THE FLUSH TOILET: THE GREATEST INVENTION IN HUMAN HISTORY

I just concluded a series of exchanges (if they can be called that) with some people in the Philippines.  Massive flooding has displaced thousands.  They’re putting victims up in schools and other places. . .that do not have near enough toilets to provide sanitation for thousands of people. . .for weeks. . .months. . .even years.  

I tried to tell them there’s not such thing as a DISASTER RELIEF INDUSTRY.  Disaster relief is always provided ad hoc.  Phone calls are made to “see what's available.”  In Haiti. . .somebody sent a container of rubber boots.  They had a quake not a flood.  Another sent a container of significantly expired packaged food.  “Hey. . .I got a tax deduction coming. . .right?”  

Ever been excited at seeing one of these?

They decided to purchase porta-potties in China.  They had no idea they were suddenly going to be in the “poop-handling” business.  Or that it takes as much as 200 gallons of water to clean a porta-potty.  That you need trucks and a place to clean the porta-potties out.  Few are really cleaned.  Most are full of bacteria from the day they’re set in their nice tidy rows.  These types of toilets. . .the cabana style. . .were designed for short-term events.  People use them with great care.  At a music concert.  A construction site.  Whatever.  But when you have the scope of flooding experienced in the Philippines. . .you must think LONG-TERM relief.

THE WILDERNESS TOILET KIT IS THE LONG-TERM SANITATION SOLUTION FOR DISASTER VICTIMS

As you know. . .those of you who read this blog. . .I don’t shy away from talking about poop and pee.  Why?  Because although it’s an embarrassment in our existence. . .we all must poop and pee. . .or die.  We must get rid of the wastes in our body.  There is no choice.  So. . .everyone poops and pees and it creates a mess everywhere on the planet.  It also produces A NUMBER OF HAZARDS TO OUR HEALTH.  In many hospitals. . .poop is considered a “biohazardous material” and is carried (when necessary to carry) in red bags clearly marked “Biohazardous material.”

For centuries. . .before the flush toilet. . .now voted by experts as the “Greatest invention in human history”. . .people used some sort of outhouse.  They dug a hole and put a small covered shack above it. . .usually with one or more holes cut in a piece of wood.  Winter. . .didn’t matter.  You went to the outhouse to poop and pee.  Now. . .in many parts of the world we have the flush toilet.  And with it. . . something amazing has occurred. . .people stopped dying of diseases encased in human poop.  Cholera and typhus and other diseases run rampant around latrines and other places where the public comes in contact with the Other’s poop.

In Haiti. . .as cholera now moves south. . .they keep finding poop under the fingernails of children.  Many of whom have already contracted the disease.  You die of cholera by losing body fluids.  In the makeshift facilities where doctors are trying to save people dying of cholera. . .they cut a hole in the cot. . .so the fluids can drain out to a pan beneath it.  The odors are beyond comprehension.  And still authorities insist on repeating this process over and over and over.  

SAFE WATER and a TOILET. . .TOO MUCH?

Gary White and Matt Damon

Hear. . .hear!  I vote for Matt Damon and Gary White.  At least it appears that they’ve trying to bring attention to the world about how the other half. . .quite literally. . .exists.  You can't travel around the world and count the toilets available to people.  But everywhere in Africa. . .everywhere in Indonesia. . .everywhere in China. . .everywhere in India. . .the Philippines. . .and much of Eastern Europe and Mongolia. . .there are so few public toilets as to make irrelevant any conversation about them.  Essentially we exist in a world WITHOUT toilets.  Of interest. . .the flush toilet was considered by a panel of experts looking over all the inventions of man. . .the wheel. . .electricity. . .etc. . .as the most important invention in history.

Well. . .this blog has railed about this "no toilets in the world" problem for a long time.  We offer a proven solution to disaster sanitation.  PROVEN.  And there's simply no interest to offset the suffering of those without them.  The common solution. . .build latrines. . .is not the solution.  Latrines kill people by passing on communicable diseases. . .much like rivers pass on river fever.  Solid human body waste is dangerous to others.  When people gather at the latrine to relieve themselves. . . they cannot avoid leaving behind bits of their visit.  As Bill Gates said recently. . . the poor must be brought into the global economy.  If they're suffering. . .the global economy is suffering as well.

You. . .the ones who claim to know what you’re doing say. . .No!. . .people are responsible.  They clean up after themselves.  Well. . .that response is irresponsible.  People might do just that. . .if . . .if . . .if . . .if there were the water and soap and time to do so.  There isn’t any of those things.  People wait in lines.  There's great pressure to get into the latrine. . .do your business. . .and get the hell out before the next person pulls you out.  There's great tension at latrines. . .especially for women and young girls.  They'll do almost anything to avoid the filthy latrines at night.  Men too often wait for them.  Latrines are rape zones.

