- StudySolver
- /Human Waste Has Always Been A
Human Waste Has Always Been A
Human waste has always been a huge issue for large, populated areas, and as cities started to develop and more people have come together, this caused significant problems. Diseases and smells carried through the streets by human waste would’ve been an issue for most people, making them people sick and producing a sickening stench. In response to this problem, one man, George Edwin Waring, Jr., would change the course of human history and develop the sanitation system that we now use today. Waring was an early American designer and advocate of sewer systems that keep the main part of sewage waste separate from storm runoff. This system would be developed worldwide, with countries beginning to explore and create new, unique solutions to improve the sewage system.
George Edwin Waring, Jr., was born in Pound Ridge, New York, on July 4, 1833. He was the son of a wealthy stove manufacturer. Because Waring studied agricultural science, he would later develop the skills of a sanitary engineer. Waring was appointed to be the drainage engineer for the construction of New York’s City’s Central Park, regarded as one of the largest drainage projects of the time. Waring would go on to design and supervise the construction of the drainage system that would eventually create the lakes and small ponds of the park.
During this time period, the Civil War took place, and this would lead to Waring’s resignation from the Central City Park project to take a military commission as a major. He left New York to go to Washington, D. C., where he met President Lincoln as he assessed the troops. Leaving Washington on July 4, 1862, George E. Waring, Jr., would’ve fought at the battle of Blackburn’s Ford. He would then leave and go to St. Louis to command the Fremont Hussars. He finished fighting in the Civil War, resigning from the army and heading back to New York to continue work on the sewage system. The war had changed him as person, and of course had affected the country as whole, leaving many distraught people throughout the country.
In 1895, Waring returned to New York City, where sanitary conditions had grown worse. At this time, the primary method of transportation was by horse, and this left around 2.5 million pounds of waste and 60,000 gallons of urine on city streets. “Waring supported the long-held miasma, or anti-contagious, theory, insisting that diseases were spread through the air, emerging as a poisonous vapor from damp soil” (Seavitt Nordenson 5). Because Waring strongly believed this, he felt that it was his responsibility to ensure that the problem was fixed in the city. He began work by securing a law requiring horses and carts to be stabled overnight instead of being left on the street. He created a sanitation crew that would ensure that the streets were kept clean and waste was removed. He also helped develop a sewage system that moved all the waste to the waterfront, or sold the horse manure for fertilizer. Waring enforced this rule in the city, and that system would then be used all over the country, in other areas where human and horse waste had become a large issue in keeping the streets clean. This would revolutionize the world, because the problem hadn’t previously been addressed. Soon, however, governments around the world would invest in more sanitation crews to keep the streets clean and ensure that no one was hurt by the waste. Leaving New York to go to Cuba led to Waring’s contracting yellow fever and dying on October 29, 1898.
Waring’s revolutionizing of drainage and sanitation for New York City would be developed all around the world, as the streets of many cities were filled with garbage and manure. It was an ongoing problem for most cities, and so it would be brought to attention internationally that sanitation in cities was important to prevent the spread of diseases that harm the lives of many people. Today, Waring isn’t well-known, but I believe he should be more recognized for establishing the department of street cleaning in New York. Waring brought a serious problem to the attention of all major cities, and he used his skills to developed a system that addressed the problem. Most people don’t recognize how much he changed the world: if it hadn’t been for Waring, then perhaps the sanitation department would never have existed, or would have taken a different form altogether.
Part 2:
Because sanitation still plays a huge role in cities and their sewage systems, human waste and clogged pipelines needing to be cleaned out are still major problems. The issue is being addressed and new ways are being introduced to clean and maintain cities. Vadim Kosseniouk helped to develop a solution to these kinds of problems for most major cities by designing robots to clean the pipelines throughout most of North America. The number of these robots is growing, and more cities are making larger demands for these robots, to maintain the cleanliness of their sewage systems.
Kosseniouk was born in Brest, Belarus, on August 20, 1968, at the time part of the Soviet Union. His parents, Slava and Valentina Kosseniouk, raised him. With most of Kosseniouk’s family serving in the military, Kosseniouk also joined the military academy at age 15, where he would build a military career and education, including service as a commanding officer. Kosseniouk was stationed in East Germany for most of his army career, and this gave him a unique perspective on a different country outside of the Soviet Union. After the Soviet revolution, Kosseniouk choose a different career path, entering the University of Mannheim in Germany. His pursuit of an education in mechanical engineering led him to a job offer from Magna International, which brought him to Toronto, Ontario, where he currently resides. Kosseniouk’s work for Magna International in robotics for infrastructure led him to get an MBA at Northwestern University. Afterward, he created his own company, which would eventually merge with Ferpal Infrastructure. He now lives with his wife, Inna Kasianiuk, and his children, Maxim and Denis Kasianiuk, in Toronto, Ontario, where he still practices.
The disintegration of the Soviet Union played an important role Kosseniouk’s life, as the army in which he served sent all its troops back to Russia. During this time period, the army was the best career possibility for most people in the Soviet Union, because it was considered a stable job where you can receive a large income. This is why Kosseniouk chose to serve in the military before the collapse of the Soviet Union, which would lead to unemployment. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, he resigned from the army and changed career paths, deciding to pursue a career in engineering. Studying in Germany, Kosseniouk learned German and lived in West Germany, which was completely different from what he was used to. This played a crucial role in his understanding of the world. He learned about different lifestyles, not living under a controlled government in which manipulation of Western culture played a large role. Employment with Magna International led him to move to Toronto, Canada, and this was another significant influence on him, living in an English-speaking country with a culture he wasn’t used to. He began to adapt to his new surroundings. Earning an MBA was another step in creating his own company, before partnering with Ferpal Infrastructure. As an immigrant to Canada, he was treated by most people as an outsider. He persevered and adapted to this environment, eventually playing a crucial role in city life. Because many business partners aren’t as comfortable working with people who have immigrated, Kosseniouk had to develop certain skills while working in the field, skills different from what he would have developed had he stayed in Europe.
