AUSTRALIAN TOIlLET ASSOCIATION, ECOSANITATION COURSE

When: Saturday 3 July 2010
Time: 09:00 - 17:00
Where: University of Queensland - Brisbane
room 414 in the Chamberlain building

Charge: $60 working people, $40 students & EWB members
RSVP: rowan@carbon-counters.com



Information: A one day course on ecological sanitation (also known as
urine diversion, dry composting toilets). The course aims to develop
and promote sustainable sanitation in the developing world (& in
Australia) through capacity development and knowledge as a
contribution to equity, health, poverty alleviation and improved
environmental quality. The course draws on the Sustainable Sanitation
Alliance (SuSanA) and local experts.

This course will be followed up with an opportunity to construct an
ecosan toilet......on another occasion.

1. What does "ecosan" stand for and what is the principle behind it?
Ecosan is short for "ecological sanitation". Ecosan systems enable the recovery of nutrients contained in excreta and household wastewater and promote their safe reuse in agriculture. They contribute to preserving soil fertility, whilst minimising the consumption and pollution of water resources. Additionally, they have the potential to produce renewable energy from biogas systems.

2. What does "sanitation" comprise?
The main objective of a sanitation system is to protect human health by breaking the cycle of disease. Sanitation includes four technical areas:
* excreta management (faeces and urine)
* greywater management
* solid waste management and
* rainwater drainage.
Sanitation policies need to be closely interlinked with many sectors of society (e.g. infrastructure, health, education, agriculture, urban planning).

3. What is the definition of an "ecosan toilet"?
The term "ecosan toilet" is widely used but we do not recommend to use it, because ecosan is not limited to a specific toilet type but is rather a concept. Even a flush toilet could be part of an ecosan approach, e.g. if flushed excreta are treated anaerobically together with animal manure to produce biogas. The so-called “ecosan toilet” should rather be called a urine-diversion dehydration toilet (UDDT), or - as a compromise – an “ecosan UDD toilet”.
For further information, see our technical data sheet on urine diversion.

4. Is ecosan the same as “dry sanitation”?
Ecosan and dry sanitation are not identical: Toilets which use water for flushing can also be used in an ecosan concept (e.g. vacuum toilets, urine-diversion flush toilets, but even conventional flush toilets if connected to a safe and sustainable reuse system).

http://www.gtz.de/en/themen/umwelt-infrastruktur/wasser/28993.htm
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DRAFT Programme

The proposed programme might include:

9:00 Welcome/Introductions
9:10 Water and sanitation in developing countries - Community Led Total Sanitation
10:00 Morning Tea
10:30 Case Study - Base of Pyramid stuff in Cambodia
11:00 Environmental Health
12:00 Lunch
13:00 Household Water Treatment & Safe Storage
13:30 Sanitation Systems & technologies
14:00 Case Study - Currumbin EcoVillage
14:30 Urine stuff
15:00 Faecal Sludge Management and Solid Waste Management
15:30 Planning for Environmental Sanitation
16:00 Discussion

Will taking photos of my bowel stop constipation?

Minister for Police, Corrective Services and Emergency Services
The Honourable Neil Roberts

Dear Mr Roberts,

Considering the bigger picture, how does encouraging more people to drive, reduce congestion?

It is analagous to taking photos of my bowel to display to the food I eat, in order to stop constipation.


The interactions between State controlled roads and local Council controlled roads will be some what problematic.

Would it not be better to invest the $0.9M in informing people how and where to catch public transport or putting the web cams on the bikeways instead?

I wrote the following story for my daughter when she was 8 weeks old. She is now 9 months old and the story is still a work in progress. Perhaps you can assist me by telling me and how the story might end!!

Now the car addicts of Brisbane were dependent on cars.
The cyclists of Brisbane clung to their handle bars.
The roads were quite wide; there was plenty of room.
So you think the cyclists & car drivers would be happy to zoom.
But those in their cars, would yell out in vain,
"Hey you, you cyclists, get out of our lane."

With the soot in the air, cyclists would cough and they'd snort,
For some space on the road a fight would be fought.
And as for pedestrians who resorted to walking,
the car addicts zipped past them without even baulking.

When the car addict's children were dropped off at school,
those who rode bikes or walked were considered un-cool,
Yet they lined up for blocks in the school traffic jams,
you’d think it would be better if they all caught a tram

When the car addicts of Brisbane drove their cars to the coasts,
the traffic was grid locked, while the trains carried ghosts,
they never considered the gases emitted.
Along side the roads was the stuff that they littered.
They commuted to work, they parked there all day,
and didn't think twice of the price that they paid.

Then one day, it seems, while the car addicts
were static, just static grid locked in the traffic,
sitting there, wishing the congestion would ease,
up popped a stranger who was aiming to please.

"My friends, " he announced in a voice almost human,
"I want to be Lord Mayor ‘can-do’ Campbell Newman”.
“I've heard of your traffic; and I have a suggestion
I can fix that; I am the ‘can-do’ of congestion.

I've come here to help you; I’ve seen your dismay,
My tolls will low, and I’ll show the way,
and my public private partnership will be user-pay."

