Today’s concept of showering is relatively new. Only within the last 100 years have we become a society that showers on a near-daily basis. Around the world, some countries shower more than others, with Brazil reporting an average of 12 showers a week. On the lower end, in Europe, the average is between 3-5 showers a week. America is pretty average with around 6-7 showers a week. As it turns out, the average of seven showers a week is way more than is actually necessary, according to experts.

Prior to our daily showers, civilizations in ancient Rome used to set up bathhouses. Romans were notoriously clean. Rather than use soap, they would use essential oils to get rid of dirt, which then had to be scraped off with a tool known as a strigil. Romans had fairly advanced indoor plumbing systems for the time, not unlike the indoor plumbing systems we use today. This article goes into the history of showering before and after the rise of Christianity if you want to read more about that.

Showering has become a habit, and to many, a ritual. So, what are the effects of our showering rituals? When we shower, we essentially strip our body of the natural oils and bacteria that make up our body’s microbiome and then cover up the damage done with synthetic oils and fragrances. The natural oils and bacteria on our body can be beneficial to us, and when given the time to properly replenish, they create a beneficial ecosystem that functions without the use of soap and other products designed to cover up body odor. 

The human microbiome takes around three weeks to replenish itself after its stripped. There is definitely an adjustment period within these three weeks. Your hair may get oily, you make be more acne-prone, and of course, you’ll probably smell funny for a little while! All of this can be made better by a healthy diet. The old saying “you are what you eat” reigns true more often than not, and showering (or rather, not showering) is no exception. If you live off of Big Macs and diet coke, you’ll look, smell, and feel disgusting if you don’t shower often (and even if you do, because Big Macs are gross). If you live off of salads and other whole foods and fresh produce, you’ll be able to tell a difference in your body. Good food creates a good gut microbiome and our gut microbiome carries bacteria all through our body. 

After your body has time to adjust to your new no-shower regime, you’ll notice a few things. Your skin will likely look better than it ever has, and if you’re doing things right, your skin should be fine without any other products. It shouldn’t be too oily or too dry. Your hair won’t look greasy. If you stop using product and heat on it, along with no longer washing it, you should find yourself with the healthiest hair you’ve ever had. The texture of it may take a little getting used to. It’s not Pantene-like silky smooth and shiny in its natural state. It’s generally a little more coarse. Lastly, there’s the smell. People are often worried about smelling bad more than anything else, but when your body has the chance to balance out with healthy bacteria, this isn’t a concern. People all have an individual natural body odor based on their body’s bacteria and based on what they eat. If you eat very well, work out, and sweat a lot, you’ll likely smell strong, but very good.

If you’re very in tune with your body, you’ll notice changes in how you smell based on what you eat, and even the situations you’re in. You’ll find that in situations of stress or anxiety you might smell worse, and in situations where you’re comfortable with who you’re with, you’ll smell better, based on the pheromones you release. If you eat junk food, even what one might consider “healthy” junk food, you’ll smell worse the next morning. In that situation though, I find a hard workout and a good salad is enough to correct my microbiome. Depending on your job, you may notice a layer of dirt build-up pretty quickly. For that, I recommend wiping down with a warm rag. I often get dirt built up on my forearms, ankles, and sometimes around my neck. I do shower if I’m doing a particularly dirty job. Just a couple of weeks ago, I was working on my car and planted my head directly into a puddle of power steering fluid. Some situations just warrant shampoo. That being said, when I do shower, I use all-natural soaps that don’t strip my body of its natural oils the same way regular shampoos and soaps do. 

Showering and bathing on such a regular basis can be quite a strain on the environment. A typical showerhead has a water flow rate of 2.5 gallons per minute. Data shows that showering is nearly 20% of total water usage in American homes, and the average American family uses 40 gallons of water on showers per day in the U.S. Using hot water to shower also uses an incredible amount of energy along with the water used. 

I don’t recommend that everyone give up showering. The reality is, most people aren’t healthy enough to give up showering without becoming gross. Most people aren’t willing to change their lifestyle in order to be able to give up showering. I do, however, encourage everyone to spread their showers out a little more and see what happens! At the very least, you’ll be doing the environment some good! 

On September 16th, scuba divers found more than 3,000 pounds of trash at Rushikonda beach in India. Divers were on their first underwater clean-up since quarantine began when they found 3,300 pounds of N-95 masks, gloves, and other bio-medical waste floating in the seabed. The trash was removed over three rounds of ocean clean up ending on September 27th.

