Conservation

In the States, we give a lot of lip service to conservation and being green, but from my observations of Sydney, they take it a lot more serious.  For example, travelling at peak times across the Sydney Harbor bridge costs a higher toll than crossing at non-peak.  Another example, using electricity at peak times during the day costs three times more per kilowatt than non-peak times. Large neon signs that you might see on a bank or high tech company building, or affect lighting on the Sydney Harbor bridge go off late at night / early in the morning.

To the left is a standard outlet in a modern Sydney building.  Each receptacle has its own on/off switch.  Most folks don’t realize that having something like your television (turned off) or your cell phone charger (not connected to your cell phone) while plugged in is still drawing some power.  While some devices like a clock may need power all the time, a lot of devices do not.  It might be hard to read the middle button, but it says oven.

To the right is the toilet flush button.  NOTE: that it has a smaller button on top of the larger button.  Without being too vivid, if number one, then you press the small button on top of the larger button and thusly pressing both.  If number two, then you press just the large button.  Hopefully, I haven’t shocked you dear reader with too much talk of bodily movements,

Clothes washers and drivers get a conservation treatment as well.

But back to bodily functions again, if you eat too much…er digest too much, then you might be outside the average used to define the amount of water each type of flush needs and therefore you might have to flush twice.  Cut back on the food a bit is sometimes a good thing.  I can’t believe I just wrote this…eeeeywwwyyyy.

Privy Privacy – In the States, most places have individual urinals with their own separate controls.  So far most of the public restrooms in Sydney implement a more environmental trough system.  The States does use troughs in most sporting stadiums that I’ve been in.

Enough of such talk and read the next post that continues on Darling Harbor if you haven’t already read it.