Water, water everywhere and finally a drop from the sky

We've been in a major drought here for the past few months, so much so that the Governor of North Carolina has asked people to turn off the water when they brush their teeth.

Really?

Maybe I'm strange, maybe it's that I'm from California, but who the hell leaves the water on while they're brushing their teeth. Assuming you brush as long as you're supposed to brush, that's 2 minutes of water running for no reason whatsoever.

I've also had two occasions when I've watched someone in a restroom at my office turn on the water, wash their hands, then walk over, grab towels and dry their hands, then walk back and turn off the water. I've *never* seen this anywhere before... ever.

2/3^rds of the world is covered in water, but most of that's not potable (as our friend with the albatross around his neck lamented in his famous tale). When you live an irrigated desert, it's easy to forget that if the aqueduct bringing you your water dried up you wouldn't have long before you'd go thirsty. But you are definitely keenly aware that water is precious.

Living here in North Carolina, it would seem that water is mostly taken for granted. Atlanta's about 2 months away from running out of water. That seems like a long time, but unless we get a lot more rain in this area, it's going to pass quickly. Maybe once someone turns on their tap and gets nothing out, they'll start thinking a bit more seriously about conservation.