Clean Water, Dirty Sewage, and "Hey, Check Out My New Smartphone!"

Well in Mauritania

Hi Folks,

In this week's presentation, John Borrazzo gave a really nice comprehensive view of two issues we essentially take for granted in the US:  clean and accessible water, and a clean and accessible place to poo, with the operative terms being "clean" and "accessible."  Regarding water, it is the stuff of life and essential to our well being.  But nearly 800 million people do not have access to improved drinking water.

Roman Latrine

Even though proper and organized disposal of human waste was present in the Roman era, the flush toilet, or "WC" for water closet, was only invented in the 16th century by John Harington (no relation to yours truly), though Thomas Crapper is often given credit.

John spoke about exposure to indoor smoke from cooking fires as a significant cause of respiratory illness and death around the globe, particularly among women living in low-income countries.  The Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves is making an effort to address this problem by supporting funding for the development of low-cost, sustainable, and scalable cookstoves.  While a new device may be necessary, it is not sufficient to address the problem of exposure to indoor smoke.  Sometimes the "new" cookstove ends up being unused, in favor of the traditional three-stone method, as in this photo.

The "new" cookstove stands idle

Why is that?  Why wouldn't a woman in Senegal, for example, jump at the chance to have a ''new and energy efficient" cookstove?  Cooking is a behavior that is passed down from generation-to-generation and adoption of changes to this behavior can be difficult.

Recognizing the importance of understanding human behavior and the adoption of new ideas is both necessary and sufficient for behavior change.  Here is an example of a human-centered approach to cookstoves that attempts to understand and address behaviors to adopt a new cookstove. 

Finally, after the lecture this week, we watched four films on electronic waste, or e-waste, which is the dirty underside of electronics disposal and how the developed world's lovefest with new smartphones, computers, and other e-gadgets is becoming a major threat to human health in low-income countries.  See this example of the problem of e-waste in India from Greenpeace, in Nigeria from the Basel Action Network, and in this CBS 60 Minutes exposé entitled Wasteland.  The New York Times published a lengthy article and slide show on e-waste last year.  And there are indeed consequences for violators of recycling laws.  Fortunately, there are companies that recycle e-waste in a safe and efficient manner, including SIMS Recycling Solutions, but at a cost that is unaffordable in most low-income countries.

Boy disassembling e-waste in Ghana

Research questions to consider regarding e-waste:

• What types of incentives are necessary to promote environmentally safe disposal of e-waste? By and for whom?
• Can electronics be made more safe for the environment using biodegradable materials?
• What are the health hazards and associated costs (monetary, developmental, societal, etc.) to the environment and populations living, working, attending school, etc., near unsanctioned e-waste sites?

See you next week.

Jim