In the weeks ahead, Olympic rowers, sailors, and swimmers will compete in waters with hazardous levels of bacteria. Doctors say that just three teaspoons of Rio’s polluted water are enough to bring on terrible diseases. But one community in Rio shows the way with a cheap and simple device called a “biodigester.” Anaerobic bacteria in the biodigester eat (human) waste and kill pathogens, getting sewage about 80 percent “clean.” Then, it filters through a series of rock-and-plant pods, where the plant roots sanitize it further. From there, the wastewater—now 99 percent clean—flows into the ocean. Environmentalists complain that Brazilian authorities could have implemented many such low-tech solutions to provide the Olympics with a much cleaner environment.
There is a cheap and easy way to fix the Rio sewage problem
More of Today's Solutions
Scientists build first fully human bone marrow model to revolutionize blood d...
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM In a transformative leap for regenerative medicine, scientists have developed the first entirely human-engineered bone marrow system. This ...
Read More7 cold and flu season mistakes doctors want you to quit making
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM You’ve heard the warnings: cold and flu season is no joke. But despite our best intentions (and fully ...
Read MoreThree ways we can repurpose closed department stores
40 percent of US department stores have closed their doors in the past five years, but the question remains: what do we do with ...
Read MoreHubble takes beautiful image of galaxies “dancing”
The Hubble Space Telescope ventured into space over three decades ago in 1990, and has observed around 50,000 celestial bodies to date. During this ...
Read More