According to the World Health Organization, the world needs 89 million medical masks a month. Disposable masks take hundreds of years to break down and are now being used more than ever.

 Before COVID-19, a government hospital bed would generate around half a kg of biomedical waste per day which has now gone up to 3-5 kg (per day).

Discarded single-use plastic masks and gloves are choking ocean beds

The pandemic has done extensive damage to the environment in recent months. Disposable masks frequently get wrapped up in wildlife. The amount of PPE that we dispose of is adding to an ever-growing pile of plastic in our oceans and landfills. The world has made a quick shift away from reusable products back to disposable products, for the sake of human health. That being said, the health of the planet and its animals cannot be forgotten, as it is likely what got us into this pandemic in the first place.

If you have to wear a mask, please use a reusable one. If you ever find yourself with a disposable one, when it comes time to throw it away, cut the strings off the mask to prevent it from getting wrapped up in the legs and fins of wildlife. More people are ordering things online than ever before. Keep in mind how much waste your package from amazon is generating. In an attempt to return to normal, many people have begun eating out again or ordering take-out from restaurants. Remember that you, the environment, and your wallet, are better off with a meal cooked at home. Be conscious of what you consume, and how, in a time where staying safe from COVID-19 has become more of a priority than taking care of the environment.

PFAS, commonly known as “forever chemicals” are chemicals that have been linked to cancer and numerous other health problems including thyroid issues, reproductive and developmental issues, and high cholesterol. Forever chemicals are called such because they never break down in the environment.

So why are DuPont and other similar companies still discharging these chemicals from their facilities?

In 2001, it came became well known that a type of PFAS called PFOA, which is used to make Teflon, contaminated the drinking water of 70,000 people near a DuPont factory in West Virginia. Several lawsuits and lots of pressure from the EPA later, DuPont and other companies pledged to phase out PFOA and stop usage after 2015.

Related: How to Detox From Plastics and Other Endocrine Disruptors

Earlier this month, California representative Harley Rouda, sent a letter to DuPont and Chemours questioning why PFAS were still being discharged at their factories. Despite the known toxicity, there are no federal enforcements on PFAS in drinking water, groundwater, or soils, and only five states have regulations on PFAS. There are also no requirements to clean up PFAS under the Federal Superfund Law.

The continued releases could be an indication that the two companies are still using PFOA, despite their assurances otherwise. If so, that would be a serious breach of public trust. But there are other possible explanations for these discharges. There could be PFOA in products or mixtures used at the facilities. Or “legacy” PFOA remaining in water used at the facilities could be showing up – an alarming reminder of the chemical’s persistence in the environment.

Both companies have publicly said they no longer use PFOA, yet, the EPA’s history shows ongoing discharge from two different facilities. One site in Parkersburg reported 323.5 pounds of PFOA released in 2019.

Forever chemicals produced by companies like DuPont and 3M have been contaminating our earth for decades. Information released has shown that these companies knew the dangers of these chemicals as early as the 1950s. If you have any interest in learning more about forever chemicals, I highly recommend the Mark Ruffalo film “Dark Waters”. Dark Waters follows the true story of a corporate defense attorney who took on an environmental lawsuit against DuPont, exposing the decades of pollution.

The health of our environment and the health of the human population are immensely intertwined. We haven’t seen the loss of life at this rapid rate since the dinosaurs went extinct. The Global Biodiversity Outlook 5 recently revealed that none of our 2010 Aichi Biodiversity Targets were reached by 2020. The Aichi Biodiversity Targets were intended to provide nations with the targets for species and habitat protection necessary to protect our planet, over the last 10 years.

Our Earth is not an issue we can afford to wait on. Our livelihoods depend on it. A healthy Earth is vital to creating a healthy environment where all creatures have access to a safe habitat, clean water, healthy food, clean air, and more.

Without functioning ecosystems, which depend on healthy biodiversity, there would be no clean air to breathe, safe water to drink or nutritious food to eat. Healthy ecosystems also regulate the Earth’s climate, filter air and water, recycle nutrients and mitigate the impact of natural disasters.

Why all human rights depend on a healthy environment

Portugal and Spain became the first countries to put the right to a healthy and sustainable environment in their constitution in 1976, and 1978 respectively. In 1981 the right to a healthy environment appeared in regional human rights treaties with the African Charter on Human and People’s rights, and again in 1988 with the San Salvador Protocol to the American Convention on Human Rights in 1988. Today more than 80% of the UN’s members recognize the right to a healthy environment as a human right. While the U.S does not, there are some states that recognize it in their constitution.

