How did the Roman Empire get rid of waste?
Hundreds of years before the arrival of European explorers, the ancient civilizations of South America developed rich and innovative cultures that grew in and amongst the geographic features of their landscape. The most famous of these civilizations is the Incan Empire. Emerging in 1438 C.E., the Incan Empire developed along the west coast of the continent, with the Pacific Ocean …
What did the Mayans do with their dead bodies?
In many places, smaller privies and cesspools served for temporary storage. They’d be emptied by workers with the worst job ever, who would haul it all off to somewhere else. This might be more pits outside of town where the smell wouldn’t bother anyone, but it could also be used on fields as fertilizer. However, this could be risky, since human waste is a natural repository for parasites …
How were POWs treated in WW2?
· N ot long ago, conventional wisdom held that people who crossed into North America from Asia did not begin to spread southward before about 13,500 years ago. That timing, toward the end of the last ice age, or near the close of the late Pleistocene period, coincides with the so-called Clovis culture, named for a site in New Mexico that yielded distinctive spear points.
What happened to South America’s earliest human settlements?
· What is E-Waste? “E-waste”, “electronic waste”, “e-scrap” and “end-of-life electronics” are terms often used to describe used electronics that are nearing the end of their useful life, and are discarded, donated or given to a recycler. Though “e-waste” is the commonly used term, EPA considers e-waste to be a subset of used ...
What did ancient people do with waste?
Urine was used in the tanning process. Other human waste was dumped in rivers. Food scraps were recycled by feeding to animals like chickens and pigs. Other waste like anything wooden was used as fuel in fires - particularly Rome where there was a considerable demand for heating for the baths.
How was waste managed in the past?
In the past options for waste disposal were limited and the homeowner was exclusively responsible for disposing waste. Typically, households generated small volumes of garbage and a backyard pit or personal waste site was the most common past practice of waste disposal.
What did Native Americans do with waste?
Indians dug latrines away from the tipis and fresh water. During the most brutal weather, these latrines would be placed close by. Human waste froze in the winter and didn't smell nearly as much as in the summer. Just about everything the various tribes did or used was biodegradable.
How does South Africa deal with waste?
According to the (Department of Water Affairs [DWA], 1998), waste disposal in South Africa is mostly in landfills, but it is estimated that only 10% of landfills are managed in accordance with the minimum requirements. Most of the cities in South Africa have well-managed landfills as well as recycling programs.
How did waste disposal start?
The very first was developed in 3,000 B.C. in Knossos, Crete, when people dug deep holes to hide refuse, which they would then cover with dirt. Near 500 B.C., the Greek city of Athens devised one of the first-known regulations regarding trash—residents were forbidden from throwing waste in the street.
How do countries get rid of waste?
Dumps and landfills are the general choice for disposing of solid waste in developing countries because these are the cheapest options, despite their future human health and soil and water pollution costs.
How do Native Americans poop?
Unlike Westerners, Indians use their hands and water to clean their bottoms. First, they touch the excreta with their fingers and then they clean those fingers subsequently.
What did Native Americans use for hygiene?
Now, the Native Americans that colonists encountered had different priorities in terms of hygiene. They bathed in open rivers and streams. Their teeth were in better shape than colonists, as they used wooden chew sticks to clean them and fresh herbs like mint to freshen their breath.
Do Native Americans recycle?
The Navajo and Hopi tribes produce about 300 million pounds of waste a year. And there are few places to dump it, let alone recycle. The tribes do not have landfills — only overflowing waste transfer stations — so there are hundreds of illegal dump sites.
How much waste is recycled in South Africa?
Did you know that 90% of an estimated 59 million tonnes of general waste produced in South Africa in 2011 ended up in landfills, while only 10% was recycled?
Why is waste management important South Africa?
Although 61%1 of all South African households had access to kerbside domestic waste collection services in 2007, this access remains highly skewed in favour of more affluent and urban communities. Inadequate waste services lead to unpleasant living conditions and a contaminated, unhealthy environment.
How many landfills are in South Africa?
The Department of Environmental Affairs (“DEA”) says 98 million tonnes of waste is deposited across South Africa's 826 landfill sites every year.
What is the race to recover South America's ancient past?
