Books & Music...

Jimmy Carter may have presided over one of the darkest times in our nation's history, but he's determined to be remembered for something other than being a lousy president. Now the former president is building a legacy that may prove he had the foresight necessary to force his home state into creating real solutions rather than temporary fixes.

As someone who lived in the Peach State for many years, I cringed along with many other fellow Georgians when Carter's name was raised in most circles. But it's nice to know that he's doing some things now that Georgians can be proud of—he's fighting to help conserve water.

While you may not be able to slay government plans that lack foresight into the ever-changing environmental issues like Carter, Steve Creech has some great suggestions for you to conserve water in the book Hold Your Water: 68 Things You Can Do to Keep Our Planet Blue. This particular suggestions starts off by relaying the story of how the town Stigomta, Sweeden, has an annual "Pee Outside Day" that asks people not to flush their toilets. This book's suggestions are not only fun but practical, too:

"The average toilet flush uses three to seven gallons of water. We're not saying never flush. (In certain circumstances a double flush may even be required.) But, well, you decide.

BONUS TIP: Place a sealed plastic bottle in your toilet tank. Keep it safely away from any operating mechanisms and save up to 15 percent of the water you use with each flush."