Watching the World
A Generation of Despair
Surveys comparing the attitudes of today’s 15- to 24-year-olds with the youths of two generations ago has revealed an increase in drug abuse, crime rates, and suicide, reports The Australian. Richard Eckersley, a strategic analyst and science writer, summed up the feelings of many youths today, saying: “Young people believe that life should be fast-moving and fun, that they have to fend for themselves, that lifestyle options should be kept open, that governments are incapable of solving society’s problems, and that they themselves are powerless to change social conditions.” One 15-year-old girl, named Shanu, said: “The population is increasing and we have to compete for fewer jobs, less housing, less everything.”
Space-Station Clutter
After 11 years, those using the Russian space station Mir are learning to cope with a problem familiar to many earthbound residents—what to do with all the accumulated stuff. In the weightlessness of space, necessary items such as space suits, computer cables, food packages, tools, and spare parts have to be attached to floors, ceilings, and walls. But with clutter stacked nearly a foot [30 cm] deep on every surface, Mir’s walls are closing in. When the new International Space Station is launched, one item that astronauts and cosmonauts may have is a built-in trash compactor. That would no doubt be much appreciated, for, up to now, after dinner Mir’s residents have had to mash cans, put the empties back into the food boxes, and fasten them to the walls.
Belligerent Baboons
Drivers on one of South Africa’s busiest highways faced an unusual hazard earlier this year—showers of stones hurled by a troop of baboons. According to the International Herald Tribune, the baboons ambushed motorists along a mountain pass on the road between Cape Town and Johannesburg. Though no injuries or auto crashes had been reported, traffic police fought stones with stones in an effort to drive the animals away from the highway. No clear-cut victors were reported in this stone-throwing battle between police and baboons.
Smokers in Asia
It is estimated that in Vietnam nearly 73 percent of all men smoke. This is “the highest smoking prevalence rate for men in the world,” reports a study published in The Journal of the American Medical Association. By comparison, it seems that just over 4 percent of Vietnamese women smoke. Other Asian countries of the Pacific rim follow a similar pattern. In Indonesia, for example, 53 percent of the men and 4 percent of the women smoke; while in China, 61 percent of the men and 7 percent of the women smoke.
Seminary Relaxes Policy on Sex
An Episcopal Church seminary in Virginia “has relaxed its 25-year-old policy barring students and faculty from nonmarital sex and homosexual behavior,” reports The Christian Century magazine. The chairman of the board, Peter J. Lee, said: “Let’s face it, most seminarians are in their 30s or their 40s. There are no house mothers and no bed checks.” Over the past 11 years, enrollment at the seminary has dropped 33 percent. Additionally, over the past 25 years, the average age of students entering the seminary has risen from 27 to 40. “What I’m trying to do as chairman of the board is to prevent some 28-year-old from being denied admission because we discovered he was having sex with his fiancée,” said Lee.
Snacking and Tooth Decay
It has long been known that cutting back on sugary snacks can help fight tooth decay. What is particularly important, though, is to watch when and how often you snack, reports the family dental guide How to Keep Your Family Smiling. When sweets or refined carbohydrates come in contact with dental plaque on your teeth, acid is formed. This acid, in turn, attacks the enamel of your teeth for approximately 20 minutes, says the brochure. During this time cavities can start. Moreover, “this can happen every time you eat a sweet or starchy snack.” So if you are going to snack, “it’s better to eat the whole thing at once,” thus exposing your teeth to acid just one time. Otherwise, nibbling on the same snack over a longer period of time results in a prolonged attack of acid. To help prevent tooth decay, dentists recommend, you should brush your teeth at least twice a day. Also, don’t forget to clean between your teeth daily with dental floss.
Scientists’ Belief in God
In 1916, American psychologist James Leuba asked 1,000 randomly selected scientists if they believed in God. Their answer? Of the scientists who replied, 42 percent expressed a belief in God, reports The New York Times. Leuba predicted that belief in God would decline as education spread. Now, over 80 years later, Edward Larson, of the University of Georgia, has repeated Leuba’s famous survey. Using the same questions and methods, Larson asked biologists, physicists, and mathematicians if they believed in a God who actively communicates with humankind. The results indicate that approximately the same number of scientists today, some 40 percent, express belief in God. According to Dr. Larson, “Leuba misjudged either the human mind or the ability of science to satisfy all human needs.”
World-Traveling Viruses
Aircraft sewage tanks contain chemicals that are supposed to kill viruses, but some viruses survive exposure to the disinfectant, reports New Scientist magazine. Mark Sobsey, an environmental scientist at the University of North Carolina, found that almost half the sewage he tested from international flights landing in the United States contained live viruses. In the United States, waste discharged from aircraft is usually treated in public sewage stations and later dumped into the environment. Thus, the danger exists that some of these viruses could spread diseases such as hepatitis A and E, meningitis, and polio. Sobsey adds: “The range of illnesses that can be transmitted by the world’s airlines is quite worrisome.”
The Disappearing Ganges
The river Ganges, known in India as the Ganga, is considered holy by hundreds of millions of Hindus. The Ganges is also the lifeline for agriculture all along its path. But now its waters are rapidly dwindling, leaving wide stretches of dry ground between the river and its former banks, reports India Today. The drastically decreased flow is seen as the result of insufficient rains as well as increased use of river water upstream for irrigation. Besides threatening agriculture in the region, silting resulting from lack of water could make Calcutta’s port unnavigable, states the report.
Piracy Proliferates
Reports of pirate attacks are on the increase, says the International Maritime Bureau—from 90 incidents in 1994 to 226 just two years later. This growth worries both merchant navy officers and tourists. The actual figure, however, may be over two times higher, as “many shipowners do not bother to report incidents because the investigations that follow can cause costly delays,” says The Sunday Telegraph of London. Areas that have been particularly dangerous of late are the Mediterranean Sea off Albania and Libya and the South China Sea. A British Merchant Navy representative urged Britain to take the lead in a UN international task force to combat the pirates. But a spokesman for the shipowners said that “he did not believe that a UN task force could do anything about the problem because most attacks take place within territorial waters,” the paper reported.