(Comment that was entered in the entry of 'Inventing a toilet for the 21st century' from Mr Bill Gates's blog 'Impatient Optimistists')
Dear Bill
I know that your aim is to help those that are most needed in the world and for that I truly admire you. However, I only hope that these ideas that you are trying to promote reach the minds of those supporting the building of the so called Thames Tunnel super sewer in London GB, which is planned to try to solve the problems caused by the use of obsolete toilets throughout the capital.
I have been thinking a lot about the issue (see notosupersewer.blogspot.com) and have come to the conclusion that apart from the necessary technological advances that you are promoting, the solution (at least for the particular case of London's polluted river) is local legislation facing out the use of old toilets and encouraging their replacement by new technologies. If they managed to control the infamous London's Great Smog of 1952 with the publication of the Clean Air Act 1956, they could/ should do the same in this case. Unfortunately, and looking at the way things are going, it seems that fixing the source of the problem is the last thing in the minds of those in control of the situation.
Maybe you could somehow influence those in London that have the capacity to change things. It may well be that if one of the 'world capitals' is able to convert to a sustainable sanitary system this may at the same time help you out in your aim to 'spread' the message throughout the world. Anyway, at least I can only hope.
Dear Bill
I know that your aim is to help those that are most needed in the world and for that I truly admire you. However, I only hope that these ideas that you are trying to promote reach the minds of those supporting the building of the so called Thames Tunnel super sewer in London GB, which is planned to try to solve the problems caused by the use of obsolete toilets throughout the capital.
I have been thinking a lot about the issue (see notosupersewer.blogspot.com) and have come to the conclusion that apart from the necessary technological advances that you are promoting, the solution (at least for the particular case of London's polluted river) is local legislation facing out the use of old toilets and encouraging their replacement by new technologies. If they managed to control the infamous London's Great Smog of 1952 with the publication of the Clean Air Act 1956, they could/ should do the same in this case. Unfortunately, and looking at the way things are going, it seems that fixing the source of the problem is the last thing in the minds of those in control of the situation.
Maybe you could somehow influence those in London that have the capacity to change things. It may well be that if one of the 'world capitals' is able to convert to a sustainable sanitary system this may at the same time help you out in your aim to 'spread' the message throughout the world. Anyway, at least I can only hope.
Dear Rhamnus, thanks for keeping up the good stuff. We find (and TW actually agree, in writing) that the chief reason the SS is actually needed is the weird rainwater patterns we've all been experiencing, quite potently this spring. They are likely the result of climate change. So TW's answer is essentially a device with a colossal carbon footprint of its own (in construction but most critically, operations terms; that 25km pipe will require massive pumps that will need the equivalent of a small power station to run ad aeternum). How smart!
ReplyDeleteAddressing the rainwater issue, as you will see on our website, it a lot easier than one might think and is now being done elsewhere without resorting to antiquated measures. It's good to see homo sapiens is - albeit slowly - learning to adapt to its new reality, where climate change is a clear and present issue. But water metering should also help, possibly also with your idea. It's been shown to deliver saving of 20-30% just by virtue of the simple incentive it creates to actually not waste the precious stuff...
Please visit our campaign here: http://cleanthames.org
Thank you for your comment. I am reading your web site and it is full of very interesting proposals. However, you do not seem to indicate there your opinion about the possibility of recycling our own waste. Do you have any particular views about what it is proposed in this blog?
DeleteCheers
Rhamnus