Simplicity and the Poop on Everest

 

 

'Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free

'Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be,

And when we find ourselves in the place just right,

'Twill be in the valley of love and delight.

When true simplicity is gained,

To bow and to bend we shan't be ashamed,

To turn, turn will be our delight,

Till by turning, turning we come 'round right

Simple Gifts -- Shaker hymn -- Joseph Brackett (1797–1882)

I really don't want to know how many of my blogs you think are crappy, but today I am literally going to write about...crap. It is the most elevated fecal matter on planet Earth, and it's a major problem because humans are involved. Every year 1200 climbers attempt to summit Mount Everest and on the way up and down they poop a lot -- about 25 kilograms or 60 pounds per person (how do they know this?)

Lots of junk gets left along the way and sadly there are even 200 bodies of climbers who have died and haven't been retrieved because of the difficulty in doing so. Fecal matter has become a significant problem as well, and authorities are trying to figure out what to do about it. Last year about 14 tons of the stuff was brought down to base camp by porters

The situation has been described as a  "fecal time bomb." There is a cesspool of sorts, but the poop doesn't decompose because it's too cold. Now the plan is to create a solar-powered composter to break it down.

This story intrigues me because while climbing Everest is a significant feat, no one actually has to go to the roof of the world. It is an expensive, dangerous vanity accomplishment. When Sir Edmund Hillary made the summit with Tensing Norgay in 1953 it was a unique feat. Now it is part of an industry fuelled by the wealthy.

The poop of Everest seems to be a parable of human activity. We are so adept and cavalier about fouling our own nest and while we have bigger problems than a few tons of crap on a mountain our crappy disregard for the waste we produce is making Earth uninhabitable. There is no "somewhere else" for our garbage and pollution, as the plastic in the oceans attests. There is no Planet B, yet we just continue on the same rather mindless trajectory of consumption, including experiences.

Apparently the shit has already hit the fan, and its time to get our heads out of the...clouds -- please note my restraint here. Are we committed as Christians to mindfully simplifying our lives, to say enough is enough?