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Title: Bill Gates to 'reinvent' the toilet
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Published: Jul 21, 2011
Author: Karin Zeitvogel (China Daily)
Post Date: 2011-07-21 00:36:12 by Tatarewicz
Keywords: None
Views: 251
Comments: 17
WASHINGTON - The man who reinvented computers and made PCs a household item in most wealthy nations, Microsoft tycoon turned philanthropist Bill Gates, is now focusing his attention on recasting the WC. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is pledging millions of dollars in grants to reinvent the toilet, said its Director of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Programs Frank Rijsberman, calling it a "huge issue for Africa". The aim is to boost health in developing countries by giving the 2.6 billion people who don't have access to a WC a hygienic, safe place to go to the toilet. Speaking by phone from a pan-African conference on sanitation that opened in the Rwandan capital Kigali on Tuesday, Rijsberman said only a fraction of Africans, even in large cities, are "connected to sewers with a flush toilet". "In cities, people use 'flying toilets'," he explained. "They go on a plastic bag and then throw it in the street, which is not only gross but kids walk around and play, and come into contact with the poop and can develop chronic diarrhea, which kills more children under the age of 5 than HIV/AIDS and malaria." Rijsberman mentioned Haiti, where by the end of last month 5,500 people had died from a cholera epidemic he said was caused by "improperly disposed of waste" from a UN peacekeepers' base. Giving people in Africa and other parts of the developing world access to toilets could slash the death rate from diarrhea by around 40 percent, he said. But the Gates Foundation not only wants to improve access to toilets, it also wants to get away from the flush WC that is ubiquitous in the West but isn't a viable solution for poor countries. "We need to reinvent the toilet. We need to come up with new technology that doesn't put waste into drinking water, doesn't flush it down a very expensive pipe to a waste water treatment plant where we spend lots of money to remove the poop," Rijsberman said. To spur the reinvention of the WC, the Gates Foundation used the AfricaSan conference in Kigali to announce $42 million in grants to spur innovations in the capture and storage of waste, and to develop ways to process what Rijsberman calls "poop" into reusable energy and fertilizer. Among the ideas being worked on are a waterless toilet, and a system that would microwave fecal matter and turn it into fuel. Agence France-Presse An American futurist predicted (on C2C, I think) feces in the future will be disposed of at composting sites the way garbage is collected today.
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#1. To: Tatarewicz (#0)
And here only a fraction use them.
"The person who agrees with you 80 percent of the time is a friend and an ally — not a 20 percent traitor" - Ronald Reagan
"They go on a plastic bag and then throw it in the street, which is not only gross but kids walk around and play, and come into contact with the poop and can develop chronic diarrhea, which kills more children under the age of 5 than HIV/AIDS and malaria." You'd think they'd at least be clever enough to dig a hole and dump their waste in that. Too much to ask of them with their busy schedules I suppose.
Why don't they turn it into meat? That's the wave of the future.
It is vital to understand that there is no truth without discernment and no wisdom without the truth. What then is “faith” but an effort to confound truth and wisdom?
Up until the 1800's London, England was wracked by repeated cholera outbreaks and life expectancy, even among the wealthy and privileged, did not, in most cases, extend beyond the late 40's to early 50's. The reason? They were dumping their waste near their drinking water sources. It wasn't figured out by the medical profession either - it was figured out by Insurance Actuaries. They looked at the numbers and saw where the highest death rates were and investigated why. As a result London was the first major city with an underground sewage system, and that eliminated the cholera problems. Oh, and the insurance people made a pile of money because people were living longer so they had fewer pay outs for life insurance.
Even the Romans used toilets of some type, and had running water piped in through plumbing... ... Roman Baths and Hygiene in Ancient Rome Technology took a huge step backwards in the "Dark Ages", largely due to the early church destroying any scientific knowledge that was available.
so I suppose no one has told them yet about compost toilets? they work fine, don't smell bad in the house and don't require water ...
Thank you for the intro: IMO, Bill Gates is pissing his money away trying to fix anything in Afreaka!
An Aussie documented the building of his green dream home, and he learned through trial and error how to make his compost toilet work. His first faced the wrong way and strong breezes caused the fumes to back into his home. He decided to keep the next one away from the house although not by much separation. It also didn't compost as quickly as he needed it to: 1. Construction * Improper connection of the toilet to the wastewater system can cause contamination issues. Improper filtration, airflow or screening against insects or rodents can cause odors or ground contamination. Maintenance * Poor maintenance can cause toilet problems such as odors and contamination by bacteria leading to disease and health issues. Proper maintenance requires more time and effort than a conventional septic system, and includes keeping the correct amount of water and solid material in the chamber. Health * Improper drainage of the compartment can cause potential biohazards. If the unit is without electricity for long periods of time, gases can build up. Constant proper drainage of the chamber is required to prevent this problem. Management * Improper management of material causes problems. A continuous schedule must be maintained to ensure the correct amount and timing of the addition or removal of items. Understanding the correct amounts of the correct additives, along with the correct disposal for your unit, is important. System Failure * The potential for failure of the system is a large problem. Improper maintenance or electric failure can cause the system to fail. Transfer the chamber contents to a tightly sealed 55-gallon drum to finish the composting process outside.
