Re.source World Toilet Day

A wonderful post on the re.source page about thinking beyond the provision of hardware.

http://resourcesanitation.com/2013/11/20/beyond-the-toilet/

"now that we’ve got you talking toilets, maybe we can also get you talking more, about service, marketing, aspirations, treatment, resource recovery, all the potential that lies beyond the toilet."

Why Women Go to the Toilet in Groups

http://blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/2013/11/19/why-women-go-to-the-toilet-in-groups/

This is an article about Indian women in Bhalswa have to go to public toilets in groups because of saftey issues. This article also says that "more Indians have access to a cellphone than a toilet of their own." Super disturbing. The article ends with "After the women formed the sanitation committee in Bhalswa last year, they met with local politicians who promised renovations to the public bathrooms. But the women say they haven’t heard anything since." 
Not only is this a sanitation issue but it is a feminine one as well.

I'm glad these issues are being brought to attention in the media today. Hopefully things like World Toilet Day it will lead to longer conversations about it and be rid of its taboo.

Happy World Toilet Day Everyone!

There are tons of great articles out there on major news sites and blogs today. Please post a link to your favorite article from the day! I like this one because it highlights sanitation as a business.

http://www.good.is/posts/on-world-toilet-day-let-s-talk-about-global-sanitation?utm_medium=tdg&utm_source=email&utm_campaign=limage&utm_content=On%20World%20Toilet%20Day%2C%20Let%27s%20Talk%20About%20Global%20Sanitation

Typhoon Haiyan

Short article about the struggle to find clean water in the aftermath of the terrible Philippines typhoon that displaced nearly four million people late last week:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/16/philippines-typhoon-survi_n_4287114.html

Toilet-Sink

http://www.npr.org/blogs/alltechconsidered/2013/07/12/201470855/everything-old-is-new-again-the-toilet-sink-edition

 Here's a bit on NPR's website about toilet-sink technology, and a video showing how it's done:

 

Thank You Toilet Song

This is really cute! Perhaps some inspiration for those of you with graphic art/animation/song writing skills

"The Complicated Moral Calculus of Recycling: Christmas Lights to Shoe Soles"

 "Would you take your date to a car shedder?" Terry Gross's Fresh Air host asks Adam Minter, author of   "Junkyard Planet".  

Wednesday November 13, 2013.

http://www.npr.org/programs/fresh-air/

You can digest this complex information along with your breakfast cereal. A lively conversation on the latest twists in recycling. It's NOT all good news.

I stumbled across this the other day. Its a pretty good insight into the ridiculousness of consumer society and the obvious issues it might bring up in the future.
http://www.businessinsider.com/casey-neistat-on-iphone-5s-lines-2013-9

Typhoon Haiyan, Philippines and Extreme Weather

This latest disaster is a "perfect storm" of the topics we have been discussing:

 1. Extreme Weather Events
http://www.nature.com/news/did-climate-change-cause-typhoon-haiyan-1.14139

2. Emergency relief for public sanitation - public health

A detailed menu of options with good illustrations >
http://www.sswm.info/category/implementation-tools/wastewater-treatment/hardware/sanitation-emergencies/immediate-emergen


3. The experiences of other cultures >
If you are moved to become directly involved, Bayanihan Community Center is a prominent local organization in SOMA
http://www.bayanihancc.org/index.html

Hey guys!
I just came across this article

Gray Whale dies bringing us a message - with stomach full of plastic trash

Battery Breakthroughs

Greetings!
Here is an exciting article from KQED Science.org
One of your most readable and visual sources for current science news.

In response to Luke's piece here is an article:

http://blogs.kqed.org/science/audio/silicon-valley-in-race-for-battery-breakthrough/

Please reply with your comments on how this might impact your work flow, your lifestyle decisions - or even your employment opportunities. With this many start-ups occuring here, there have to be some open positions!

Majora Carter - Greening the Ghetto

This awesome TED Talk synthesizes some of the ecological, political, and socioeconomic factors that perpetuate widespread health problems among those living in urban ghettos across the United States (and elsewhere). Majora Carter is an environmental activist from the South Bronx and major proponent for environmental justice, which she explains "goes something like this: no community should be saddled with more environmental burdens and less environmental benefits than any other."

Carbon Negative Power for Artists

" In 2007, officials from this famously liberal city (Berkeley) shut off the electricity to an artists space known as the Shipyard. That action, which forced the artists there to seek a new way to power their flamethrowers, is the origin story of a company that now produces what it says to be the world's only carbon negative power source."

Click here to read the full article.