But Damon and White are involved in publicizing the need for decent water and a toilet.  “Nearly 40 percent of the world’s population is still unable to secure a safe glass of water or access a basic toilet.”  Well. . .Matt. . .forget the “basic toilet.”  That is not going to happen.  The Third World is the Third World.  The First and Second Worlds are now in a desperate state of trying to prevent a financial meltdown.  As for the safe glass of water.  If you read any of Charles Bowden’s books. . .you’ll learn about how many cities in America are bringing in their water.  Big cities.  And soon. . .it’s going to be harder and harder to get safe water. . .or any water for that matter. . .to many of these cities.  Every city built in arid areas of America is in danger of losing its water supply.  

Okay. . .back to the Third World (and perhaps the Fourth World as well).  In the article I read on HuffPost about Damon and White. . .it speaks of a painful reality that “has driven philanthropic efforts to help stop the suffering.  Conferences are held.  Master plans are drawn up.  Legislation is passed.  Institutions are getting involved.  Money is raised.  Wells are dug.  Ribbons are cut. 

“But even after decades of charity. . .subsidies. . .multilateral aid. . .and investments on the part of governments and outside non-governmental organizations (NGOs). . .the system remains inefficient and largely misses the goal of providing relief for those at the base of the economic pyramid (BOP) in their daily need to secure water.  The intentions are good. . .but the relief is not trickling down.”  Damon and White are fully aware that there is no relief industry.  Every disaster event. . .a quake. . .a flood. . .a hurricane. . .a tornado. . .wars. . whatever. . .are each handled ad hoc.  “Hey Frank. . .what a you got in the warehouse this time?”

As far as the Fourth World. . .the ever-increasing slum world that surrounds every major city in the world. . .this quote from the HuffPost article tells a story about water and those who have to buy it.  “On average. . .those living in slums pay 7-15 times more per liter of water than owners of nearby five-star hotels.  This is because subsidies are largely delivered through unrealistically low water tariffs. . .if you are too poor to afford a water connection. . .you can't capture the subsidy. 

“Similarly. . .if you are a poor day laborer in Port-au-Prince (Haiti) and you want a drink of safe water to quench your thirst. . .you will pay 250 times more than the cost of New York City tap water.  Those who lack cash pay with their time. . .hours each day spent scavenging for water from public taps that frequently run dry. . . rivers. . .or even drainage ditches. There are nearly a billion people in this trap of water insecurity and about 2.5 billion lack a sanitary toilet.”

SANITATION. . .WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

A “sanitary toilet” is one that promises to be hygienic. . .meaning you won’t suffer a health hazard by using it.  Now. . .latrines have been in use for millennia. . .and they’ve been the cause of entire armies getting sick.  Yet. . .this is the “thinking” of so-called disaster relief effort planners.  “Okay. . .Charlie. . .we’ll place the latrines here. . .here. . .and here.”  “Right boss.”  This scenario means there is a complete disregard for such a thing as a “sanitary toilet.”

MORAL OUTRAGE. . . WHAT IS IT?

We cannot know what it was like. . .day-to-day. . .to have had to exist in a Nazis concentration camp.  We can read about it. . .we can see pictures and recoil as if smashed-mouthed by a big lineman. . .and still not have the slightest sense of how horrific it was to be humiliated. . .degraded. . .reduced. . .and finally killed off.  The “plan” called for people to last about 3-months.  In that way. . .there would always be room for the new labor. . .the new prisoners. . .the new death-mates.

Many of those who survived the Holocaust got involved in trying to bring to justice those who perpetrated the unspeakable crimes against humanity.  Many were found. . .went to trial. . .either got prison time or were executed.  

Here in November 2011. . .the History Channel began a new series by showing a documentary about Vietnam.  Based largely on reprocessed home movies   . . .we once again see in action the decisions to Search and Destroy. . .take no prisoners. . . drop napalm on known innocents like children. . .women. . .and elderly Vietnamese. 

In 1969. . .together with my then moviemaking partner. . .I produced a movie about the social conflict between the establishment and mostly the college youth of the country.  Some of the actions of the youth were reminiscent of the actions of the Occupy Movement.  But even back then. . .as my writer-colleague Charles Deemer remembers. . .there was no “visceral gut-wrenching moral outrage.”  Nor was there any real moral outrage over all the torturing incidents the U.S. engaged in after 9/11 to “gain vital information important to the national security of the country.”

