Ideas worth spreading

The taboo secret to better health

1,942,866 views |

Molly Winter |

TEDxBend

• April 2016

Our poop and pee have superpowers, but for the most part we don't harness them. Molly Winter faces down our squeamishness and asks us to see what goes down the toilet as a resource, one that can help fight climate change, spur innovation and even save us money.

Our poop and pee have superpowers, but for the most part we don't harness them. Molly Winter faces down our squeamishness and asks us to see what goes down the toilet as a resource, one that can help fight climate change, spur innovation and even save us money.

This talk was presented to a local audience at TEDxBend, an independent event. TED's editors chose to feature it for you.

Read more about TEDx.

Find out where your water comes from and where your poop and pee go. Are you connected to a sewer? Contact your local treatment plant. Ask where the biosolids (sewage and sludge) and treated effluent goes. Are you on a septic system? Pull up a groundwater map for your area, findable either through a local county extension service or through USGS.

About the speaker

Molly Winter

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Molly Winter works on legalizing sustainable building practices.

Rose George | Picador, 2014 | Book

Big Necessity

If you’d prefer a slimmer visual version of the book, check out the surprisingly stylish edition done by Colors magazine in Issue #82: SHIT. George also did a great TED Talk about the lack of global access to safe sanitation: Let’s Talk Crap Seriously.

Mathew Lippincott, Molly Winter | Explore

A Sewer Catastrophe Companion: Dry Toilets for Wet Disasters

If you've ever wondered how you'll go to the bathroom if an earthquake cracks your sewer lines, check out A Sewer Catastrophe Companion: Dry Toilets for Wet Disasters, created by Mathew Lippincott and Molly Winter with an incredible cohort of designers from Pacific Northwest College of Art's Collaborative Design Program.

Mathew Lippincott, Molly Winter | Explore

Apocalypse Now: Drop it Like it’s a Hot Climate

If you've ever sat on the toilet and thought ... why can't I be looking at a map of where my poop is going, then Mathew Lippincott and Molly Winter have a series of posters for you.

About TEDx

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This talk was presented to a local audience at TEDxBend, an independent event. TED's editors chose to feature it for you.

Read more about TEDx.

Find out where your water comes from and where your poop and pee go. Are you connected to a sewer? Contact your local treatment plant. Ask where the biosolids (sewage and sludge) and treated effluent goes. Are you on a septic system? Pull up a groundwater map for your area, findable either through a local county extension service or through USGS.