Watching the World
The Garbage Boom
Soldiers patrolling the Polish border are on the lookout for a new type of invasion these days—foreign garbage. According to The Washington Post, in 1992, Polish authorities stopped some 1,332 unwanted shipments of waste from coming into the country from Western Europe alone. In the first half of 1993, the number of such shipments soared by 35 percent. In many Western lands, hazardous garbage has become so expensive to dispose of that shipping the waste to less developed lands where environmental laws may be more difficult to enforce has become a lucrative option. For example, two U.S. metals companies were convicted of mixing 1,000 tons of toxic dust from a smelter into a shipment of fertilizer sent to Bangladesh. Some of the garbage is even disguised as charitable donations. Customs officials in Poland report that they commonly receive shipments that purport to be medical charity from Australia, Europe, and the United States that turn out instead to consist of such waste as syringes, underwear, and toilet articles—all of it used and contaminated.
Divorce Magazine
Seeing a commercial opportunity in a staggering divorce rate, a magazine publisher in France has launched a periodical called Divorce. A columnist for the Bulletin of Sydney, Australia, comments that the magazine features “advice columns from lawyers and psychologists, hints for women trying to find their first job after marriage, and—for the brave—how to get back into the dating game.” One subject the magazine evidently does not deal with, though, is marital reconciliation. The columnist remarks: “Anyone seeking advice on how to patch up a rocky relationship should look elsewhere.” Yes, seek advice from God’s infallible Word, the Bible.
Venezuelan Hummingbird in Peril
Twenty-eight different species of hummingbirds are in danger of extinction in Venezuela. Some of these are found nowhere else in the world. The hummingbird is native to the Americas, ranging from Alaska to Argentina and Chile. It weighs between 1/14 and 1/3 ounce [2 and 9 gm], the tiniest being the bee hummingbird [Calypte helenae], measuring about 2 inches [5 cm], and the largest being the giant hummingbird [Patagona gigas], which measures 8 1/4 inches [21 cm]. What is wiping out the hummingbird in Venezuela? A disease or a predator? No. Carta Ecológica, a newsletter published by the oil company Lagovén, reveals the culprit to be deforestation—the systematic destruction of the bird’s habitat. This small, fascinating, iridescent creature is just one of the many victims of man’s ruthless destruction of the rain forest.
Damaging Habit Outlawed
The government of Pakistan has ruled that packets of betel nut must carry health warnings similar to those on cigarette packs, reports Asiaweek magazine. The magazine notes that millions of people in southern Asia are addicted to pan masala, a mixture of betel nut and various oils and other ingredients wrapped in a betel leaf. This is meant to be chewed. India had already placed warnings on packets of betel nut because of a reported link with cancer of the mouth. And children have been known to choke to death on betel nut. Pakistan’s new laws will forbid the selling of betel nut to children under five years of age.
Grandparents’ Role Increases
Studies in the United States indicate that grandparents, particularly grandmothers, are taking on an increasing role in the lives of their grandchildren. An ongoing study by the National Institute on Aging has found that 69 percent of those born between 1931 and 1941 are grandparents; some 44 percent of them spend more than 100 hours a year caring for one or more of their grandchildren. On average, these grandparents spent 659 hours with the children, the equivalent of 82 eight-hour days, notes The Wall Street Journal. Women, the study found, spent an average of 15 to 20 hours a week caring for grandchildren and were 2.5 times likelier to be such caregivers than were men.
Fathers Out Of Touch
As in the rest of the world, family ties in Japan are not quite what they once were. The Daily Yomiuri reported recently that some 481,000 Japanese men were forced by job transfers to live apart from their families. That figure was 15-percent higher than five years previously and was expected to rise still further as problems in finding housing and schooling continue to worsen. On the same issue, the paper reported a survey of primary and middle school students in which 43 percent of the youths said that they did not talk to their fathers at all. A sizable number, 18.4 percent, said that they did not have conversations with their mothers.
Family Changes in Argentina
Recent studies revealed significant changes in the structure and behavioral patterns of Argentine family life, according to the Buenos Aires newspaper Clarín. Commenting on the model family—one that is large, is united, and on days off or at night eats together—the paper noted: “Many today would say that such model families are merely an old photo, a past utopia reflected in images.” A statistic from the book La familia en la Argentina (The Family in Argentina), by Susana Torrado, showed that in the past decade, single-parent families, now numbering some 1,200,000, have increased in Argentina by some 60 to 80 percent. Children born out of wedlock now account for over 36 percent of all births—an increase of almost 30 percent since 1960. Furthermore, interviews have shown that a third of those between the ages of 20 and 34 do not believe that the marriage bond is lifelong.
Children’s Vocabulary
Children may know far more about the unpleasant realities of the modern world than adults generally give them credit for, a study in Italy revealed. A team from Italy’s National Research Center examined more than 5,000 essays written by schoolchildren aged six to ten. According to the newspaper La Repubblica, a comparison of their 6,000-word vocabulary with children’s reading material written by adults revealed that the “almost unreal, tranquil world without problems” presented to children “does not fool them.” The paper adds: “They know exactly what ‘drugs,’ ‘AIDS’ and ‘rape’ mean.” The researchers say that “the world of children’s writings seems to be more advanced and more in step with the times than their reading material” written by adults, observes Corriere della Sera.
Baiting the Hook
An evangelical church in Maryland, U.S.A., found a new way to lure people inside. On a recent Sunday, the first 125 people to arrive at the church were each given $10. They only had to sit through the 75-minute service, which featured a skit and singing backed by a “light-rock” band. According to the Associated Press, the church’s assistant director of ministries said: “Many people complain they don’t go to church because churches always want money. We thought, ‘Why not be bold and give them money?’” Most people, the report said, accepted the money, although many claimed they gave it back later. Thirty-two kept the money.
Useful Old Containers
Instead of throwing large shipping containers away as so much scrap metal, a shipping company in South Africa has found some ingenious uses for them when they are too worn to transport heavy goods anymore. Two of these large metal structures, when joined together, make a fair-sized school classroom. Of course, one side of each container must be removed, and windows and doors must be added to the remaining sides. Old containers may also serve as homes, shops, clinics, and libraries. In one case, according to the magazine African Panorama, “16 converted containers provide 8 roomy classrooms for over 1,000 pupils.” Thus far, over 1,000 containers have been made available for needy South African communities. But the company involved is running out of old containers and is calling for the assistance of other international shipping companies with old containers to spare.
Brain Atrophy
Consuming too much alcohol and fat over the years not only increases flabbiness but also shrinks the brain, according to a study by a research group of Akita University Medical College in Japan. Over the past seven years, the group conducted a survey of 960 people, using MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging), and found that 58 percent of those who are dependent on alcohol had developed atrophy of the brain. Among those with hyperlipemia, a high level of fatty compounds in the blood, 41 percent of those in their 40’s and 50’s and 55 percent of those over 60 showed such atrophy. In stark contrast, only 4 percent of those with neither alcohol dependence nor hyperlipemia showed signs of atrophy. Symptoms of dementia were observed among 80 percent of those with atrophy, reports the newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun. Assistant Professor Ikuo Naemura of the research group advises: “Atrophy of the brain develops slowly but surely. It is important to avoid overdrinking alcohol and overeating fatty food.”