Excuse us, Mr. President, but are you having trouble working the shower?
We ask because your comments make us wonder whether you’re doing it right. Your Department of Energy released a proposed rule Wednesday that would roll back showerhead standards to allow a virtual Niagara Falls to cascade onto users’ heads, down the drain and into the sewer. And that brought back your comments from last month, when you said that no water comes out of water-efficient showerheads.
“You take a shower,” you said, “the water doesn’t come out. You want to wash your hands, the water doesn’t come out. So what do you do? You just stand there longer or you take a shower longer? Because my hair — I don’t know about you, but it has to be perfect. Perfect.”
See, some showers have handles, and some have knobs, but in any case you have to turn them. The water comes right out. It’s easily enough to get you soaking wet, and you don’t have to stand there any longer with an efficient showerhead than with a wasteful one.
And we know, because here in LA, our hair is perfect. We get it wet, we use a little shampoo, some conditioner, rinse and we’re good to go — to the office, to the set, to the hiking trail, to a socially distanced dinner party.
And we save enormous amounts of water. Los Angeles’ population grew by 600,000 people since 1990 — that’s like adding the entire populations of Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale and Miami — yet our total water use stayed flat. That’s mostly because we started requiring efficient toilets before other cities did, but it’s also because of water-wise showerheads. So even if people are taking longer showers (and by the way, they’re not), the regulations have saved an enormous amount of water and have been a lifesaver for LA.
We’ve been through a series of droughts, and there’s a good chance we’re in the midst of a multi-decade megadrought, but we’re doing OK. Our thirst is quenched and our showers are either cozy or refreshing. And our hair looks good. Perfect, in fact.
Efficient showers work just fine everywhere, including, we’re quite sure, at the White House.
And the water comes out of water-efficient showerheads when you turn the handle or the knob. Comes right out, and not just a trickle, either.
So we don’t need to return to wasteful gushers in the shower any more than we need energy-draining old-school lightbulbs or household appliances that suck up electricity like a vacuum cleaner from 1958.
Your nostalgia for waste is silly. And don’t get us started on your hair.
This editorial first appeared in the Los Angeles Times on Friday. This commentary should be considered another point of view and not necessarily the opinion or editorial policy of The Dominion Post.
