Pipe Dreams: The Urgent Global Quest to Transform the Toilet
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-04-24 17:32:34
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Chelsea Wald
- ISBN：1982116218
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
From an award-winning science journalist， a lively， informative， and humorous deep dive into the future of the toilet—from creative uses for harvested “biosolids，” to the bold engineers dedicated to bringing safe sanitation to the billions of people worldwide living without—for fans of popular science bestsellers by Mary Roach。
Most of us do not give much thought to the centerpiece of our bathrooms， but the toilet is an unexpected paradox。 On the one hand， it is a modern miracle: a ubiquitous fixture in a vast sanitation system that has helped add decades to human lifespan by reducing disease。 On the other hand， the toilet is also a tragic failure: less than half of the world’s population can access a toilet that safely manages bodily waste， including many right here in the United States。 And it is inefficient， squandering clean water as well as the nutrients and energy contained in the waste we flush away。 While we see radical technological change in almost every other aspect of our lives， we remain stuck in a sanitation status quo—in part because the topic of toilets is taboo。
Fortunately， there’s hope—and Pipe Dreams daringly profiles the growing army of scientists， engineers， philanthropists， entrepreneurs， and activists worldwide who are overcoming their aversions and focusing their formidable skills on making toilets accessible and healthier for all。
This potential revolution in sanitation has many benefits， including reducing inequalities， mitigating climate change and water scarcity， improving agriculture， and optimizing health。 Author Chelsea Wald takes us on a wild world tour from a compost toilet project in Haiti， to a plant in the Netherlands that harvests used toilet paper from sewage， and shows us a bot that hangs out in manholes to estimate opioid use in a city， among many other fascinating developments。
Much more than a glorified trash can， the toilet， Wald maintains， holds the power to help solve many of the world’s problems， if only we can harness it。
Most of us do not give much thought to the centerpiece of our bathrooms， but the toilet is an unexpected paradox。 On the one hand， it is a modern miracle: a ubiquitous fixture in a vast sanitation system that has helped add decades to human lifespan by reducing disease。 On the other hand， the toilet is also a tragic failure: less than half of the world’s population can access a toilet that safely manages bodily waste， including many right here in the United States。 And it is inefficient， squandering clean water as well as the nutrients and energy contained in the waste we flush away。 While we see radical technological change in almost every other aspect of our lives， we remain stuck in a sanitation status quo—in part because the topic of toilets is taboo。
Fortunately， there’s hope—and Pipe Dreams daringly profiles the growing army of scientists， engineers， philanthropists， entrepreneurs， and activists worldwide who are overcoming their aversions and focusing their formidable skills on making toilets accessible and healthier for all。
This potential revolution in sanitation has many benefits， including reducing inequalities， mitigating climate change and water scarcity， improving agriculture， and optimizing health。 Author Chelsea Wald takes us on a wild world tour from a compost toilet project in Haiti， to a plant in the Netherlands that harvests used toilet paper from sewage， and shows us a bot that hangs out in manholes to estimate opioid use in a city， among many other fascinating developments。
Much more than a glorified trash can， the toilet， Wald maintains， holds the power to help solve many of the world’s problems， if only we can harness it。
Reviews
Renee
，
I definitely learned a lot from this book - about sewers， water conservation， waste management and recycling - but my main challenge was trying to follow the organization。 It may be that the overarching scheme is less evident from an audiobook， but I thought it jumped around topics a lot and would then later return to a previous topic， and I wish the related stories had been together （e。g。 this is the section on toilet innovations， this is the section on alternatives to pit toilets。。。）。 I did li I definitely learned a lot from this book - about sewers， water conservation， waste management and recycling - but my main challenge was trying to follow the organization。 It may be that the overarching scheme is less evident from an audiobook， but I thought it jumped around topics a lot and would then later return to a previous topic， and I wish the related stories had been together （e。g。 this is the section on toilet innovations， this is the section on alternatives to pit toilets。。。）。 I did like that it had a list of action items。。。but then there were still two whole sections after that， which threw me for a loop。 So it's good for learning about completely new ideas， but maybe just one little section at a time。 。。。more
Sarah Schuler
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I never thought I would be reading a book about shit， but wow that was so informative and interesting！ There are some fantastic takeaways and questions to get you thinking
Mary G。
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Thank you to Avid Reader Press/Simon & Schuster for my NetGalley ARC of Pipe Dreams！Genre: scienceRating: 🚽🚽🚽🚽。5We don't like to think too much about toilets， but Chelsea Wald is here to change all of that。 Toilets are a flawed miracle - they reduce disease by flushing away our waste。 BUT they do so at the cost of an unfathomable amount of water and enormous treatment costs so that the waste can be safely released。 And let's not forget sewers - US sewer systems got a D+ grade for infrastructure， Thank you to Avid Reader Press/Simon & Schuster for my NetGalley ARC of Pipe Dreams！Genre: scienceRating: 🚽🚽🚽🚽。5We don't like to think too much about toilets， but Chelsea Wald is here to change all of that。 Toilets are a flawed miracle - they reduce disease by flushing away our waste。 BUT they do so at the cost of an unfathomable amount of water and enormous treatment costs so that the waste can be safely released。 And let's not forget sewers - US sewer systems got a D+ grade for infrastructure， and this problem is not going away。Putting aside the problems in developed countries - toilets are not universally available in all countries; some countries still practice outdoor defecation。 Bill Gates has funded efforts to create a better toilet - less water usage， more adaptable to countries across the world - where are we in this quest？ Wald takes us on a journey through toilet and sanitation science， covering these topics and much， much more。I am a health and science nerd， so I loved this book。 Wald's writing reminds me a lot of that of Mary Roach （of Gulp， Stiff， and Bonk fame） - she takes a topic we don't think much about and makes it fascinating， showing how it connects to politics， economics， and culture。One topic I appreciated was that of public toilets。 The lack of public toilets causes many problems in the US - for people who are homeless， or have stomach conditions， just to name a few reasons。 COVID made me realize how much public facilities matter - how can you get out of the house without available restrooms？ Toilets in restaurants and shops are not a solution - just think back to the racist incidents of Black people not given access to Starbucks bathrooms。Wald makes a compelling case for more investment in better and more eco-friendly toilets and waste processing systems。 If you're looking for popular science that will make you think， I highly recommend this book！Review published to Instagram and Goodreads on 4/6/21。 。。。more
Anita Pomerantz
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You know I never gave much thoughts to toilets。 They were just another every day convenience that I took for granted。Until in 2019 when I was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis。 As a long distance runner， I suddenly was hyper aware of where bathrooms existed on my running route just in case。 And then the pandemic hit and suddenly， there were no accessible bathrooms。 Like anywhere。So this book was actually very fascinating as it basically tells you everything you want to know about toilets and a l You know I never gave much thoughts to toilets。 They were just another every day convenience that I took for granted。Until in 2019 when I was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis。 As a long distance runner， I suddenly was hyper aware of where bathrooms existed on my running route just in case。 And then the pandemic hit and suddenly， there were no accessible bathrooms。 Like anywhere。So this book was actually very fascinating as it basically tells you everything you want to know about toilets and a lot of things you never thought you wanted to know， but are quite interesting to learn about。 From the public health aspects to the psychology of their use to the engineering to the environment （and of course， the political）， the author captures it all。 She has a great voice and combines education interwoven with anecdotes and best of all her own， often witty， personal interjections。I am not a person who really spends a lot of time agonizing about environmental issues， but if you are such a person， I would characterize this book as a MUST。 But for the rest of you， who just have curiosity about the world and how it works 。 。 。you'll find Pipe Dreams to be educational， engaging， and even entertaining。 。。。more
Brenda
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Flush with wicked puns and information on the history of toilets to looking to the future for more sustainable toilet methods， this is one intriguing book！ Science journalist Chelsea Wald knows her。。。stuff。 She walks us through vocabulary origins （loo， water closet， necessary house。。。）， sanitation， hygiene， inventions and experiments in a frank way and doesn't waste words。 She even describes the volume difference between omnivores and vegetarians。Wald describes ancient Roman pit latrines。。。whene Flush with wicked puns and information on the history of toilets to looking to the future for more sustainable toilet methods， this is one intriguing book！ Science journalist Chelsea Wald knows her。。。stuff。 She walks us through vocabulary origins （loo， water closet， necessary house。。。）， sanitation， hygiene， inventions and experiments in a frank way and doesn't waste words。 She even describes the volume difference between omnivores and vegetarians。Wald describes ancient Roman pit latrines。。。whenever in ancient cities I like to visit the underground including sewers if possible as well as above ground latrines。 Riveting！ She explains night soil workers' grim jobs and those who in modern times still collect and dump using large pails。 Plus we learn that animals including bees and racoons defecate away from their homes。 And then there's the mysterious German toilet。。。on my first trip to Germany I wondered at it but then realized the brilliance behind it。 Wald goes on to explain the benefits of squat toilets （I just can't get the hang of them！） and urinals and the leading science of today， She even details the first toilet paper inventors。 So many memorable bits of information and stories here。。。one of my favourites is of the octopus。 Not only that but loads more including urine potential and its past uses。As humans we are curious beings and this book will satiate your appetite。 This is the ultimate scoop on poop so don't be shy， just pit in and get ready to have your eyes opened。 Much of the book is scientific and based on science but it does not read like a textbook， not at all。My sincere thank you to Avid Reader Press and NetGalley for the privilege of reading this enthralling eARC！ 。。。more
Hayla
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If you’ve ever wanted the poop on sanitation and we’re curious about what challenges are being faced currently - this book is for you！ If you were curious about how much one could write on the subject and how in depth it would be， like yours truly， this book is also for you！ Just note that it’s very dense with information。 That’s not bad at all， but I see that it’s being marketed as “similar to Roach’s books” and based on reading both， I found this one to have a lot more information in each para If you’ve ever wanted the poop on sanitation and we’re curious about what challenges are being faced currently - this book is for you！ If you were curious about how much one could write on the subject and how in depth it would be， like yours truly， this book is also for you！ Just note that it’s very dense with information。 That’s not bad at all， but I see that it’s being marketed as “similar to Roach’s books” and based on reading both， I found this one to have a lot more information in each paragraph。 They are similar in witty section headlines， however。 I loved how the author tackled why the reader should give a crap about the topic and listed some ways to make more environmentally friendly choices。 I also was pleased to see the inclusion of 2020’s pandemic and TP shortage received a mention， though it was very strange to read it in past tense as it is still going on when I read this。 Overall， I enjoyed this book。 Thanks so much to Avid Reader Press and NetGalley for allowing me to read this book early in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more
Jeff
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