AMERICA RIGHT OR WRONG

The ideology “America right or wrong” is a part of the entire political process.  Both parties have. . .at their center. . .the sense that America can do no wrong.  And if it does. . .it is still “the best country in the world.”  But as Deemer has pointed out. . .”we learn nothing from history. . .how each generation reinvents the wheel."  After a horrific incident. . .(you can easily insert incidents here from memory). . . the next day it’s business as usual.  “Go to the mall” said the President after 9/11.  In other words. . .keep buying.  Keep burying your head in the sand.  Keep being a consumer. . .a dupe.  And soon after 9/11. . .the emotions about the incident were gone.  After all. . .there were new incidents to think about.  To feel. . .if possible.

The Center for Existential Depth Psychology Information (CEDP) has a piece on Freedom and Responsibility.  They argue powerfully that freedom cannot be separated from responsibility.  With freedom comes responsibility. . .personal responsibility.  They also show that it’s common for people to want freedom. . .to seek freedom. . .while working to avoid the responsibility that goes with it.

NATIONS DO NOT ACT RESPONSIBLY REGARDING DISASTER RELIEF PREPARATION

The rhetoric is always there.  A disaster occurs.  A massive quake.  A flood.  A tsunami.  Starvation-inducing droughts.  The list goes on.  And there isn’t a nation on planet earth that moves to prepare to provide relief to the victims of these events.  We could understand if the events were rare.  Seldom.  Almost never.  But the events are often.  OFTEN!  Recently there was a significant quake in the State of Oklahoma.  Damage.  Deaths.  The usual things.  But here’s my point. . . ‘scientists’ are concerned about the increased frequency of quakes in Oklahoma.  There used to be about 50-70 small quakes annually.  Now that humber is over 1,000 quakes annually.  Note the word ANNUALLY!

THE ONLY PLACE THERE'S NO FEAR IS IN THE ADS. . . AND NO TOILETS FOR THE POOR. . .CONTINUES. . .

Social conventions are deeply imbedded in a culture. . .in every culture for that matter.  For example. . .the ongoing convention in entertainment is enemies.  You’ve got to have enemies for the good guys to capture or kill.  America feeds on the fear of enemies.  The government and the media by extension. . .see to it.

Did you notice how easily we slipped from worrying ourselves to death about those “commie bastards” in Russia to “muslim extremists” in America?  All they had to do was change the type.  As the English writer Bruce Robinson put it. . . “Hollywood is basically Yanks running from special effects.  From the infantile end of Scooby Doo. . .right up to the mainstream. . .it’s the same ‘ethic’ of fear.  There are monsters and madman and Arabs out to get you. . .and the only place there is no fear is in the ads.’’

To try and get nations to prepare for natural disasters. . .which we’ve proved here over and over would be outrageously cost-effective. . .I realized it would require a totally new social convention.  Instead of responding to a disaster. . .ad hoc. . .like the government of Turkey did during their most recent quake (October 2011). . .those responsible for relief would make a single phone call. . .and "relief". . .real well-planned relief. . . would be on its way. . .in minutes.  But alas. . .the nations simply don’t give a crap about their people.  In private meetings they talk flippantly about the loss of life: “What we needed was a really big one. . .shrivel down the population a bit.”

RELIEVING FEAR THROUGH ADVERTISING

“Your government is working hard on this rescue effort. . .”  Sound familiar?  Here in America. . .the so-called “American Dream” only occurs now while people are sleeping.  “The American Dream will become fear relieved by advertising.  Only in the ads will people enjoy security and freedom and peace.”  The current election cycle is cranking up for 2012.  “The candidates running for President will spend an estimated $2 billion for this go around” (enough to provide disaster relief supplies for every country on the planet for an entire year).  It’s still 2011, , ,and they’ve already spent $500 million.  “Change is just around the corner. . .We know how to create jobs. . . Relief is just a vote away.”  The promise is that government will rescue people from the world’s woes.  When a child is frightened it runs to its mother.  When a citizen is frightened it runs to its politician. . .who reps his government.  And the politician will promise anything to get his vote.  And then nothing really changes.

THE POOR ARE ON THE MOVE. . .IN GROWING NUMBERS. . . TENS OF THOUSANDS BEING PUT INTO CAMPS

We now have. . .according to the United Nations. . .7 billion people existing on Mother Earth.  Most people exist near the ocean.  They must fish for their protein.  A little fish and rice is the staple.  But everywhere on the planet the fish numbers are dropping.  One marine scientist wrote that 90% of the oceans big fish. . .are gone.  Another said that 50% of the corral reefs are dead. . .with more dying.  What does this mean for the near future?