Kosseniouk is now part-owner of a company that creates robots designed to analyze and solve pipeline issues, including in the sewage systems that run under most North American cities: Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Detroit, and others. He created a solution to help solve of the issues that human waste creates in cities, such as clogging or pipe ruptures. Kosseniouk also plays a crucial role in pipeline replacement; most cities in the late 1990s had old copper pipelines that had deteriorated, and Kosseniouk replaced them with epoxy-based polymer materials that help resurface the pipes from the inside. This solution has saved many cities a lot of money, and has brought resources for pipeline replacement and companies to clean the sewage pipes. This revolutionized how most cities in North America address their sewage systems and pipelines, and it saved time, money, and resources. What Kosseniouk has done is having such a great affect that his work is expected to last another 50 years, unless something even more creative and innovative is developed first.
Living in different countries had a large influence on how Kosseniouk’s life and work. He has adapted to many cultures and joined the business robotics industry. His development of robotics has played a huge role in the sanitation and sewage system, which affects many people and saves a lot of time and money. The revolutionary robots he’s developed have played a key role that should last another 50 years before needing to be changed again.
Part 3:
Vadim Kosseniouk and George E. Waring, Jr., lived a century apart, but they both shared a number of similar experiences, with military involvement and the scientific work they accomplished in North America. Though they had very different cultural backgrounds, they both played a crucial role in developing the sewage systems of the world.
Because Kosseniouk and Waring came from different cultural backgrounds, they designed solutions that are similar, but not exactly alike. Kosseniouk initially served in the army, as it was a stable job and highly regarded in his country during the time of the Soviet Union, while Waring joined the army because of the Civil War, wanting to play a role in serving his nation for the betterment of the country. And so both of them had different reasons for joining the military, and they played different roles in it. Waring saw actual combat action, and Kosseniouk was stationed in East Germany and wasn’t involved in much action.
Their different reasons for joining the army were not the only differences between the two men. Waring lived in the United States for most of his life, and his career path didn’t take him to other cultures or countries. Kosseniouk, on the other hand, lived in different countries for study and work, eventually being employed in Canada. Kosseniouk experienced different cultural backgrounds and work environments and had to adapt to different people and workplaces. By contrast, Waring was able to focus on his main goal of developing the sanitation and sewage system of New York City.
Both Kosseniouk and Waring played different roles in the same field as they helped to improve the sanitation and sewer systems of the cities in which they live. Waring developed the sewer system and sanitation department of New York City. There wasn’t anyone before him—he created this system on his own, without any competition. Waring’s main plan was to prevent disease and poisonous air from spreading in the city; this was his primary concern. Kosseniouk, on the other hand, had a different motivation. He was focused primarily on improving the sewer pipelines in Toronto, and then expanding to other cities. He developed a robot and used an epoxy-based polymer to help pipelines last longer and not need as frequent maintenance as the copper pipes the city was already using.
Both actors in these situations came from different time periods, and the available resources and knowledge were different in each period. There wasn’t much to work with regarding technological background in Waring’s time period. Communication was another issue, and it was harder to communicate with people in other cities to address the main issue. The different technology options available to each man led to different ideas in creating solutions for their cities. Technology developed rapidly from Waring’s time to Kosseniouk’s, and they created different solutions. Kosseniouk, for example, works with robots and materials that weren’t available to Waring. Kosseniouk had more experience with robots and technology in his industry, and he had more resources to help identify the problem he faced, because he studied engineering later than Waring did. They each experienced different kinds of information as they completed their studies and applied research.
Communication also plays important role in their industry, because they needed to know the potential problem they faced, and how they can expand their solution to other cities and areas of the country. Communication in Waring’s time was not as efficient as we now know today; the internet was, of course, many years away. Waring had to wait hours or days for communication, depending on the kind of message that was being sent. Kosseniouk has more resources in this area, and he has been able to communicate with his business partners and people overseas at all stages of his work. This has allowed him to develop a larger expansion of his robotics and pipeline solution that is now being used in most North American cities. I believe that if Waring had had today’s technology, then he would have expanded his idea for sewage systems and sanitation departments to other cities, enabling even faster growth of his idea. Kosseniouk has been able to communicate with people all over the world, allowing him to quickly get the necessary parts for his robots and pipes. Waring had to wait months for his parts to be developed and shipped, due to slow communication and the lack of technology available at the time.
Communication will continue to play a key role in this part of the business. Everyone around the world is now connected, speeding up processes, from making an order to delivering parts.
Overall, the differences between Waring and Kosseniouk are significant when considering what they did to achieve solutions to the sewage problems in their cities. Both of them had similar goals, and they achieved it by spending many hours and doing something nobody else had thought of at the time. Both men created something that stuck and is going to endure for years to come. They both had similar ideas about what they wanted to achieve to improve the world and create a system that allows for people to understand where human waste goes and how it’s cleaned. Just as these men changed the world, there will be future changes to come, as the technological world is growing at a rapid rate. More engineers will be needed to create new solutions that will benefit everyone.
Freelance Writer
I’m a freelance writer with a bachelor’s degree in Journalism from Boston University. My work has been featured in publications like the L.A. Times, U.S. News and World Report, Farther Finance, Teen Vogue, Grammarly, The Startup, Mashable, Insider, Forbes, Writer (formerly Qordoba), MarketWatch, CNBC, and USA Today, among others.