Catchy But Noxious: "Toilet to tap" isn´t how I would go about trying to sell it, but this op-ed piece from the Los Angeles Times makes a strong case that the city should take another look at purifying its wastewater for reuse as potable tapwater.

 

Seven years ago the city tried to do exactly that, and at great expense failed, mainly because it didn´t do an adequate job explaining to the public how the system would work.

 

Now Los Angeles officials have a perfect model right next door. Orange County just opened a half-billion-dollar wastwater reclamation project with minimal public opposition.

 

For Rubbish, Not Rover: In Tokyo, the world´s most populous urban agglomeration, putting your trash where it belongs is very serious business, as a mortified Wall Street Journal reporter recently learned.

 

Word to the wise: If you ever find yourself taking up temporary residence in Japan´s capital, put your garbage in the little metal cage outside your door that looks like a dog pen. You´ll save yourself considerable embarrassment.

 

Dazzling But Deadly: Since school is getting back into swing, as an environmental journalist I feel obligated to pass along this link from The Onion cautioning art teachers to keep their eyes peeled for signs of pneumosparklyosis, commonly known as Glitter Lung.

 

It´s a shame that school administrators don´t do a better job protecting their artistic charges from this dread disease. Educators across the land, you owe it to yourselves to band together to stand up and fight Big Glitter.

 

Pete Fehrenbach is managing editor of Waste News. Past installments of this column are collected in the Inbox archive.

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