As far as the drought in Florida goes, perhaps they should consider desalinization, it works in other parts of the world. Do they talk about this? Or are the costs prohibitive?
You hear the topic come up every couple of years. There's a lot of issues involved from environmental impact, to pollution to of course cost - it's never as easy and clear-cut as it seems it should be. For example:
Despite a troubled history, including the bankruptcy of three of the companies involved and a dispute over ownership and control which reached the Federal Courts, the Tampa Bay plant is now expected to be fully operational in early 2008 – some six years behind its original schedule.
Source
So...they're working on it.
For the record, low-flow showers are almost entirely universal in motels around the country. Low-flow shower heads are almost always aerated so they "feel" like normal-flow shower heads. With Florida's excessively hard water, there's never worry about it taking a long time to rinse soap or shampoo. Trust me, it rinses out very quickly - drying your skin to a crisp with it.
If you're clogging low-flush toilets , I'm sorry but you need to use less t.p. Not to overshare or anything, but I had a problem when they first came out and I realized I was really being a paper hog. Now I never have the problem AND I'm not going through as much paper either. Win-win. Plus the newer generation low-flush toliets have enough suction to take golf balls with them. Trust me, you're not dealing with things that won't flush.
Water conservation is very important. Florida is in a drought now, true. But it's a much bigger, long-term problem. Our growth is out of control and our fresh water sources are stretched to the limits. You have to remember, we are almost an island and our soil is dependent on maintaining certain water table levels. Sinkholes are just one major issue that is direct result of too many people, not enough water.
-m
