Pay Attention

November 19 is Equal Opportunity Day in the United States. It’s great to celebrate equal opportunities, and to enforce them–but it’s a shame we even have to think on it. The odds are stacked in favor of the few; there’s much to be done to truly create equal opportunities through jobs and education in this country.

To learn more about Equal Opportunity legislation in the United States, check out the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the Department of the Interior Office for Equal Opportunity.

World Toilet Day
No, I’m not joking–today is also World Toilet Day! We pretty much take it for granted that we’ll be able to go Number 1 or 2 when we need to in the US, but that’s simply not the case for hundreds of thousands of people worldwide. The World Toilet Organization exists to improve toilet and sanitation purposes worldwide. Visit their website to learn more, give the gift of a toilet, and get involved.

You can also take action with your own porcelain god today by:
1. Get a new toilet (only if you need one!) of the low-flow variety.This generally reduces your 5 to 7 gallon flush to a 1.5 gallon flush!
2. Save 5 to 10 gallons of water a day just by displacing your water. Weight a plastic bottle down with some pebbles and stick it in your tank, and you’re done.
3. Write your representative that letter you’ve been meaning to write while you rid yourself of the bean dip you had for lunch.
4. Check your toilet for leaks. This is easy enough: just toss a dye tablet or a bit of food coloring in your tank. If the color shows up in the bowl itself without flushing, you’ve got a leak to be repaired!
5. For goodness sake, don’t use your toilet to flush weird stuff, waste or even cigarettes. (For a really funny story about this, and other super entertaining reads, check out Best American Fantasy.)