Issue link: http://psai.uberflip.com/i/1140772
W EEKLY EDITION JULY 10, 2019 "Clean Portable Toilets, Clean Future" By Christina Mangano , 2019 PSAI Scholarship Winner Everyone needs clean water, and portable sanitation plays a vital role in the protection and conservation of this resource. Whether it's for essential hydration, personal hygiene, or a fun dip in the ocean, clean water plays an integral role in all our lives. For my part, my love of the water stems from my passion for swimming. To t his day my grandparents still exclaim, "She was swimming like a fish before she could walk!" At age seven I joined the swim team and was never happier than when I was in the water. Now, at the age of nineteen, I still love the water, whether it be dragging my friends along for a swim in Lake Michigan or feeling the warm waves off the coast of Florida. My love of the water has extended to my studies as well, as I have had the opportunity to join a Loyola University Chicago ecology research lab that studies c hanges in aquatic insect populations as a result of climate change. At Loyola, our dedicated care for the environment makes us one of the greenest schools in the Midwest, and I have gained a greater appreciation of the need for society to implement changes that protect the natural world including the water that is so vital to our life here on earth. This is where portable sanitation comes in. In the past I viewed portable restrooms as a useful and convenient resource, but I did not appreciate its positive impact on the environment. My ecological research studies and the growing societal focus on environmental issues have helped me to greater appreciate the active role portable sanitation plays in protecting limited resources like clean water. For example, l arge crowds of people at events or workers at constructions sites require access to restrooms, however using traditional toilets requires an enormous amount of water that is cleaner than the drinking water available to people in some parts of the world. Po rtable sanitation is not only convenient in such situations, but it allows clean water to be conserved in places where it may already be scarce. The portable sanitation industry stresses the use of environmentally friendly chemicals for proper disposal of waste, maximizing cleanliness for the individuals while minimizing the impact on the environment. My research has taught me that is affects us on a broader scale than most people realize, as harming water ecosystems with chemicals can have other ramificati ons for society beyond wasting good drinking water. Therefore, dedication to water cleanliness, conservation, and high standards of portable sanitation can only help the environment and society as a whole. P AGE 3 CONTINUED ON PAGE 4