Audio Narative

Students in a humans and environment class were assigned sustainability reports. The speaker focused on taking faster showers to help the environment. They discussed the negative effects of excessive water usage and suggested using eco-friendly soaps. Taking shorter showers reduces carbon emissions and helps combat drought. The speaker emphasized the importance of small actions in protecting the environment. Over the course of the fall semester, each student in my humans and environment class were tasked with taking initiative and being responsible for contributing in a small way to help the environment. These were our sustainability reports, and I decided to take it upon myself to help the environment by taking faster showers. Now I'd like to take a more in-depth look into how faster showers help as well as the negative effects extreme water usage has on our environment. There are also more ways to be eco-friendly in the shower, which I will be going over as well. According to Northern Arizona University, the average 10-minute shower uses about 18 gallons of water. 10-minute showers simply are not necessary, and people should take steps to reduce this number, as I have. The Northern Arizona University also suggests using eco-friendly soaps. Most soaps have harmful chemicals, but buying other products such as Go Green soaps can have positive impacts on the environment. Taking long showers also has negative effects, as each gallon of water used contributes to depletion and pollution of groundwater. This was stated in a report by Dennis Camprad. Obviously, groundwater pollution can have negative effects in our drinking water as well as animals in our environment. Cutting showers short will also help reduce the amount of carbon emissions in the air. In an article written by Olivia Young, she states, limiting your showers to five minutes for one year could save as much carbon emissions as is sequestered annually by half an acre of U.S. forests. Taking steps to reduce shower times can have an impact on our quickly evolving climate change, which we as humans need to take steps into fixing. Taking shorter showers or even skipping shower days can have positive effects on the current drought that some regions of the world are experiencing. In an article under the New Humanitarian, it is said that the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification estimates that 2.7 billion gallons of water rushes down drains all across America every single day when the citizen air showers. This number is truly insane to me and should be a wake-up call for all Americans. In conclusion, I'm really thankful that I decided to study this topic. Learning about the benefits of taking shorter showers really fascinated me and it got me thinking about how the little things we as humans do impact the environment.