The Race to Recover South America’s Ancient Past. In the face of development pressure and climate change, research ers are toiling to find and preserve ancient sites in Peru that hold clues to how people first traversed a continent. Barbara Fraser is a freelance journalist who has lived in Peru for more than 25 years.
When did people travel to South America?
N ewer studies indicate that people may have crossed from Asia into the Americas as early as 16,000 years ago , possibly traveling southward along the seaward edge of the Cordilleran ice sheet in western North America. That would make earlier dates in South America possible, but mysteries remain: What routes did people follow once they arrived in South America, and how did they spread throughout the continent so rapidly?
What caused the urban sprawl in Peru?
I n Peru, migration from rural areas to cities has caused urban sprawl in coastal river valleys that were probably as attractive to late Pleistocene inhabitants as they are to people today. Peru has also developed an export agricultural industry along the coast, turning the desert green. The cultivation and irrigation projects that allowed for this industry may have disturbed or destroyed sites, as construction of the nearby Pan-American Highway, the country’s key north-south trade and transport route, has done.
How long ago did people live in South America?
A lthough it is still too soon to draw conclusions, there is tantalizing evidence that people occupied sites in South America between 12,000 and 14,500 years ago—or possibly even earlier. The oldest sites imply that humans may have dispersed throughout the continent earlier and more rapidly than was generally believed.
Who accompanied Rademaker to the excavations?
With images and help from Sandweiss, who accompanied Rademaker, the team located the earlier excavations.
When was Cuncaicha occupied?
J ust as Monte Verde forced researchers to rethink the “when” of the early habitation of South America, this rock shelter, called Cuncaicha, has made them reconsider the “where.” Many people thought the high Andes would have been too inhospitable for early inhabitants, but Cuncaicha was occupied between 11,500 and 12,500 years ago, making it the highest inhabited ice age site found anywhere in the world so far.
What is e-waste in the US?
Though “e-waste” is the commonly used term, EPA considers e-waste to be a subset of used electronics and recognizes the inherent value of these materials that can be reused, refurbished or recycled to minimize the actual waste that might end up in a landfill or improperly disposed in an unprotected dump site either in the US or abroad. ...
What is the North American Commission on Environmental Cooperation?
North American Commission on Environmental Cooperation (CEC): Canada, Mexico and the United States are collaborating on the sound management of e-waste in North America through the North American Commission on Environmental Cooperation (CEC). One project involves describing the transboundary movement, or flows, of used and end-of-life computers, ...
How much electronics were disposed of in 2009?
EPA estimates that, in 2009, US consumers and businesses discarded televisions, computers, cell phones and hard copy peripherals (including printers, scanners, faxes) totaling 2.37 million tons. Approximately 25 percent of these electronics were collected for recycling, with the remainder disposed of primarily in landfills, where the precious metals cannot be recovered.
What are some examples of unsafe handling of electronic waste?
For example, there are problems with open-air burning and acid baths being used to recover valuable materials from electronic components, which expose workers to harmful substances. There are also problems with toxic materials leaching into the environment. These practices can expose workers to high levels of contaminants such as lead, mercury, cadmium and arsenic, which can lead to irreversible health effects, including cancers, miscarriages, neurological damage and diminished IQs.
What act was used to clean up the air and surface waters?
Major fish kills occurred in many rivers, and some rivers actually caught on fire. Federal action in the form of national legislation (Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act) occurred, establishing for the first time a federal presence and role in cleaning up the nation’s air and surface waters.
What were the effects of the US industrial base during and after WWII?
Growth of the US industrial base during and after WWII and changing American lifestyles brought about major increases in air, water, and solid waste emissions. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, when the war effort was over and domestic issues once again became important, the impact of these emissions gained national attention. Air-pollution health alerts occurred in the east and west. Major fish kills occurred in many rivers, and some rivers actually caught on fire. Federal action in the form of national legislation (Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act) occurred, establishing for the first time a federal presence and role in cleaning up the nation’s air and surface waters.
What was the USPHS's strategy in the late 1950s?
During the late 1950s and early 1960s, the USPHS pursued its strategy of creating the necessary technical, professional, and political support that would lead to passage of national solid waste legislation.
What was the USPHS's main goal in 1963?
