I pee in the shower every day.
When I wake up, I roll out of my bed, stumble to the bathroom and walk past my toilet. I turn on the shower, strip down, climb into the warm rain from the shower head and open the flood gates.
Why do I do it? It has nothing to do with laziness or time saving. I’m saving the planet.
Peeing in the shower once per day can conserve upward of 580 gallons of water each year per person. Multiply that by the ASU student body alone, and tens of millions of gallons can be saved.
Letting your manhood or lady parts freely drizzle in the shower is actually becoming more popular and openly spoken of as many sites and organizations have begun touting the water conserving benefits.
Note that I’ve actually been ahead of the times. Peeing in the shower has been a lifelong activity. But then, I’ve always been a whiz.
There should be no shame in peeing while you shower.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey’s Water Science School, each person uses about 80 to 100 gallons of water per day, the majority of which is used to flush toilets.
Toilets themselves use anywhere from 1.6 to seven gallons of water per flush. So if you’ve ever flushed a toilet just to get rid of a cigarette butt or tissue, you need to repent.
Go hug a tree.
If the average adult pees four to seven times each day, or 10 if you’re an overly hydrated fool like me, you can see how the numbers begin to add up over the course of a year.
Everyone needs toilets. The popular book “Everybody Poops” shows us hard-hitting facts that we all need toilets on a daily basis (and that’s nothing to be ashamed of). But water conservation shouldn’t be trumped just because none of us want to give up our toilets and go to the bathroom in a hole in the ground.
Maybe some of you haven’t noticed, what with the palm trees and grassy knolls creating the look of a lush landscape, but we live in a desert, and usable water isn’t as abundant as you may believe.
We can just keep hoping that our dear Colorado River keeps bringing us desert dwellers enough water, or we can do something to lessen our water usage. Starting small is starting nonetheless.
Maybe peeing in the shower seems a little too down and dirty for some of you, but saving the planet is a dirty business, and if you’re not willing to take this small step, you should ask yourself just how committed you are to Mother Earth.
Actually, peeing in the shower is perfectly hygienic.
Urine is not in itself toxic, especially if you’re properly hydrated. Darker more concentrated urine, which is a sign of someone not properly hydrated, is not inherently bad either, even if it gets on your skin.
In fact, some people would even argue that you can drink your own pee and experience certain health benefits. But none of those so-called benefits have been proven scientifically, so try it at your own risk.
By peeing in the shower, you can actively participate in the perpetuation of global sustainability without drastically changing your lifestyle.
So please, take a leak for the team.
Reach the columnist at kwrenick@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @kwrenick
