The Drought

The last few years have not been kind to the island continent. While surrounded by vast oceans of salt water, freshwater is at a premium here. I didn’t realize it until I had a conversation with some people I work with. I had noticed that there appeared to be a huge focus on conservation in general here, but I didn’t know the drive behind it.

Prolonged droughts have plagued the country, and even with a couple weeks of rain, water tables are still not where they need to be. In the city, no one is allowed to wash their cars or water outdoor plants. In rural areas, no one is allowed to water anything outdoors.

But Aussies are not to be outdone by the elements. They may not have tamed the Outback, but they know how to survive there, and how to keep it from encroaching on their home.

Apparently, Australians have been putting their engineering capabilities to great use for all kinds of practical problems. While watching a recent television show on Ten, one of the major TV stations in Melbourne, I learned about some of the amazing inventions that have come out of Australia – many of which I would never have guessed. You can thank Aussies for latex gloves and the Ultrasound, to name a couple. Surprised? I was.

They have also focused this attention on the drought. I was reading an informational pamphlet that indicated that Aussies have been responsible for the largest consumption of freshwater per capita in the world. Now, they’re trying to change that. Two shining examples of their ingenuity in action are both in the bathroom.

First, Aussies invented the two-flush toilet. Every toilet here has two buttons. One performs what I’ll call a “half flush” – where it uses far less water than a normal flush. The other is the standard flush.

Recently, I found the other example, but it’s gender specific to men (sorry ladies, and forgive any crudeness that follows). I was in a government building recently, and learned about something called a “Desert Cube.” It’s a 1½ cubic inch green cube that is lightly fragrant. The cube is comprised of some bacteria and enzymes that are relatively hygienic. You’ll find them in men’s bathrooms in the urinals. The urinals have been changed so that they no longer flush; instead, the Desert Cubes actually clean them up. Based on this, they say that they have reduced the water usage in those bathrooms by up to 98% in a year.

I continue to encounter these different examples of Aussies learning to cope with or overcome adversity through determination and a little innovation. America may be the “Land of Opportunity,” but Australia is the “Land of Ingenuity.”