我跨越了半個地球，為的是看一眼廁所。
如果你長期關注我的公眾號，這不會讓你感到驚訝。比起其他事來，有那麽幾件事是我尤其喜歡談論的。環境衛生是我們關注的最重要問題之一，我甚至在幾年前喝過用人糞做的水。
因此，我本周很興奮地來到中國北京參加“新世代廁所博覽會”，這裡將展出一些世界上最高科技的廁所。
我將在北京看到的這些廁所不僅僅是吸引人的小玩意，它們有潛力挽救數百萬人的生命。全世界一半以上的人口使用著不安全的衛生設施。即使在人們能用上馬桶或坑廁的地方，他們的糞便也不能被安全地處理。糞便裡的病原體進入當地的水源，使人們生病。
由被汙染的水導致的疾病，每年奪走超過50萬五歲以下兒童的生命。那些活下來的孩子往往因病得太重而無法上學。毫不誇張地說，惡劣的衛生條件阻礙了整個社區和整個國家的發展。
如果你生活在3級或4級國家，你可以感謝你的下水道系統保護你的安全。下水道在歷史上一直是確保糞便不向環境釋放有害病原體的最佳途徑。
但如果你不需要下水道就能保證人們的安全呢？如果你的廁所可以完全獨立處理糞便呢？
這個廁所也許看起來和其他任何廁所沒什麽兩樣，但它完全獨立、可以處理糞便，從中我們可以展望衛生設施的未來。當我在中國時，我會看到這個和其他一些令人驚歎的新發明，它們可以兌現無下水道廁所的承諾。
我們的基金會已經投入了大量資金開發下一代的環境衛生解決方案。2011年，我們發起了“廁所創新大賽”（Reinvent the ToiletChallenge）。許多參賽作品如今已準備好可以投入使用了。一群來自世界各地的傑出工程師、科學家、公司和大學做出了艱苦的努力，一個安全、離網型衛生設施的市場已初步形成。我希望這周的展覽讓他們的努力成果向前更進一步，使得世界各地的人們能真正用上這些廁所。
這些廁所都在試圖解決一個同樣的問題，但它們采取了不同的方式（上面的影片解釋了每種廁所的特別之處）。其中一些使用太陽能，這樣它們就能離網運行。
其他的則自己發電，比如克蘭菲爾德納米膜廁所。打開或關閉它的馬桶蓋，這會觸發一個將液體從固體中分離的螺旋裝置。一個氣化爐會將固體物質轉化成灰分和熱能，用來為廁所運行提供動力。
下一代廁所的一大主題是將糞便轉化為有用東西的能力。艾科森（EcoSan）能提取出乾淨的水，它足夠安全可以用來洗手。杜克大學的社區處理系統所產生的水，可以用來衝廁所或補充肥料。南佛羅裡達大學的NEWgenerator甚至可以收集甲烷氣體用於烹飪或取暖。
另一個相同的特點是把糞便燃燒殆盡（如果你正在吃東西，那麽我向你道歉，但描述這個實在沒有巧妙的方式）。Janicki Firelight將屎尿脫水，將其變成無菌的灰和水。
你可能已經猜到了，這些廁所比一般的廁所要複雜得多。看看這個用來運行一間公共廁所的控制面板：
不過這些廁所用起來與其他廁所差不太多。神奇的事都發生在幕後。
我知道大部分人不會將廁所做的事形容為神奇，但我認為在這種情況下確實神奇。想想看：廁所在過去一個多世紀就沒怎麽變過。如果你能回到19世紀中葉，你會發現抽水馬桶和你家裡的馬桶用起來基本一樣。如果你住的地方使用的是坑式廁所，那麽廁所設計保持不變的時間就更長了。
我將在北京看到的這些廁所，或許某一天會取代一項和我們在一起很久的技術，而且將在這個過程中挽救數百萬條生命。這不僅僅是工程學上的一項傑出成就，而且是一個現代的奇跡。
Why the world deserves a better toilet
I’m about to travel halfway around the world to look at a toilet.
If you’re a long-time reader of TGN, this shouldn’t come as a surprise. There are few things I love talking about more. Sanitation is one of the most important issues we work on. I even drank water made from human feces a couple years ago.
That’s why I’m so excited to visit Beijing, China this week for the Reinvented Toilet Expo, where some of the most high-tech toilets in the world will be on display.
The toilets I’ll see in Beijing aren’t just fascinating gadgets – they have the potential to save millions of lives. More than half of the world’s population uses unsafe sanitation facilities. Even in places where people have access to toilets or pit latrines, their waste isn’t disposed of safely. The pathogens from the waste finds their way into the local water supply and makes people sick.
The diseases caused by contaminated water kill more than 500,000 children under five every year. Those who survive are often too sick to go to school. It’s no exaggeration to say that poor sanitation holds back whole communities and entire nations.
If you live in a level 3 or 4 country, you can thank your sewer system for keeping you safe. Sewers have historically been the best way to make sure waste isn’t releasing harmful pathogens into the environment.
But what if you didn’t need a sewer to keep people safe? What if your toilet could dispose of waste all on its own?
This toilet might look like any other, but it’s actually a self-contained, waste-destroying peek at the future of sanitation. When I’m in China, I get to see this and several other amazing new inventions that could deliver on the promise of sewer-less toilets.
Our foundation has invested a lot of money to develop a pipeline of next-generation sanitation solutions. In 2011, we launched the Reinvent the Toilet Challenge. Many of the solutions created for that challenge are now ready to license. A remarkable cohort of engineers, scientists, companies, and universities around the world has done the hard work of getting a safe, off-grid sanitation market ready for take-off. My hope is that this week’s showcase moves their hard work one step closer to being used by real people around the world.
Each of these toilets seeks to solve the same problem, but they’ve all taken a different approach to get there. (The video above explains what specifically makes each toilet special.) Several run on solar power, so they can operate off-grid.
Others generate their own power, like the Cranfield nanomembrane toilet. Opening or closing its lid moves a screw that separates liquids from solids. A gasifier converts the solids into ash and heat that is used to operate the toilet.
A big theme for next-gen toilets is the ability to turn waste into something useful. The Ecosan extracts clean water, which is safe to use for hand-washing. The water created by Duke University’s neighborhood treatment system can be used to flush toilets or supplement fertilizer. The University of South Florida’s New Generator even collects methane gas for cooking or heating.
Another common feature involves burning waste to get rid of it (I apologize if you’re eating right now, but there’s no delicate way to describe this). The Janicki Firelight dries out urine and feces, turning them into sterile ash and water.
As you might have guessed, these toilets are a lot more complicated than your average toilet. Just look at the maintenance panel used to operate a public restroom:
The user experience for each is more or less the same as any other toilet, though. Most of the magic happens behind the scenes.
I know most people wouldn’t describe what toilets do as magical, but I think it’s true in this case. Think about it: the toilet hasn’t really changed in more than a century. If you could go back in time to the mid-1800s, you’d find flush toilets that work basically the same as the toilet in your home. And if you live somewhere with pit latrines, toilet design has stayed the same for even longer.
The toilets I’ll see in Beijing might one day replace a piece of technology that’s been with us for ages – and they could save millions of lives in the process. That’s not just an amazing feat of engineering. It’s a modern miracle.
香港九龍灣馬來街興發大廈15樓D室