It’s become quite clear in recent months with the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic, that the Earth is prepared to protect its self at the cost of human life. Evidence has shown that pandemics such as the current one are often caused by the effects of human activities that cause damage to the planet.

Many have chosen to take action in light of recent events. Greta Thunberg, and other young people have filed cases with the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, stating that our approach to climate change as it stands, violates their rights. Similar cases have been filed against Australia and the Netherlands.

As a young person myself, I do believe that climate change is the most pressing issue that threatens our world today, on a global scale. Composting is one of, if not the most important thing an individual can do for the environment, along with continuing to read and learn about the threats that climate change imposes on our Earth.

More than 100 million tonnes of nitrogen fertilizer is sprayed on crops every year. When sprayed, the nitrogen releases nitrous oxide into the atmosphere. Over recent years Nitrous Oxide emissions from natural sources have remained stagnate, whereas emissions from human causes have skyrocketed over the last couple of decades. Concentrations of nitrous oxide have reached 331 parts per billion in 2018, 22% higher than before the industrial era. Emissions are caused by the use of synthetic fertilizers.

The emissions are created through microbial processes in soils. The use of nitrogen in synthetic fertilizers and manure is a key driver of this process. Other human sources of N₂O include the chemical industry, wastewater and the burning of fossil fuels.

New research: nitrous oxide emissions 300 times more powerful than CO₂ are jeopardising Earth’s future

Nitrous Oxide is typically destroyed in the atmosphere by solar radiation, but The Conversation reports that we’re currently emitting it faster than it’s being destroyed. Nitrous Oxide has 300 times the warming potential of carbon dioxide and stays in the atmosphere for an average of 116 years.

Research from the intergovernmental panel on Climate change has shown that we have exceeded the levels of nitrous oxide expected in all of our developed scenarios for the future. We are on track to see a global temperature increase of 3 degrees Celsius, this century.

Emissions of nitrous oxide have grown 30% globally over the last three decades. Brazil, China, and India have been some of the top contributors, with growing economies and increasing numbers of livestock and crop production. In Europe, nitrous oxide emissions have decreased over the past two decades- even while agricultural productivity increased. Europe had implemented governmental policies to reduce pollution and encourage more efficient fertilizer use.

To reduce greenhouse gas emissions we should focus on sustainable small scale agriculture that promotes carbon sequestration. Our health and environment are very intertwined. By eating locally grown organic produce that is good for your body, you can also do good for the Earth.

A new study compared the carbon emissions of nuclear power versus renewable energy and finds that renewables resulted in a more serious reduction of national carbon emissions. Scientists analyzed data from 123 countries from the years of 1999 to 2014. Not only did nuclear power not show a significant reduction in carbon emissions, it even showed increases in carbon emissions in some developing countries.

The evidence clearly points to nuclear being the least effective of the two broad carbon emissions abatement strategies, and coupled with its tendency not to co-exist well with its renewable alternative, this raises serious doubts about the wisdom of prioritising investment in nuclear over renewable energy…”

Benjamin Sovacool, a professor of energy policy at the University of Sussex

Nuclear power has been sold as a solid, more environmentally friendly alternative to fossil fuels, and there have been advances in nuclear technology since 2014, the last year that this study was examined. In addition to that, many of the nuclear plants analyzed were older and needed more energy to be maintained. Even with those caveats, it’s clear that nuclear power won’t benefit the environment the way a strategy consisting of renewable energies like wind and solar would.

Scientists have discovered that tiny air pollution particles associated with Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s have been identified in the brain stems of young people.

It is terrifying because, even in the infants, there is neuropathology in the brain stem…We can’t prove causality so far, but how could you expect these nanoparticles containing those metal species to sit inert and harmless inside critical cells of the brain? That’s the smoking gun – it seriously looks as if those nanoparticles are firing the bullets that are causing the observed neurodegenerative damage.”

Professor Barbara Maher, Lancaster University, UK

Related: Beat Alzheimer’s Disease Naturally

While researchers have not yet confirmed if these particles cause neurodegenerative disease, but it’s highly likely that air pollution does play a part in those conditions. The consequences for future generations will be huge, as over 90% of the population lives with unsafe air. These nanoparticles were found in the brainstems of 186 people between the ages of 11 months to 27 who died suddenly in Mexico City. Air pollution is a serious issue in Mexico, with 8% of the population dying from pollution-related conditions.