It means this. . .if the poor of the earth can’t even find food. . .they’ll move to where they believe they can find it.  Author Charles Bowden says “The poor are on the move. . .in growing numbers.”  They’re arriving in Australia everyday.  The government there has built and is building barbwire enclosed camps in the outback to house these moving poor.  Many are already in these camps and are not happy.  America has also built some camps. . .thinking they’d need a place to put thousands of people who may have been involved in plotting attacks against the country after 9/11.

Quite simply. . .the world is changing much faster than governments can respond.  America is stuck with massive fence building. . .which will not work long term because desperate people will find a way over the fence. . .or under it. . .or through it.  Violence is escalating all over the earth. . .as the poor move into cities and offer their labor.  Or if they can’t find work. . .they begin stealing food and whatever else they need to survive.  The level of desperation is increasing annually.

Clearly. . .what we call nationalism. . .the sovereignty of each nation. . .the exclusivity of each nation. . .is breaking down.  Actually. . .nationalism has been breaking down for more than 30 years.  Yet. . .the politicians and patriots of each country will fight long into the future to sustain their perceived sovereignty.  The formation of the European Union is an attempt to have it both ways. . .inclusivity and exclusivity.  It’s not holding up.  Some have threatened to pull away from the EU by no longer recognizing the Euro. . .the common currency.  This is not going to work either.  Too many businesses are interlinked through currency.

MILLIONS OF PEOPLE DIE IN TSUNAMIS (2004). . .FEW ANIMALS

Wildlife officials in Sri Lanka are still scratching their heads.  They could find thousands of dead people. . .but few dead animals.  They found no evidence of the death of large-scale animals from the tsunamis.  Obviously. . .animals have an early warning system. . .built-in.  They all fled to higher ground.  Hmm.  And man keeps believing he’s at the pinnacle of earth’s pyramid of life.  

Man is this infinitely small creature living on a small planet relatively near a class G star. . .the earth’s heater. . .the sun.  He exists in the midst of 3 fluids. . .the atmosphere. . .the oceans. . .and the fluid mass within the earth itself.  Any of these fluids can. . .at any time. . .overwhelm all life forms on earth.  All life forms. . . notably man are reduced to mere pulp. . .when the ocean rises and moves toward land.  Humans are irrelevant to nature.  Presidents. . .movie stars. . .the most important of the important. . .disappear and nature doesn’t even know about it.

MAN’S TECHNOLOGIES DON’T HELP AGAINST THE FORCES OF NATURE

As Marshall McLuhan has shown in his many books. . .many extends himself through his technologies.  He can now travel out in space.  He can move around the earth relatively quickly in his airplanes.  He can blow himself and all the other life forms off the planet with his atom bombs. . .which now represent his ultimate powers.  Yet. . .when the ocean rises. . .or a hurricane forms. . .man must cower and lie low till it all blows over.  Technology has inflated man’s perception of himself to the point of a second divine comedy.  “If it didn’t hurt so much. . .I’d just keep laughing.”  

He refuses to see his situation as it is: in danger of a complete meltdown.  He refuses to see the earth’s resources as finite.  He would rather deny the truth than exist at all.  And so he remains a fool. . .meanwhile the animals go about their business of survival.

WHY NO DISASTER RELIEF INDUSTRY EXISTS ON PLANET EARTH - TODAY!

To create an industry. . .any industry. . .there must be a profit motive.  A big profit motive.  Today. . .when various agencies. . .non-government. . .charitable. . . whatever. . .respond to a disaster. . .it’s always after the fact.  The event has already begun and is doing its thing. . .and people are dying. . .and lost. . .etc.  

What’s needed is a very big player who understands the four letter word “kits.”  Disaster relief kits must be prepared ahead of time. . .in relatively large quantities.  There should be containers of kits strewn around a country. . .wherever the geologists feel that a catastrophe might occur.

I would love to see Johnson & Johnson START a disaster relief industry.  They know kits.  They know that you must have this with that and that with this. . .to perform the function of relief.

Okay. . .here’s the scenario.  There needs to be what I would term a food kit.  That kit would be a two-part kit.  One part food and the means to cook the food. . .and the other part water.  Why the two parts?  The water part of the kit would have to be replaced on some sort of periodic schedule.  Water stores well enough if the circumstances in which its stored are not too hot. . .or if the container used is of a decent quality to keep out bacteria.  All water contains bacteria.  And when it gets hot. . .bacteria multiplies and that makes the water dangerous to drink.