Word!
Since warm temperature is important in composting, should work well in Africa.
I prefer the flying toilets to this. All that money and that is what they come up with? Microwave shit? No wonder Microsoft Windows has all those holes, it is run by morons! Why would someone that wants the world's population to be reduced give a crap about where Africans crap?
God is always good!
~ my limited knowledge about them comes from 2 weeks up on a mountain in Ark., folks had 2 of these inside their dome home and I was impressed there was no smell ... and they got off cheap compared to other options ... duno long-term effects though, thanks for tips
Wealth and stupidity are not mutually exclusive.
"Authority has always attracted the lowest elements in the human race. All through history mankind has been bullied by scum. Those who lord it over their fellows and toss commands in every direction and would boss the grass in the meadow about which way to bend in the wind are the most depraved kind of prostitutes." – P.J. O'Rourke, "A Parliament of Whores"
But not his toilet, right? Just everybody else's.
Well, for all I know the Aussie just didn't have the requisite skills or proper location (as in good updraft-wind conditions) to make the things work. I also forgot to mention that his first attempt was bug infested and that was the primary reason for separating the toilet from the main house. I know from my own experience that with flush toilets there is a right way and *several wrong ways to install them, too. So, maybe with the proper research compost toi tois can be built right the first time, every time. I'd certainly like to know that if it's true. *If the drain pipe drop is too steep, say, more than 1/2 inch every 8 feet then liquids will run off and leave the solids behind. The "fall" will vary along with local plumbing codes depending on the size of the pipe, i.e. "a quarter of an inch drop per foot and a two inch line if the trap is inch and a half." Thank you for opening the topic for discussion. It's something we should all think about.
just what i want to think about. african shit.
The men the American people admire most extravagantly are the most daring liars; the men they detest most violently are those who try to tell them the truth. ~ H.L. Mencken
Hey, today's toilet customer is tomorrow's Microsoft/WINDOWS 7000 customer! "Instructions to use toilet and integral computer: First, push the start button...."
only a fraction of Africans, even in large cities, are "connected to sewers with a flush toilet".
#2. To: Tatarewicz (#0)
"In cities, people use 'flying toilets'," he explained.
"The real deal is this: the ‘royalty’ controlling the court, the ones with the power, the ones with the ability to make a difference, with the ability to change our course, the ones who will live in infamy if we pass the tipping points, are the captains of industry, CEOs in fossil fuel companies such as EXXON/Mobil, automobile manufacturers, utilities, all of the leaders who have placed short-term profit above the fate of the planet and the well-being of our children." - James Hansen
#3. To: Tatarewicz (#0)
Among the ideas being worked on are a waterless toilet, and a system that would microwave fecal matter and turn it into fuel
#4. To: FormerLurker, Tatarewicz (#2)
#5. To: Original_Intent (#4)
Up until the 1800's London, England was wracked by repeated cholera outbreaks and life expectancy, even among the wealthy and privileged,
"The real deal is this: the ‘royalty’ controlling the court, the ones with the power, the ones with the ability to make a difference, with the ability to change our course, the ones who will live in infamy if we pass the tipping points, are the captains of industry, CEOs in fossil fuel companies such as EXXON/Mobil, automobile manufacturers, utilities, all of the leaders who have placed short-term profit above the fate of the planet and the well-being of our children." - James Hansen
#6. To: Tatarewicz (#0)
~ the truth will set ya free, but only after it pisses ya off ~
#7. To: FormerLurker (#5)
Even the Romans used toilets of some type, and had running water piped in through plumbing... ...
-Schweizerische Schuetzenzeitung (Swiss Shooting Federation) April, 1941
#8. To: Amandil (#6)
so I suppose no one has told them yet about compost toilets? they work fine, don't smell bad in the house and don't require water ...
#9. To: X-15 (#7)
IMO, Bill Gates is pissing his money away trying to fix anything in Afreaka!
#10. To: Amandil (#6)
#11. To: Tatarewicz (#0)
Among the ideas being worked on are a waterless toilet, and a system that would microwave fecal matter and turn it into fuel.
#12. To: HOUNDDAWG (#8)
~ the truth will set ya free, but only after it pisses ya off ~
#13. To: X-15 (#7)
IMO, Bill Gates is pissing his money away trying to fix anything in Afreaka!
#14. To: Tatarewicz (#0)
Bill Gates to 'reinvent' the toilet
Mike Flaherty: Yeah, it's been there a long time. I wish I knew which corner.
My Man Godfrey (1936 2011)
#15. To: Amandil (#12)
~ my limited knowledge about them comes from 2 weeks up on a mountain in Ark., folks had 2 of these inside their dome home and I was impressed there was no smell ... and they got off cheap compared to other options ... duno long-term effects though, thanks for tips
#16. To: Flintlock, Esso, Taterawisz, HOUNDDAWG, X-15, angk, ALL (#1)
#17. To: christine (#16)
just what i want to think about.
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