Skip to: Content
Skip to: Site Navigation
Skip to: Search

November 22, 2008 3:15:07 CST

Learn about Newser Points »

« Back to the grid | Next story »

It's Time to Talk More About Toilets

Posted May 19, 08 12:25 PM CDT in World 

(Newser) – Modern squeamishness about discussing human feces can cost lives, Rose George writes in the New York Times. The recent disastrous cyclone in Burma highlights how important waste-containment (read: latrines) is to staving off disease, but if wealthy nations won't deign to discuss No. 2, it's hard for them to organize aid to help poorer countries with sanitation.

"Human excrement is a weapon of mass destruction. A gram of human feces can contain up to 10 million viruses," George writes. While celebrities happily promote to campaigns for clean water, the equally important matter of sanitation gets short shrift. "I’ve never seen a movie star pictured in front of a new latrine, though it can double its user’s life span," writes George.

Source New York Times

0 comments | Print E-mail | Digg Seed this on Newsvine Add this link to Del.icio.us StumbleUpon

Related Newser Stories

  • Burma Still Cleaning Up 6 Months Later

    Nov 2, 08 7:18 PM CST
    Burma Still Cleaning Up 6 Months Later Six months after Cyclone Nargis smashed into Burma's coastline, killing tens of thousands of people, aid groups say once-lagging relief efforts have picked up pace but the task of rebuilding and recovery is far from finished, the AP reports. Foreign aid staffers were initially barred from cyclone-affected areas and the ruling military junta was criticized for its ineffective response to the disaster last May.
    More »

  • Out of the Cyclone, Seeds of Change in Burma

    Aug 23, 08 6:51 CDT
    Out of the Cyclone, Seeds of Change in Burma In the wake of the ruling junta's efforts to waylay foreign aid following May's Cyclone Nargis, Burmese citizens—including former political prisoners—created a grass-roots relief effort to help the embattled populace. In doing so, writes George Packer in the New Yorker, they may have created the catalyst for long-awaited political change in a once-prosperous nation impoverished by its military rulers. More »

  • Burma Indicts Dissident Comedian

    Aug 7, 08 9:54 CDT
    Burma Indicts Dissident Comedian A popular comedian who became one of the most prominent critics of Burma's military government has been formally charged with several political offenses. Zarganar, who had been leading a citizen effort to aid victims of Cyclone Nargis, has been indicted on five counts, including unlawful association and creating public unrest. More »

  • Burma Aid Delays Less Deadly Than Feared

    Jun 18, 08 5:13 CDT
    Burma Aid Delays Less Deadly Than Feared Delays in getting help to cyclone survivors in Burma's Irrawaddy Delta have not caused the catastrophe initially feared, according to aid workers. Hardy villagers have managed to survive on fish and coconuts, helped by aid from private Burmese citizens and monks, reports the New York Times. Expected massive outbreaks of disease have not occurred—but aid workers warn that many are still at risk. More »

  • Burmese Comedian Bust Not Funny: UN

    Jun 10, 08 5:00 CDT
    Burmese Comedian Bust Not Funny: UN The UN's human rights official in Burma expressed concern over the arrest of a popular Burmese comedian who’d been helping cyclone survivors, the AP reports. The comedian, known as Zarganar, was nabbed Wednesday by authorities after traveling to the hard-hit Irrawaddy Delta to donate supplies, a relative said. He had led an aid group of 400 and  had criticized the government in foreign interviews. More »

Victims of Cyclone Nargis struggle to get first in line to receive donated goods from a local donor at a monastery outside the capital of Yangon, Myanmar on Monday May 19, 2008.   (AP Photo)
Myanmar's children queue up for clean water on the outskirts of Yangon, Myanmar, Friday, May 16, 2008. The United Nations said Friday that severe restrictions by Myanmar's military junta have left aid...   (AP Photo)
In this image boxes from the relief charity ShelterBox, containing tents, mosquito nets, tools and other life saving equipment, are unloaded at the airport in Yangon Friday, 16, May, 2008.   (AP Photo/Mark Pearson, Shelterbox, HO)
Myanmar volunteers serve a free breakfast to children at a temple after the destructive Cyclone Nargis on the outskirts of Yangon, Myanmar, Monday, May 12, 2008.   (AP Photo)
A young victim of Cyclone Nargis holds the arms of her mother as they wait to receive donated goods from a local donor at a monastery outside the capital of Yangon, Myanmar on Monday May 19, 2008. Myanmar's...   (AP Photo)
Children survivors of Cyclone Nargis cover their heads from the rain with empty aluminum plates, as they wait for a food in Laputta town, Irrawaddy Delta, Myanmar, Thursday, May 15, 2008. (AP Photo)   (AP Photo)
A Myanmar family live in a house which was destroyed by cyclone Nargis on the outskirts of Yangon, Myanmar, Sunday, May 18, 2008.   (AP Photo)
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow
Our editors also recommend:

Threads (
1
 of 3)

Tags

health • Burma • Cyclone Nargis • poop • sanitation


Loading...

Premium Articles from HighBeam

Find more articles like this

Today's Most Popular

Loading...

Other World Stories

What is Newser?

2008 Codie Finalist

Face it: there's too much news. At Newser a team of editors and writers culls the most important stories from hundreds of U.S. and international sources and reduces them to a headline, picture, and two paragraphs. It's the Newser guarantee: we can take any report or column or video and pack what you need to know into 120 words or less. Newser's short-form aggregation, visual format, and unique information tools help you get more of the kind of news you want, in a quicker and more entertaining way. And we do it 24/7—you can come back morning, noon, night (and in between) for something new that matters. Read less, know more.

Learn more »