Monday, April 23, 2007

Green is dirty?

This sort of thing is what gives environmentalism a bad name.
Singer Sheryl Crow has said a ban on using too much toilet paper should be introduced to help the environment.

Crow has suggested using "only one square per restroom visit, except, of course, on those pesky occasions where two to three could be required".

Like many in this part of the world, I consider toilet paper an abomination -- you don't use paper to clean any other part of the body, so why use it on the dirtiest orifice of all? So I wholeheartedly endorse the idea of reducing its use: may I suggest switching to a cleaner alternative, for example -- oh, I don't know -- water, maybe?

If one must use toilet paper, I suppose using just one square would have some benefits: for example, dissuading gropers on Delhi's buses. And maybe it will save a few trees too. I just don't see how it would help one's personal hygiene.

The article continues:
Crow has also commented on her website about how she thinks paper napkins "represent the height of wastefulness".

She has designed a clothing line with what she calls a "dining sleeve".

The sleeve is detachable and can be replaced with another "dining sleeve" after the diner has used it to wipe his or her mouth.

Again, most restaurants in India would offer a nicer alternative -- a fingerbowl, or failing that (or "for those pesky occasions where two to three could be required"), a sink. And many people carry a useful device called a handkerchief, meant for just such occasions.


Update: Crow's full article is here, and I admit her tongue seems to have been in her cheek (as she herself protests).

3 comments:

etlamatey said...

Maybe she said "one square foot per restroom visit"...you know how the press reports selectively.

Rahul Siddharthan said...

Hm... no it wasn't a misquote, but it was a joke as the fuller context makes clear (and as she clarifies).

Swathi Sambhani aka Chimera said...

that was funny! and do away with the kitchen towels and replace them with good old napkins which are reusable and washable.
Ah, I think given the water scarcity in most cities in India, it has to switch to using paper instead of water (since paper is manufactured using straw in India , don't ask me how I know this... my dad was in the paper manufacturing industry)