In parts one and two, I explored the problems with our current toilets (and the systems that support them), and looked at off-grid toilet designs for better ideas. Ultimately, the composting toilet is the best available option because it’s the lowest impact in just about every way. That having been … [continued]
In part 1, I took a quick look at the challenges of designing the toilet of the future, and show that there are serious problems with what we currently do. So far, I’ve only focused on what happens when sewer systems malfunction, but we still need to look at the … [continued]
People who fantasize about traveling back in time to the ancient past often forget that modern rolled toilet paper was invented in 1895, and other paper wasn’t widely used in the west for long before that. Prior to the 1850s, things like corn cobs were commonly used. Ancient China had … [continued]
Cleantech projects through the Startup In Residence (STIR) program trigger images of a borderline science-fiction world. Except, they’re a lot less creepy and far more useful.
Kim, a professor in the department of environmental sciences at American University, has been studying the fate of corals in our warming and increasingly polluted world — and he’s worried about what he’s found.
Toxic slime, bloodsucking villains, and a “code brown” – this isn’t a Halloween horror story. It’s real life, and it’s disgusting.
Delhi is getting its first hydropower plant, but it’s not harvesting the energy of running water in the traditional hydroelectric model, as this new system uses falling water from a treated sewage effluent pipe to spin its turbine. Recapturing some of the energy in flowing water that is generated by … [continued]
Editor’s Note: This article is one submission in a live Masdar blogging contest (find out the entry requirements here). Very simply, the focus of the contest submissions is to: “Describe your city in 2030: what will occur due to changes in energy, transportation and water technologies, and how will they … [continued]
By Peter Lehner, Executive Director of NRDC New York City, like hundreds of older cities around the country, can’t stand the rain. With so much paved area, and so little ground to soak up the water, the city’s sewer system can get overwhelmed by less than an inch of rainfall, … [continued]
When making a list of the most promising new sustainability innovations, sewage probably wouldn’t be the first topic that springs to mind. Let’s face it – beyond being the butt of jokes, what other good can come out of human waste? Well, one company thinks they’ve figured out how to use sewage to reduce humanity’s environmental impact and oil dependence.
Wastewater treatment plants could be a gold mine in the quest to replace the petroleum used every year to make plastic for packaging. energyNOW! correspondent Lee Patrick Sullivan got a whiff of how sewer sludge is being turned into sustainable plastic.
