"Ocean: A body of water occupying two-thirds of a world made for man - who has no gills." - Ambrose Bierce
Backstage room in Glasgow, Scotland ... the 02 Academy.
5:39 PM, listening to the Blood Red Shoes sound check.
Waiting for Dave Hause to shower so we can go find some food.
The current question posed to me at the moment: Should I wipe the top off of the half-drunk "floater" bottle of water on the table in front of me...then drink. Or, do I set this computer down and lean over to the 2 cases of unopened water bottles on the side of the couch.
I have a slight ethical objection to opening the new water while there are 3 half-drunk ones with-in my eye sight. Early in elementary school I participated in a workshop that was designed to terrify me about the worlds fresh water problems. About how people, specifically Americans, grossly overuse our fresh water supply with things like long hot showers, gigantic washing machines and backyard pools. Their presentation was profound to my young mind, and with the exception of the occasional long, hot shower...I have become uber conscious of it. This is why I'm willing to risk contracting an oral disease by sharing a mouthpiece with some member of my band or crew. Doing my part, just a little.
But then, the older I get, the more I fear little colds and infections and such. I've definitely heard of a lot more 32 year olds dying then I did 25 year olds. Which makes me more reticent of taking that disease leap of faith and just opening the new bottle, ensured of its sterility. The added environmental benefit is that I can personally guarantee it's completion, knowing that those 16 ounces of precious fresh water have gone to good use. If Scotland had recycling, I'd certainly do it, but they don't...so that's an environmental impact I must ignore at the moment.
I also think that making yourself available to a certain level of dirt and disease is positive for the overall functioning of your immune system. Just saying.
The most interesting thing to me, personally, about posing this question is...how casual my life must be at the moment to even consider such a quandary. But on the other hand, maybe it's the little things that a lot of people ignore that could make a difference if said thoughts were collectively active. Who knows, that leads to a totally new set of questions.
I drank the floater, by the way...
I'd drink it too - you've already spent enough time with anyone who might have drank out of the bottle to breathe/cough/sneeze all of their germs on you for it to be too late to worry about catching a whole section of things and anything left over after that, well. I'd take my chances. I have a similar policy with food - if I think I can't eat all of something, I go halfsies with a friend to cut down on waste.
ReplyDeleteHitting the London Film Festival over the last... 10 days and seeing 12 films, 1 talk and squeezing in 3 concerts has inevitably resulted in exactly that for me - someone has breathed/coughed/sneezed and I've caught their plague. I've probably caught the mutant offspring of their plague and someone else's plague. The expected result of being packed into a room with strangers with exotic germs from all over the country/world. On the plus side, I only came down with it on sleep-deprived day 7, so my puny immune system did a whole lot better than I expected.
I've been taught not to waste water ever since I was a kid so I have the same issue as you but I never thought of all the germs and stuff.
ReplyDeleteI can only say that i caught a cold after the two brixton gigs and the revival tour and it only lasted two days.
success.
I would drink it, too, and then feel all self-righteous for the rest of the day. Maybe you could start carrying a biodegradable bad-ass bendy straw in a pocket for such occasions. But you have to draw the line somewhere. Today you're drinking floaters. Say tomorrow someone bites the tips off all the slices of pizza and you're so hungry. Do you weigh germs, the environment and all the people who don't have pizza against momentary laziness, or stop the problem at the source? Who's not drinking all their water? Maybe s/he needs the mini bottles instead.
ReplyDeleteScotland has recycling :)
ReplyDeleteI think the best thing to do would have been to grab a clean cup and fill it with tap water which is perfectly drinkable in Glasgow.
ReplyDeleteAs long as the cup wasn't plastic you wouldn't have to worry about recycling OR germs :)