Why is global sanitation so elusive?

摘要

Improving access to sanitation isn't a very sexy environmental topic, generating less interest than many other talked-about subjects such as climate change, water scarcity, and chemical plasticizers. Despite its lowly reputation, inadequate sanitation harms millions of people by causing diarrhea and dehydration. In developing countries, for example, up to 1.5 million children under the age of five die annually from diarrhea caused by exposure to germ-infested water. James Mihelcic, David Watkins, and Lauren Fry of the Sustainable Futures Institute of Michigan Technological University decided to dissect the global challenges to upgrading sanitation facilities.