The Wastewater Gardener: Preserving the Planet One Flush at a Time

by Mark Nelson PhD, Tony Juniper CBE (Foreword by)

Overview

Mark Nelson, PhD, has worked for several decades in closed ecological systems research. As one of eight brave souls enclosed in the pioneering Biosphere 2 experiment for two years in 1991-1993, Nelson learned fi rst hand how essential the proper use of human waste is to the health of the planet. This realization, combined with his lifelong love aff air with constructed wetlands, led to the development of Wastewater Gardens, an ecological way to treat human waste and preserve water quality.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780907791515
Publisher:	SYNERGETIC PR
Publication date:	06/30/2014
Pages:	232
Product dimensions:	7.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.60(d)
Age Range:	16 - 18 Years

About the Author

Dr. Mark Nelson was a founding director of the Institute of Ecotechnics and has worked for several decades in closed ecological system research, ecological engineering, the restoration of damaged ecosystems, desert agriculture and orchardry and wastewater recycling. He served as director of Space and Environmental Applications for Space Biospheres Ventures, which created and operated Biosphere 2, the world's first laboratory for global ecology. Dr. Nelson was a member of the eight person "biospherian" crew for the first two-year closure experiment, 1991-1993.

Tony Juniper is one of the top ten environmental figures of the last thirty years; a campaigner, author, and sustainability adviser to the Prince of Wales and other NGOs; and former director of Friends of the Earth.

Table of Contents

Foreword Tony Juniper 1

Preface v

1 A Brief History of How We Got Into This Mess 1

2 Flower Power at Synergia Ranch 13

3 Recycling in a Small World: Biosphere 2 31

4 My Love Affair with Wetlands 49

5 Magic in Mexico 75

6 Composting Toilets: A Drier Alternative 92

7 Piled Higher and Deeper - Path to a PhD 96

8 Doing Business on the Riviera Maya 103

9 Outback Yarns and the Nitty-Gritty of Building Wastewater Gardens 119

10 Travel in Man: On the Scent of Solutions Around the World 147

11 Preserving the Planet, One Flush at a Time! 179

Recommended Further Reading 194

Links 199

Credits 200

Wastewater Gardens International Representatives 201

Index 203

Editorial Reviews

07/01/2014
Part wake-up call, part memoir, this book is a humorous look at innovative ways for dealing with human waste that respect the water cycle—a wastewater garden is a trademarked method for using water-tolerant plants to process sewage as part of a septic system. Ecosystem engineer and researcher Nelson describes his career in detail, starting with desert farming in New Mexico and two years in the sustainability experiment of Biosphere 2. The author went on to create wastewater gardens in Mexico, Australia, Indonesia, and other regions with ecosystems affected by sewage treatment problems. His greater point throughout is that in the developed world we are profligate in our use of potable water to flush away waste, and this is unsustainable. His approaches to problems are pragmatic, and his stories are honest about the efficacy of given practices. The language used in the book is correspondingly free of euphemisms for waste. VERDICT This is not an instruction manual but an enlightening take on sustainable sewage treatment for readers interested in sustainability and public health.—Margaret Heller, Loyola Univ. Chicago Libs.

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