2006年VOA标准英语-Conserving Water with Waterless Toilets

By Greg Flakus
Mexico City, Mexico
07 April 2006
 
watch Waterless Toilet report

At the recently held Fourth World Water Forum¹ in Mexico City, hundreds of governmental agencies, international organizations, environmental groups and private sector² companies promoted ideas and projects aimed at conserving³ water and improving sanitation⁴. As VOA's Greg Flakus reports, one idea being promoted by several European groups would change the way the world uses water to eliminate human waste.

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Modern sanitation systems around the world use millions of cubic meters of water everyday to rid homes and businesses of human waste.

Environmentalists from Germany and Scandinavia believe there is a better way. They came to the World Water Forum to promote a dry, composting toilet.

 
Waterless Toilet 
  
This toilet separates human urine and human feces and stores them in separate compartments⁵.

The resulting material can then be used as fertilizer, according to the Stockholm Environmental Institute's Cecilia Ruben. "This is the compost. This is what comes out, depending on the climate and the technology that is used, it takes anywhere from two months to six months to have the material sanitized."

Cecilia Ruben  
  
Ruben insists that the human waste compost is safe and effective, especially the urine.

"Human urine has basically the same composition as commercial fertilizer and, therefore, with some treatment or with storage, in fact, it is enough, you can apply it to the fields -- and we have guidelines on how it can be applied⁶ -- and it is very safe and produces very good growth in various crops."

But not everyone agrees. Some environmentalists and development experts see composting toilets as a reversion to primitivism that could be dangerous. 

Iain Murray  
  
Iain Murray, Senior Fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute in Washington DC is among the skeptics. He told us, "Generally speaking, handling human waste matter is not particularly safe. That is one of the reasons why, throughout human history, the main aim of sanitation has been to get rid of this stuff and not to use it in our own back yards."

Murray worries that well-meaning groups from industrialized nations, like Sweden, may be imposing⁷ their values on poor people who would rather have better water systems and flush toilets.

"I think this is an example of what I like to call 'Green Imperialism,' which is where the developing world is having moral values imposed on it by the developed world, which has already gone through a lot of the problems that the developing world is facing at the moment," says Murray.

 
Linus Dogerskog
  
But Linus Dogerskog, who has helped introduce composting toilets in West Africa, says years of experience shows they are safe and effective.  "It is proved that it can be done, it is proved that it can be done without great health risks."

He says people in many parts of the world now view human excreta as a resource rather than something unclean and hazardous⁸. "We are on the verge⁹ of going to scale in West Africa and in many parts of the world there are pilot projects on the verge of going to scale. In China they have constructed one million units."

Linus Dogerskog says he plans on installing one of these toilets in his home in Sweden.
 
 

1 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

2 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

3 conserving   

v.保护，保藏，保存( conserve的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Contour planning with or without terracing is effective in conserving both soil and moisture. 顺等高线栽植，无论做或不做梯田对于保持水土都能有效。 来自辞典例句
• Economic savings, consistent with a conserving society and the public philosophy. 经济节约，符合创建节约型社会的公共理念。 来自互联网

4 sanitation   

n.公共卫生，环境卫生，卫生设备

参考例句：

• The location is exceptionally poor,viewed from the sanitation point.从卫生角度来看，这个地段非常糟糕。
• Many illnesses are the result,f inadequate sanitation.许多疾病都来源于不健全的卫生设施。

5 compartments   

n.间隔( compartment的名词复数 )；（列车车厢的）隔间；（家具或设备等的）分隔间；隔层

参考例句：

• Your pencil box has several compartments. 你的铅笔盒有好几个格。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The first-class compartments are in front. 头等车室在前头。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

7 imposing   

adj.使人难忘的，壮丽的，堂皇的，雄伟的

参考例句：

• The fortress is an imposing building.这座城堡是一座宏伟的建筑。
• He has lost his imposing appearance.他已失去堂堂仪表。

8 hazardous   

adj.(有)危险的，冒险的；碰运气的

参考例句：

• These conditions are very hazardous for shipping.这些情况对航海非常不利。
• Everybody said that it was a hazardous investment.大家都说那是一次危险的投资。

9 verge   

n.边，边缘；v.接近，濒临

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• She was on the verge of bursting into tears.她快要哭出来了。