Watching the World
New and Reemerging Diseases
The World Health Organization (WHO) warns that outbreaks of diseases, including new ones, threaten the lives of millions of people. The most dramatic example is AIDS, a disease caused by a virus that was virtually unknown ten years ago. Another disease is hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, recently discovered in the southwestern United States. A completely new strain of cholera has emerged in Asia. Two types of hemorrhagic fevers have developed in South America, both fatal. Examples of outbreaks of well-known infectious diseases during 1993 include cholera in Latin America, yellow fever in Kenya, dengue in Costa Rica, and diphtheria in Russia. WHO is calling for a global network of centers to identify and combat new or reemerging diseases.
Not Enough Calcium
A committee of experts appointed by the National Institutes of Health in the United States recently concluded that “half of America’s adults are not getting enough calcium, and that is contributing to a plague of brittle bones and fractures that produce $10 billion a year in medical bills,” according to The New York Times. Reportedly, more than 25 million people in the United States are afflicted with osteoporosis, a bone disease. The committee explained in their report that the current recommended daily allowance for calcium is not adequate. The best source of calcium in food is “mainly dairy products and green leafy vegetables,” noted the experts. However, they added that “most Americans might need to supplement their diet with calcium pills or processed foods enriched with calcium.”
Races That Promote Smoking
Traditionally, European countries have hosted the popular Formula One Grand Prix car races. However, organizers now prefer to hold these events in Asian countries such as Japan and China. Why? Because of Europe’s tougher regulations on tobacco advertising. The principal sponsors of the races are tobacco companies, so racing cars display tobacco ads prominently. According to Japan’s Asahi Evening News, one tobacco company “invests several billion yen annually financing two teams.” Advertisements on racing cars have had to be erased or covered up when racing in Europe. Recently the French Grand Prix was almost canceled because of a prohibition on cigarette advertising. Asian nations, where about 60 percent of all adult men smoke, are now regarded as better places to advertise cigarettes on racing cars.
Plenty of Beer —Not Enough Food
In Venezuela, 726,000 children six years old and under are shorter in stature than they should be for their age because of malnutrition, according to the Venezuelan newspaper El Universal. That is a startling 23.8 percent of children in that age group, almost 1 in 4. While there may not be enough nutritious food to feed the children, the country seems to have plenty of beer. El Universal reports that among Latin-American countries, Venezuela is in first place in beer consumption. In 1991, Venezuelans drank an average of 79 quarts [75 L] per person.
The Netherlands’ Church Membership Falling
A recent survey shows that church membership in the Netherlands has been falling sharply during the last 40 years. In 1950, reports the Ecumenical Press Service (EPS), 3 out of 4 Dutchmen were church members. In 1991 that average had dropped to fewer than 2 out of 4, and researchers predict that before long there will be only 1 church member left among every 4 Dutchmen. EPS notes that according to Dutch newspaper Trouw, “among 15 countries surveyed, only in the former East Germany were the figures for church membership and belief in God lower than in the Netherlands.” However, despite dwindling membership, the survey also showed that 75 percent of all Dutchmen still believe in God.
Deserts in Europe
Desertification, the deterioration of fertile farmland into deserts, is “one of the most serious global environmental problems,” asserts the United Nations Environmental Program. The newspaper The European reports that although generally associated with Africa, desertification now plagues some 10 percent of Europe’s agricultural land. Spain is the most severely affected country. Scientists believe that a combination of overgrazing and water wastage has left the ground prone to drought and erosion, costing farmers some $1.5 billion a year. A serious consequence is the migration of people to urban areas, which leads to overcrowding and civil unrest. Meteorologists predict a worsening shortage of rain for southern Europe.
Smoke in the Eyes
The director of Australia’s National Vision Research Institute, Professor Robert Augusteyn, claims to have indisputable evidence that chemicals from cigarette smoke cause cataracts. A study demonstrates that smokers are two or three times more likely to develop cataracts than are nonsmokers. Chemicals from cigarette smoke are first absorbed by the body, but then they make their way to the eye where they destroy “pumps” that drain excess salt and water from the lens in the eye. The resulting swelling and bursting of cells in the eye produce cataracts. “I am perfectly satisfied. There is no question that something in the cigarette smoke is preventing the pumps from working in the lens,” explains Professor Augusteyn.
Growing Biblical Illiteracy
“There is frightening and growing ignorance of the Bible in all sections of Western society,” reports the World Council of Churches’ Ecumenical Press Service. Bible societies estimate that 85 percent of Western Christians have never read the whole Bible, and a poll in the United States shows that only 12 percent of churchgoers there read the Bible regularly. Today’s university students, says Fergus Macdonald, general secretary of the National Bible Society of Scotland, “are so unfamiliar with biblical persons like Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and the names of the apostles of Jesus, that they are not able to grasp the content of classical works in European literature.”
Spring-Cleaning on Mount Everest
Besides being the world’s highest peak, Mount Everest is now also known as the world’s “highest junkyard,” according to the magazine UNESCO Sources. During the last 40 years, mountaineers have littered Everest with about 20 tons of oxygen bottles, tents, sleeping bags, and food packaging. On the lower slopes, where the landscape is marked by fluttering bits of tissue, the path to the Everest Base Camp is now “known as the toilet paper trail.” Higher up the mountain, the amount of debris is staggering. “Photos of these scenes,” writes UNESCO Sources, “come as a shock for those whose visions of Everest are of a pristine wilderness beyond human interference.” To rid the mountain of this eyesore, Nepal’s government approved this year several “spring-cleaning” expeditions.
Pope’s Call to Preach
Earlier this year, Pope John Paul II told a group of Catholics in Italy that it was time to take the gospel directly to the people. How did Catholics in Australia react? “Catholics Won’t Heed Pope’s Call to Preach,” headlined the Australian newspaper Illawarra Mercury. It noted that Catholics in that country “are not keen to adopt the Jehovah’s Witness-type approach to their faith.” Local Catholic cleric Sean Cullen said that he was not sure whether the pope’s call to preach was directed to all Catholics or just to those in Italy. “We would encourage people to live out the Gospel they know through their own lives. Whether that means doorknocking is another thing.” A local city council worker had a less evasive reply. He said: Evangelism is “not part of the Catholic psyche.”
Scuba-Diving Accidents
In the United States, “about 90 people die each year while scuba diving,” reports The New York Times. Government officials object to the fact that, unlike other risky activities such as bungee jumping and flying planes, there are no laws regulating the scuba-diving industry. In the United States alone, there are between three million and five million certified divers. Scuba-diving shops certify some 300,000 to 400,000 people every year. One shop owner explains that the problem is that “divers do not always follow directions.” Al Hornsby of the Professional Association of Diving Instructors claims that the number of diving accidents is actually going down. The Times reports: “In the mid-1970’s, he said, there were 12 deaths per 100,000 divers, and now there are a little more than 2 per 100,000.”
Thieves in the Library
Recently a study was conducted by the Consortium of Libraries and Archives of Rome’s Cultural Institutes. According to researchers only a small number of libraries in Italy are presently protected by efficient electronic antitheft systems. As a result, every year some 100,000 books are either vandalized beyond repair or stolen, according to the Italian newspaper La Repubblica. The newspaper notes that even university professors are guilty of stealing books that are no longer on the market but are useful for their studies.