Then quickly, the Lord Mayor ‘can-do’ Campbell Newman,
Proposed a truly remarkable solution.
Then he said, "You want to drive freely from A to B?
I’ll build you a tunnel for a billion dollars or three.
You know you can trust me, I am a man of my word,
Just keep me in office and call me “my Lord"

They elected him Mayor with a nod and a wink.
The Coro Drive bus lanes disappeared in a blink
He dug North-South bypass, he built Hale Street Link .

When the car addicts drove he would charge them a toll!
They actually paid to go down through his hole!
Then as time went by more cars filled the tunnel,
they closed surface roads so the traffic would funnel.
then grid lock returned, and traffic it queued.
the Emperor in new clothes now appeared to be nude!"

"Good grief!" groaned the ones who had been gridlocked before.
"We're no better off, perhaps worse off, we’re not sure.
We are stuck on a freeway in a tunnel they all frowned,
We just took the same problem and moved it underground

Then up stepped Can-do with a nudge and a wink, and he said,
"Things are not quite as bad as you think.
We’ll just make them wider and longer and deeper”.
Their addiction to cars was not going to get cheaper.

So they dug more tunnels and added more lanes
and then had to build wider, longer, deeper storm drains
“we need more bridges & tunnels, " said Can-do.
When you build a new sewer people don’t do more poo,
but when you make the roads wider more people will drive,
Like swarms of angry bees when you mess with their hive.

....to be continued

regards,

Rowan Barber
30 Normanby Terrace NORMANBY Q 4059

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Minister for Police, Corrective Services and Emergency Services
The Honourable Neil Roberts
08/05/2010
Congestion-busting cameras to be doubled

Police Minister Neil Roberts said the number of roadside traffic cameras on state controlled roads in south east Queensland would be doubled in a further bid to ease traffic congestion.

Mr Roberts said more than 50 new web cameras will be rolled out across the south east in the coming months.

The cameras stream live vision to the 131940 traffic website, alerting motorists to potential hazards, traffic snarls, accidents and delays on the road.

"It's great for people who lead busy lives. It'll save time and inconvenience. They can plan their journey before heading out in the car," Mr Roberts said.

"It's a $900,000 investment to double the number of web cams in the south east and it's money well-spent," he said.

Minister Roberts visited the Traffic Management Centre in Brisbane today to see the cameras in action.

"The new cameras will be installed in more than 50 busy roadside locations on the Sunshine Coast, in Brisbane and on the Gold Coast.

"Some of the hot-spots include the corner of Arrow Street and the Pacific Motorway in Brisbane, exit 60 on the M1 on the Gold Coast, and the Anzac Avenue/Bruce Highway interchange on the Sunshine Coast.

"The sites were carefully chosen. They're places that are prone to congestion and traffic build-up for motorists and the freight industry.

"My message to motorists today is to log on to the 13 19 40 website before you grab the car keys. Plan your journey and look for alternative routes if the web cam data indicates heavy traffic."

Water Engineering Manager

Carbon Counters is diversifying into recruitment consulting.

We are interested in hearing from Employers and candidates in the "Sustainability" sector - including those involved in water conservation, energy efficiency, environmental compliance and/or international development.

Please contact rowan@carbon-counters.com if you would like to be put foward for the following role, based in Sydney.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Do you want to save water? Are you a senior water engineer with experience in water management plans, rain and stormwater harvesting, recycling, approvals, design and construction? Do you have team leadership and management skills? Do you want to be part of a growing agile company with a real can do attitude?

This is an exceptional opportunity for a highly motivated, well qualified candidate with a strong business sense who wants a break from red tape. If you got what it takes to spearhead and further develop a team helping large water users save water we invite you to examine this role.

A week in politics

Corporate Field Forces give the nod
Dodgy home audits sustainability
Foil insulation in the rooves
Foil through which live current flows
Divided world, AHSA, say who control the issue
You leave us with no tech support
You can write your own assessment

Sing me songs about Green Loans
Waiting for the Hotline phone
Listen to the phone just ring

Will you know it when you see it
Sustainabilty Assessors at the door
Now market forces, over supply
Too many trained, it makes you cry
Waiting for the needs of tomorrow...

Sing me songs about Green Loans
Waiting for the Hotline phone
Listen to the phone just ring

Too much red tape to reduce emissions
Accuracy without precision
Garrett unable to make decisions
Politicians party line, Turnball crossed that floor
Tony Abbott can't save your life
Barnarby Joyce is in more strife
In the shadow of tipping points we live.....

Sing me songs of climate denial
Carbon trading might take a while
Waiting for the next big thing

(repeat)

(apologies to Moginie/Garrett)

your stars

Aries
21 March - 20 April
You need to understand the bigger picture. You are completely insignificant in the context of the universe (or perhaps the multiverses) and yet you have the audacity to burn (directly & indirectly) copious quantities of oil, coal & natural gas impacting the atmosphere of an entire planet.

