FLUSH: The Amazing Science of Improbable Treasures, Bryn Nelson
Human excrement may automatically provoke disgust, but the fun facts about feces are another matter. Who wouldn’t be intrigued to learn that it weighs twice as much? is woven into
The “flush” begins with a bite, meanders through the chemical and mechanical pathways of the gut, and remains to marvel at our gastrointestinal fauna. Our microbiome has been with us for thousands of years. Although they have evolved, some species are endangered due to misuse of antibiotics and disinfectants, Nelson reports. Luckily, human waste is something of a miracle product, and fecal microbial transplantation – “reseeding the digestive tract with something close to its normal inhabitants” – can help reduce irritable bowel syndrome to ulcerative colon. It can treat a variety of intestinal ailments, even inflammation.
Nelson eventually moves on to social and global concerns. At that point, things get pretty interesting. She learns how to use wastewater to measure community health. Poop detectives will sample upstream to find the source of the massive viral load, allowing the city to focus resources on areas that need them most.
With the help of methane-producing microbes, huge tanks and dedicated technicians, fecal matter can generate heat, electricity and energy and can also be used to produce fertilizer. Sprinkling treated sewage onto food crops is uncontroversial. Nelson interviews experts who argue that these “biosolids” bind nutrients and heavy metals, making them unavailable to plants. . However, it does not address potential contaminant build-up. What happens if you use biosolids repeatedly over time?
Unbridled curiosity, puns, and irresistible shyness, Nelson has been using three apps daily for a year to track stool frequency, travel speed, volume, consistency and color to see what he can do. I checked the flight of He spent his $169 on an array of gut flora and began experimenting with yogurt and fiber supplements. Is this TMI? Yes, if you’re nodding, you might be a Republican. “Research suggests that people who are highly disgusting overall are more likely to be politically conservative,” he wrote. (For the record, this reviewer didn’t find these bits pretentious. Rather boring.)
Nelson’s overarching message is that humans need to get used to what’s inside them in order to embrace their enormous potential to positively impact the planet. Our waste can be reused to make drinking water, or we can recover biogas from our intestines and use it as a carbon-neutral transportation fuel. Sludge can also be heated and turned into biochar for cooking fuel or used as a feed supplement to reduce methane emissions from cattle. By fixing lead in contaminated soil, biosolids can help restore degraded land, Nelson continues. I can do it.
Some have praised Nelson’s dedication to his subject and the extent of his research. But with all this information weighing you down, “The Flash” can feel overwhelming, and the author at times seems booster-like and devoid of skepticism. We rarely discuss scalability, the return on energy investment, and the Earth’s ability to absorb the waste of a growing population.
Still, for anyone concerned with consumption, or wondering what happens after flushing, the book is worthwhile, and Nelson’s warnings can’t be repeated. not detached. Our actions have consequences. And nothing is wasted.
Elizabeth Royt is the author of Garbage Land, The Tapir’s Morning Bath: Solving the Mysteries of the Tropical Rain Forest, and Bottlemania: How Water Went On Sale and Why We Bought It.
Stream: The Amazing Science of Improbable Treasures | | Bryn Nelson 421 pages | Grand Central Publishing | $29
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