“Antibiotic resistance exemplifies par excellence Darwinism: Surviving strains (of bacteria) have emerged under the protection and selection by the antibiotic.”

– Dr. Stuart B. Levy, professor of molecular biology, microbiology and medicine, Tufts University

Is your evil alter ego working to create superbugs, those antibiotic-resistant bacteria that could wipe out humanity? Is your home a chemical warfare lab that uses an underground network to disseminate dangerous agents into the public water supply?

Probably not. But some of your innocent actions might inadvertently contribute to the same environmental problems as those plotted by the Doctor Doom I just described. By using “antibacterial soaps” and improperly disposing of antibiotics – especially by flushing them down the toilet – you could be helping to create superbugs through the process of evolution.

That’s because antibacterial soaps and antibiotics don’t just kill their targeted disease-causing bacteria; they kill any susceptible bacteria they contact, on or in your body and in the environment. But some bacteria are resistant to the antimicrobial chemicals, and they survive and continue to multiply. And when they find themselves in a new, favorable environment because their bacterial competitors have been eliminated by our “chemical warfare,” their populations explode.

This is “Darwinism” or evolution in action: One species of bacteria (or, since bacteria commonly swap genes and are classified differently than more-complex organisms, one “group” of bacteria) has a selective advantage, resistance to specific chemicals, that allows it to increase its numbers over its bacterial competitors. Over time – a very short time because bacteria reproduce quickly – the drug-resistant bacteria dominate the environment and become the group to which we are most likely to be exposed.

The chemicals in antibacterial soaps and most antibiotics both dissolve in water and persist in the environment, at least for long enough to affect the evolution of the bacterial population, and often for decades more. So each time someone washes his or her hands with antibacterial soap or disposes of leftover antibiotics by flushing them or dumping them in the garbage, the chemicals find their way into the water supply through the sewer system or the ground and contribute to the growth of superbugs.

If only a handful of people committed such sins against nature (and us), the effects would be nil. But it is estimated that up to 75 percent of all U.S. households use antibacterial soap. Also, since antibiotics were discovered in the 1940s, billions of people worldwide have used (or overused) them and, for the most part, disposed of them carelessly.

This, along with the extensive use of antibiotics in agriculture, has resulted in the evolution of vast populations of superbugs that are threatening to cause a full-blown health crisis – the great epidemic of the early 21st century. Thus far, 2 million people in the U.S. are infected by antibiotic-resistant bacteria annually, and 23,000 of them die.

What can you do? First and foremost, stop using antibacterial soaps and related products, especially those that contain the antimicrobial agent “triclosan” and its close relative “triclocarban.” Triclosan can pose health risks to its users and to anyone who becomes exposed to it through the water supply. The risks include, ironically, reduced bacterial resistance and hormonal effects in the user. (Another irony: Some bacteria thrive in a triclosan-rich environment, and others actually eat the stuff!)

Next, dispose of antibiotics and other drugs and chemicals properly. The best method is to drop them off at a “drug take-back” event such as the National Take Back Initiative. Sponsored by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the initiative occurs twice annually throughout the U.S. Additionally, some pharmacies and hospitals will recycle your leftover drugs.

The next-best method of disposal, recommended by the Environmental Protection Agency, is:

Remove the drugs from the original container (and remove your name, Rx number, etc.);

Mix them with used cat litter, coffee grounds or some other undesirable substance;

Put them into a disposable container such as a margarine tub with a lid or a sealable plastic bag and;

Dispose of the container in the trash.

Finally, by searching online using keywords such as “antibiotics and bacterial resistance,” and “antibiotics in the water supply,” educate yourself so you can better inform others about the problem at our ecological house.

Philip S. Wenz, who grew up in Durango and Boulder, now lives in Corvallis, Ore., where he teaches and writes about environmental issues. Reach him via email through his website, www.your-ecological-house.com.