Taurus
21 April - 21 May
You have a more serious view of life at the moment as you endeavour to understand the deeper and spiritual undercurrents of your nature, of the situations that are occurring in your life now. Strangely you are completely disconnected from the impacts of your consumer behaviour on your planet & on developing communities.


Gemini
22 May - 21 June
You haven't missed the boat if you've contemplated getting a new job. You have come to the revelation that your current employer has sweet bugger all corporate or social responsibility. You could continue to try to make changes from within but in reality you are just making the ecologically unsustainable practices of your employer more economically viable.

Cancer
22 June - 23 July
You can feel safer in your home environment over this period of time, but don't allow this to turn you into a coach potato. By all means improve your energy efficiency and prepare yourself for the dual challenges of peak oil & climate change. Just don't hide behind your four walls. Start growing veges in your backyard and/or get involved in a local community garden.

Leo
24 July - 23 August
You are fraught with guilt at how blessed your life is (in relative terms to those in Haiti). This makes sense since you are part of the 9% of this planet’s human population that is using 40% of the world's resources and creating 45% of the world's waste. Perhaps you can offset your guilt by getting involved in international development, emergency relief and/or supporting Engineers Without Borders or facsimile.

Virgo
24 August - 23 September
You're starting to get your daily routine in order now and this could be very depressing to you. Along with getting timetables and meetings in order, it's imperative that you consider your work life balance. Perhaps you need to put in perspective the reasons you need to go to work and what it is you actually spend your wages on. You work for people you don’t like, to earn wages to pay for stuff you don’t need with money you don’t have, at the expense of spending time doing the things you would prefer to be doing.

Libra
24 September - 23 October
You live under the illusion that there is safety in numbers. You chant in unison: “we are all individuals!” You are paranoid about putting your neck on the chopping block for the sake of proving yourself right or unique. If you keep your thinking in line with the group, you may miss out on an opportunity to differentiate yourself. Keeping up with the Jones has escalated into a race for acquisition of stuff, like some sort of cold war. It is up to you to sign the non-proliferation treaty.

Scorpio
24 October - 22 November
You just need to get away from the responsibility that others are placing on you now. You're probably stressed and feel as though one or even two people are pushing your buttons. You know the likely consequence if you don't step away and give yourself some relief now. Do yourself a favour and take some time out to reconsider you life’s ambitions.

Sagittarius
23 November - 22 December
Combine your social pleasures with a creative enterprise just now. If you're feeling dry or a little uninspired it may have something to do with the fact that you've totally focused on the material side of life rather than the creative. You are living in a material world. You are disconnected from the air, the soil, the water and the sunlight that actually sustain your life.

Capricorn
23 December - 20 January
You notice everyone around you is miserable. You might feel compassionate but completely ill-equipped to help others. You need to understand, clearly at the outset whether you're even capable of helping someone in this situation at all. You need to realise that you cannot help others if you cannot help yourself. There is no point rushing into a fire to save someone, only to need to be rescued yourself.

Aquarius
21 January - 19 February
You may finally have to have that deep and meaningful talk that you've been postponing for some time. You may be nervous about it, but until you get it out of the road you're not going to feel peaceful. Just be honest, straightforward and call a spade, a spade. You will discover in the course of the conversation that all the advice you give will apply to yourself.

Pisces
20 February - 20 March
You've probably felt some guilt in not being able to do your part for a greater humanitarian cause. You don't necessarily have to spend money to make your mark or help the needy. The old adage that charity begins at home is a good starting point. Assess what skills you could transfer to others or how much time you have to donate.

Advance Australia Fair Dinkum

Australian all let us rejoice, for some of us are young and most of us are free......
We have wind blown soil, coal, gas & oil that we ship overseas
Our land abounded in nature's gifts 'til we cut down all the trees,
In history's page let every stage invoke apologies.
whilst off our brains, sing once again
Advance Australia fair.

wearing tatoos of the Southern Cross,
We'll escalate the racial tension,
To make this Commonwealth of ours
known for mandatory detention,
For those who've come across the seas,
we'll keep them off the map,
and those who were already here,
we'll keep widening the gap
In painful strains sing once again,
Advance Australia fair.

My poem about the alleged Senator Feilding

Did I ever tell you about Senator Fielding?
A climate science skeptic who would not be yielding...
Climate is changing, he did not dispute,
"But are humans at fault?" He would often refute.

To all fellow senators he sent a submission,
Steady temperatures versus skyrocketing carbon emissions.
He blamed the volcanos, he blamed the sun spot.
He doubted cars, coal & cows could be causing the lot.

He was alarmed & alert. He went on world trips.
He listened to experts - just pressurised drips.
The things that they told him were utterly apalling.
They showed him a graph of the temperature falling.

He came back with the graph & he went door to door.
He even had breaky with the prophet Al Gore.
"The temperature's falling" Steve Fielding would cry.
Just like Chicken Little had said of the sky.

He knew little of science & nothing of climate.
El nino, la nina variations in time, mate.
Mean global temperature may still be steady,
While local extremes, southern oscilations will eddy.

Steve's advice to the senate was sit back & wait.
For the deals at Copenhagen to decide on our fate.