Science and Math 3002 - Decentralized: Sanitation in the Apocalypse

Everyone deserves access to clean water and hygienic sanitation, especially those in rural or impoverished areas where a central government is unable to reliably provide these necessary services. We will learn about technologies and techniques in this hands-on experimental course to safely procure potable water, manage compost, and treat sewage. We will explore the history of sanitation from the perspectives of ancient civilizations, indigenous practices, rural communities, and newer decentralized urban development. We will use the R.W. Kern and Hitchcock Center for the Environment's modern decentralized infrastructure to analyze the successes and struggles of newer decentralized developments. Keywords:Environmental, Engineering, Water, Sanitation, Human health