Why Drought-Shaming the Ice Bucket Challenge is Over-Dramatic

Actors Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston getting iced, (care of Tumblr user LoptrLaufey)

First of all, for those unfamiliar with the Ice Bucket Challenge, this is a viral campaign created by the ALS Association. ALS, which stands for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, is a progressive neurodegenerative disease also referred to as Lou Gehrig's Disease in which a person gradually loses the ability to use and control their muscle movements - it can start with the limbs, but later progress to the loss of ability to eat and speak independently because of loss of tone in the pharyngeal or facial muscles.  The Ice Bucket Challenge poses the individual with a choice: dump a bucket of ice water on your head (often within 24 hours) or donate to the cause of striking out ALS. Then you nominate 3 others to do the same.

In nursing school, I spent a day with a home health nurse, during which we spent almost the entire day visiting veterans - mostly from Vietnam - suffering from ALS, and having seen the disease progression for myself, I immediately felt a sense of happiness at the presence of such awareness of the disease. A couple of years ago, during my first semester in nursing school, hardly anyone even knew about it, and now there was an entire viral campaign to raise money for it.

And then, I started seeing all of the complaints on social media. This doesn't really help, some say, but money has been raised, over $15 million at that. Others, particularly in California, bring up the fact that we are in a drought, and it is a waste of water. Inspired by a satirical article by the Daily Currant - please pay attention to the word satirical - which said that Ice Bucket Challenge participants were being fined for participating, many people have posted on social media about how shameful and irresponsible it is to waste so much water during a drought - and while, yes, we are in a drought that needs to be taken seriously, and yes, we do need to make conservation efforts, the shaming of people doing something fun and interesting for a good cause needs to stop.

As far as water usage, let's talk about the average shower. The average shower, lasting about 15 minutes (though let's be honest - many of us take longer) uses 2 to 4 gallons per minute in a water-saving shower, or 7-10 gallons per minute in the conventional shower. The average toilet flush for a conventional toilet uses about 5 to 7 gallons of water, and up to 3.5 gallons of water with a water-saving toilet.

Now, I won't pretend to know a good estimate of how much water is used in the Ice Bucket Challenge, but I feel like saying 5 to 7 gallons is a reasonable if not generous number - and participants only dump water on themselves once. Think about that for a second.

Yes, we need to take the drought seriously - but if you are going to drought-shame anyone, focus your energies on businesses and energy industries that are responsible for the bulk of water-waste. Or, if you're upset about the amount of water used for one person taking the Ice Bucket Challenge, then take your ire out on every person who flushed the toilet one extra time to get rid of skidmarks, or stayed in the shower and extra minute or two to contemplate the meaning of life. Because literally, those actions use the same amount if not more water. Happy drought-shaming.