The other night at work, I read two whole issues of National Geographic. The same night I created the stupid trick. One of the issues had an exposé on the current state of water consumption through the world. I hadn't realized the extent of the impact current usage trends have had on the earth: The Yellow River in China, the river that caused devastating floods in the past, has been reduced to a trickle in places because of irrigation that siphons off too much water. The problem isn't restricted to the developing world. The Colorado River has had trouble covering the riverbed in recent years as well. While it's estimated that 70% of water usage is of industrial nature, I'm resolved to do my part as well. I've made a resolution to restrict showers to 10 minutes (except when I'm sick, because then it feels too good for me to care). I feel incredibly guilty about letting the water run for a few minutes so the bathroom isn't freezing. Now that the heat in the building has been fixed, it's been less of an issue. Next on the agenda: More efficient dishwashing techniques. Maybe I should buy new dishes each time I need to wash...