One of the more unsettling things I've seen on TV in the last year is people reducing the flow on their showers.
I've chosen flats and houses for years with shower effectiveness as a showstopping criteria. I've seen it as a height of civilisation to have a lovely hot shower where I get very wet. the idea of reducing shower effectiveness feels to me like the march of civilisation into darkness.Now I know if I lived in Australia or one of many other water-poor nations I couldn't have a long shower so if I lived there I'd be a poorer dirtier individual but thankfully I live in New Zild - the '0.65ha low fat instant pudding paradise'
This water and power profligacy has it's roots in my dysfunctional childhood where after my parents broke up I lived in a house with my mother, no hot water but a small cylinder and wetback that, if we had a fire, produced two short showers and the dishes once a day. Such was the dysfunction that if I as a 10 year old didn't clear the grate, find wood and light the fire there was no hot water. Since I didn't enjoy the grate clearing and often couldn find things to burn, I didn't always do it. So when we visited relatives my 2 siblings and I were stripped, thrown into baths and our clothes washed (or thrown out and replaced as happened occassionally).
When I turn 13 and went to High School I suddenly understood cleanliness so started to ensure there was a fire and hot water and I had a brief shower each morning. Since I was getting myself too school it was also something to encourage me to get me up in the morning in time to forage some lunch and sometimes breakfast and get to school on time. My shower time was the best time of the day. And that feeling has continued to today - showers to me have a deep cleansing and liberating function, one that means I can hold my head up high and go out. You can imagine my classmates were far more friendly when I showered every day compared to once a fortnight (and had clean clothes which is another story).
So recognising my showers are now seen by many as the enemy of the planet I have gone back to one every other day and sometimes one every 3 days but they are hot and long. I do have a problem with this idea of who can prescribe what I can use energy for and what I can't. If I was choosing I'd close all gyms (make people run around instead and save that power), but many would object to this. I'd also cancel the world cup rugby - that has to be worth a lot of hot showers, and actually all rugby in those big stadiums with lights. let the teams flail around in the dark OR play when it's light. I'd close TV networks during daylight hours, close schools and workplaces on very hot and very cold days. Demand offices use less air conditioning (all it does is make people sick anyway). Ban SUVs for ordinary households. I'd ban a lot of overseas travel. I'd impoverish Paris Hilton - a big waste of energy there I think. But I wouldn't interfere with other peoples' showers.
For my shower I will trade all sorts of other energy and water consumption. I will hand wash rather than dish wash. I will not buy a swimming pool (sorry kids). I will wander around in the dark more. Eat more uncooked food dishes. Not go out as much. I will wear poly props and leave the heater off. I will trade off a lot of things before my showers.
And if I am ever very rich I will forgo a big car and a private plane. And I will have a wasteful hot shower every day.
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