Anderson, M.D., assistant surgeon general of the USPHS, presented a paper titled “Public Health Aspects of the Solid Waste Problem.” This paper signaled that the USPHS was prepared to make a case that improper solid waste management had major public-health implications that required a national effort beyond the current limits of the USPHS authorities. This was a huge signal that a major policy shift within the USPHS and its parent organization, the Department of Health, Education and Welfare (DHEW), had been made. Many people can be credited with helping the USPHS reach this policy decision, but Wes Gilbertson, Ralph Black, Leo Weaver, and the members of APWA made it happen.
When did solid waste start?
1. It is not clear when the term solid waste began to appear as a replacement for the term refuse. In the 1961 APWA/USPHS publication, Municipal Refuse Disposal,5 the term appears. We note that the term waste appeared by 1954.6 In the late 1950s, in the USPHS organizational structure, “solid wastes methodology” was a program in the Division of Environmental Engineering and Food Protection. While it might never be nailed down, it would seem to be a safe assumption that sometime between 1954 and 1961 the name evolved and probably occurred within the USPHS. In 1965, the Solid Waste Disposal Act defined solid waste.
When was the Solid Waste Disposal Act passed?
With Gilbertson leading the charge and with the active support of the APWA membership, the Solid Waste Disposal Act of 1965 was passed on October 20, 1965 . A national movement for solid waste management had been created. The golden years for the USPHS solid waste program had begun.
Who started the effort to eliminate open burning dumps?
H. Lanier Hickman Jr. In the 1950s, the United States Public Health Service (USPHS) began a national effort to eliminate open-burning dumps. In time, the USPHS expanded its efforts to address all aspects of refuse management. (For the balance of this series, the term solid waste will be used, replacing refuse as the term of choice.
Why did Native Americans build latrines away from water sources?
Another good thing is that in winter conditions waste tends to freeze so it does not stink as much as it would in the summer but Native Americans clearly understood the importance of building latrines away from water sources because they had fewer difficulties with water-borne parasites and illnesses than Europeans.
What were the abandoned rooms used for?
Those abandoned rooms were used for trowing garbage in - and as a toilet. We found many coprolites (human shit). They were examined and found to contain many parasites. Also there was a lot of garbage at the base of the cliff, as is usually the case. Here there were a lot of potsherds indicating it was a garbage heap.
How often do people take baths?
Well, cleanliness was not as appreciated, you may say, as it is today. In fact, most people only took baths once or twice a year. (And this was only for the rich people – the average bloke would be lucky to have a bath once every 3 or 4 years!)
What did Europeans not know about toilets?
Europeans were not familiar with the concept of ‘toilet’ during the middle ages. They were taking care of their ‘needs’ on open fields, or inside their houses. High-heel shoes and umbrellas were in great demand since people used to throw their cr’ap out in the streets of the smelly cities.
Why was the Juniper tree burned?
The extreme dirt of the old European royal palaces was well-known. That is why, juniper tree was burned to give them a nice scent. ( Frantz Funck Brentano / la Societe Sous l’Ancien Regime )
How to cover up a latrine?
They would dig a latrine and often would have a smaller structure over it to help stay dry when it rained or snowed. a pile of earth from the digging of the latrine would be left next to the hole and once done, you tossed a handful of dirt into the hole to “cover up”.
When did Europe start having toilets?
Europe partially met with a “toilet culture” in the beginning of the 18 th century . Crates were placed inside the palaces for the kings and aristocrats to “meet their needs”. There were places in Europe that still did not have any toilets even in the beginning of the 20 th century.
What was the environmental movement in the 1970s?
The environmental movement of the 1970s can be credited with directly shaping American recycling programs–although concern about the post-war disposable culture goes back almost to its beginning. Before the advent of recycling programs, writes Sarah Goodyear for CityLab, “the vast majority of households sent 100 percent ...
Which state was the first to have a curbside recycling program?
In 1971, Oregon was the first state to pass a beverage container deposit law. Then in 1980, Woodbury, New Jersey, became the first city with a curbside recycling program.
Who designed the three arrow recycling symbol?
The winning design, by a college student named Gary Anderson, was the now-ubiquitous three arrow recycling symbol.
Where were the art stolen during the Nazi occupation?
During the Nazi occupation of France, many valuable works of art were stolen from the Jeu de Paume museum and relocated to Germany. One brave French woman kept detailed notes of the thefts
Did previous generations recycle?
