“One smart book . . . delving deep into the history and implications of a daily act that dare not speak its name.” —Newsweek
Acclaimed as “extraordinary” (The New York Times) and “a classic” (Los Angeles Times), The Big Necessity is on its way to removing the taboo on bodily waste—something common to all and as natural as breathing. We prefer not to talk about it, but we should—even those of us who take care of our business in pristine, sanitary conditions. Disease spread by waste kills more people worldwide every year than any other single cause of death. Even in America, nearly two million people have no access to an indoor toilet. Yet the subject remains unmentionable.
Moving from the underground sewers of Paris, London, and New York (an infrastructure disaster waiting to happen) to an Indian slum where ten toilets are shared by 60,000 people, The Big Necessity breaks the silence, revealing everything that matters about how people do—and don’t—deal with their own waste. 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.
"The Big Necessity" contains a fair amount of interesting information. Two billion, six-hundred million people lack sanitation (including 1.7 million in the U.S.) - lacking sanitation is defined as no outhouse, bucket, or box. The number of children killed by diarrhea exceeds that number killed in armed conflict since WWII, and 90% of that is caused by fecally contaminated food or water. Ninety percent of the world's human sewage ends up untreated in oceans, rivers, and lakes.
The average human produces 77 lbs. of excrement and 132 gallons of urine per year; add toilet flushes and the total reaches 4,000 gallons per year.
Restaurant-dumped fat solidifies and blocks sewers. N.Y.C. has 14 waste water treatment plants, vs. 3 in London. The American Society of Civil Engineers graded U.S. waste water infrastructure as D- in 2005. Rain can overwhelm sewer systems designed to include runoff water.
Japanese toilets are hi-tech - warmed seats, and washing and drying after used.
Pakistan spends 47X the amount on water/sanitation for defense, yet loses 120,000 to diarrhea each year.
About 90% of China's rural population's excrement is sprayed onto fields. Recently it has begun installing bio-gas digesters connected to their toilets, and about 40% ($170) of the cost is paid by government. Benefits include free cooking gas, 64% fewer flies, improved crop yields, and reduced toxicity of remaining sludge.
Sludge from American waste water plants is often used on crops; however, its acceptability is complicated by the presence of heavy metals and conflicting rules regarding their use. (Eg. Sewer workers should not be exposed to these toxins, but children near fields using the sludge are OK.) Some European nations now ban the use of sludge on fields.
The downside of "The Big Necessity" is that its anecdotal nature makes it difficult for readers to sometimes place facts into perspective, and some of the facts seem misstated.
"The Big Necessity" contains a fair amount of interesting information. Two billion, six-hundred million people lack sanitation (including 1.7 million in the U.S.) - lacking sanitation is defined as no outhouse, bucket, or box. The number of children killed by diarrhea exceeds that number killed in armed conflict since WWII, and 90% of that is caused by fecally contaminated food or water. Ninety percent of the world's human sewage ends up untreated in oceans, rivers, and lakes.
The average human produces 77 lbs. of excrement and 132 gallons of urine per year; add toilet flushes and the total reaches 4,000 gallons per year.
Restaurant-dumped fat solidifies and blocks sewers. N.Y.C. has 14 waste water treatment plants, vs. 3 in London. The American Society of Civil Engineers graded U.S. waste water infrastructure as D- in 2005. Rain can overwhelm sewer systems designed to include runoff water.
Japanese toilets are hi-tech - warmed seats, and washing and drying after used.
Pakistan spends 47X the amount on water/sanitation for defense, yet loses 120,000 to diarrhea each year.
About 90% of China's rural population's excrement is sprayed onto fields. Recently it has begun installing bio-gas digesters connected to their toilets, and about 40% ($170) of the cost is paid by government. Benefits include free cooking gas, 64% fewer flies, improved crop yields, and reduced toxicity of remaining sludge.
Sludge from American waste water plants is often used on crops; however, its acceptability is complicated by the presence of heavy metals and conflicting rules regarding their use. (Eg. Sewer workers should not be exposed to these toxins, but children near fields using the sludge are OK.) Some European nations now ban the use of sludge on fields.
The downside of "The Big Necessity" is that its anecdotal nature makes it difficult for readers to sometimes place facts into perspective, and some of the facts seem misstated.
"The Big Necessity" contains a fair amount of interesting information. Two billion, six-hundred million people lack sanitation (including 1.7 million in the U.S.) - lacking sanitation is defined as no outhouse, bucket, or box. The number of children killed by diarrhea exceeds that number killed in armed conflict since WWII, and 90% of that is caused by fecally contaminated food or water. Ninety percent of the world's human sewage ends up untreated in oceans, rivers, and lakes.
The average human produces 77 lbs. of excrement and 132 gallons of urine per year; add toilet flushes and the total reaches 4,000 gallons per year.
Restaurant-dumped fat solidifies and blocks sewers. N.Y.C. has 14 waste water treatment plants, vs. 3 in London. The American Society of Civil Engineers graded U.S. waste water infrastructure as D- in 2005. Rain can overwhelm sewer systems designed to include runoff water.
Japanese toilets are hi-tech - warmed seats, and washing and drying after used.
Pakistan spends 47X the amount on water/sanitation for defense, yet loses 120,000 to diarrhea each year.
About 90% of China's rural population's excrement is sprayed onto fields. Recently it has begun installing bio-gas digesters connected to their toilets, and about 40% ($170) of the cost is paid by government. Benefits include free cooking gas, 64% fewer flies, improved crop yields, and reduced toxicity of remaining sludge.
Sludge from American waste water plants is often used on crops; however, its acceptability is complicated by the presence of heavy metals and conflicting rules regarding their use. (Eg. Sewer workers should not be exposed to these toxins, but children near fields using the sludge are OK.) Some European nations now ban the use of sludge on fields.
The downside of "The Big Necessity" is that its anecdotal nature makes it difficult for readers to sometimes place facts into perspective, and some of the facts seem misstated.
