The Big Necessity The Unmentionable World of Human Waste and Why It Matters

by George, Rose

• ISBN13: 9780805082715
• ISBN10: 0805082719
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2008-10-14
• Publisher: Metropolitan Books

Summary

An utterly original exploration of the world of human waste that will surprise, outrageand entertainProduced behind closed doors, disposed of discreetly, and hidden by euphemism, bodily waste is something common to all and as natural as breathing, yet we prefer not to talk about it. But we shouldeven those of us who take care of our business in pristine, sanitary conditions. For it's not only in developing countries that human waste is a major public health threat: population growth is taxing even the most advanced sewage systems, and the disease spread by waste kills more people worldwide every year than any other single cause of death. Even in America, 1.95 million people have no access to an indoor toilet. Yet the subject remains unmentionable.The Big Necessitytakes aim at the taboo, revealing everything that matters about how people doand don'tdeal with their own waste. Moving from the deep underground sewers of Paris, London, and New Yorkan infrastructure disaster waiting to happento an Indian slum where ten toilets are shared by 60,000 people, Rose George stops along the way to explore the potential saviors: China's five million biogas digesters, which produce energy from waste; the heroes of third world sanitation movements; the inventor of the humble Car Loo; and the U.S. Army's personal lasers used by soldiers to zap their feces in the field.With razor-sharp wit and crusading urgency, mixing levity with gravity, Rose George has turned the subject we like to avoid into a cause with the most serious of consequences.

Author Biography

Rose George is a freelance writer and journalist who regularly contributes to Slate, The Guardian, The Independent, and the Financial Times. She lives in London.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Examining the Unmentionables	p. 1
In the Sewers	p. 15
The Robo-Toilet Revolution	p. 39
2.6 Billion	p. 65
Going to the Sulabh	p. 89
China's Biogas Boom	p. 109
A Public Necessity	p. 129
The Battle of Biosolids	p. 149
Open Defecation-Free India	p. 173
In the Cities	p. 199
The End	p. 225
Notes	p. 239
Further Reading	p. 275
Filmography	p. 277
Acknowledgments	p. 279
Index	p. 281
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.

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