Before the advent of recycling programs, writesSarah Goodyear for CityLab, “the vast majority of households sent 100 percent of their waste to landfills.” That’s not to say that previous generations didn’t recycle, but the curbside programs and bottle deposits (not to mention the circular arrow logo) associated with recycling today are all associated with the 1970s and 1980s.
What is the use of alcohol in ancient medicine?
Various types of alcohol were also used in ancient medical practices. One of the first uses was by the Sumerians, who used beer as an antiseptic along with the dressing of wounds, using up to 19 different types of beer. Other ancient Mesopotamian cultures, including the Sumerians and Akkadians used wine with sesame infusions, which were "purified and pulverized" before application along with the many beers. Another peoples to take advantage of the cleansing properties of alcohol were the Greeks. They used wine along with boiled water and vinegar to cleanse wounds. The Greeks, specifically Hippocrates (430–377 BC), were also the first to establish the four cardinal signs of inflammation: redness, swelling, heat and pain. Alcohol is still in use today as a wound cleanser largely as rubbing alcohol. However the side effects can be skin cell death resulting in inflammation and itchiness at the site of application.
What is the history of wound care?
History of wound care. The history of wound care spans from prehistory to modern medicine. Wounds naturally heal by themselves, but hunter-gatherers would have noticed several factors and certain herbal remedies would speed up or assist the process, especially if it was grievous.
Why is turmeric used in ancient times?
This is the root of the Turmeric plant that had been sliced and boiled. Turmeric was used in the ancient times to promote wound healing.
How long does hydrocolloid dressing last?
It is a wet-to-dry technique but is not recommended for infected areas. This type of dressing can last up to 7 days with a close eye and must be removed with care.
When did moist wound dressings become popular?
In the 1960s, research and articles by George Winter and Howard Maibach reported on the superior efficacy of moist wound dressings. The adoption of moist wound dressing technique as recommended best wound dressing practice reflected a large advance in approach producing markedly superior clinical outcomes. This dawn of modern wound care treatment initiated a process of improvement in the clinician's ability to bolster wound-site re-epithelialization and healing. The focus on evidence-based best practices and research continues.
Who invented the gauze?
Building on the success of Lister's pretreated surgical gauze, Robert Wood Johnson I , co-founder of Johnson & Johnson, began in the 1890s producing gauze and wound dressings sterilized with dry heat, steam, and pressure.
Who was the first doctor to sterilize surgical gauze?
This is a portrait of Joseph Lister, who was the first doctor to begin to sterilize his surgical gauze.
Why did the Vietnamese torture POWs?
But a fact that’s commonly left out is why the Vietnamese actually did it. The reason was simply to break the will of the soldiers they’d captured.
What did the Red Cross do to the prisoners?
When the Red Cross offered to vaccinate prisoners, the Germans declined the offer and instead left them in the cold to freeze to death. The Vietnamese were infamous for their treatment of POWs—but nothing sums up their sheer brutality more than the so-called “Tiger Cages.”.
What happened to the Australian prisoners in 1942?
10. The Selarang Barracks Incident. In 1942, four Australian POWs did the unthinkable, and tried to escape from their Japanese prisoner of war camp. The Japanese became so incensed that they ordered every POW in the Changi peninsula to sign an agreement promising not to escape. These prisoners—being Australian—promptly told the Japanese to do one.
What is the worst thing ever designed for the punishment of human beings?
1. Unit 731. Unit 731 is, in short, probably the worst thing ever designed for the punishment of human beings. Unit 731 was an incredibly secretive Japanese biological and chemical warfare research facility, in which dozens of lethal and inhumane experiments were conducted on living POWs.
Why was torture in Vietnam the same?
Which explains why the systematic torture inflicted on victims was the same, whether a POW had been captured in combat, or found with broken legs after a bailout from his plane.
What was the Japanese attempt to conquer China in 1937?
2. Head Football. During the Japanese attempt to conquer China in 1937, a lot of blood was spilled—and the Chinese were anything but kind to the Japanese soldiers they captured. Japanese prisoners of war could expect brutal torture at the hands of the Chinese.
Did Soviet POWs catch a break?
Soviet POWs Couldn’t Catch A Break. If double forced labour wasn’t bad enough, during their time as POWs Soviet soldiers were among the worst treated in WW2. For example, when the food available for use in camps became incredibly scarce, Colonel Eduard Wagner issued an order to let prisoners starve to death.