need to condition, use it, and then rinse again. You can still shower every day if you shower efficiently.

The ultimate solution is going to have to be more desalination, but desalination isn’t cheap. I assume the cotton is already using brackish water so don’t be too quick to judge.

By: Akiva

Akiva — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 17:58:23 +0000

Oh btw, my charedi _daughter_ will be showering on base – as the IDF has no restrictions on water use, nor is dealing with leaks, nor using flow restrictors or dual flush toilets. I don’t begrudge them the water as they guard the country, but they can take some wise actions also.

By: Akiva

Akiva — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 17:56:06 +0000

Listen, being one of those (newly poor having just lost my job) charedim, there’s a point where such policies are counter productive. The previous rate raise was very effective in cutting use – while at the same time the cities are continuing to water their gardens.

The government could subsidize water flow restriction devices for sinks and showers. They could subsidize the replacement of older toilets with dual-flush toilets. They could subsidize leak repairs.

They could hit the farmers with restrictions on high water crops (I noticed COTTON being harvested on Route 1 recent, COTTON!!! a very high water crop).

They could build grey water processing, allowing it to be piped back for use such as toilet flushes into new construction.

But instead they’re going to treat water like a sin tax. But like cigarette taxes in the US, sin taxes work only until people qualify it as a necessity. Since everyone already uses high efficiency washing machines and most use the dual flush toilets, what’s left? To shower less?

So I’ll have a choice come January – a chicken once a week for Shabbos, or flushing the toilet. Literally telling my children not to shower all week (with associated decrease in sanitation and increase in disease), or be able to have lunch.

Way to go government. Great way to handle the crisis. Don’t stop watering traffic circles or municipal gardens, instead charge me extra.

Governments do fall over this kind of stupid decision.

By: mominisrael

mominisrael — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 17:34:19 +0000

I hear you. But the guests on the show didn’t make a good case. They were just kvetching.

By: fern chasida

fern chasida — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 13:19:10 +0000

I don’t think that cheap water is necessarily a God given right (after all, it is ??? ??? ??? ???? and not flowing with water)but I feel like the government is going with the quick and easy solution and it’s on my gav. Let’s just make the citizens pay and not look for long term solutions. I think that’s what upsets many of us, not just the money itself.