Watching the World
Pope Reaffirms Evolution
Pope John Paul II recently issued a statement on human evolution, citing the “convergence” of independent research as “a significant argument in favour of this theory.” Though not fully endorsing the teaching, John Paul II reiterated Pope Pius XII’s 1950 encyclical letter, which “considered the doctrine of ‘evolutionism’ a serious hypothesis, worthy of investigation,” according to L’Osservatore Romano. Trying to keep God in the picture, the pope turned to the Platonic teaching that humans have an immortal soul. Again drawing from Pius XII’s encyclical, he said: “If the human body takes its origin from pre-existent living matter, the spiritual soul is immediately created by God.”
Marriage in Decline
“We’re witnessing the disappearance of marriage as an institution,” says Jean Dumas, chief of current demographic analysis at Statistics Canada. Marriage rates in Canada are falling, especially in Quebec, according to The Toronto Star. A reticence to commit to tomorrow is, in some cases, due to the poor image people have of their own parents’ marriages, says the report. Data collected over a 25-year period reveals that 30 percent of couples married in 1969 were no longer together in 1993. Statistics also show that more recently-married couples are divorcing. One third of all divorces in Canada in 1993 involved couples married for less than five years, up from one quarter in 1980. Marshall Fine, director of the marriage and family-therapy center at the University of Guelph, Ontario, observes: “It doesn’t seem to be a very secure world for young people.”
Sleep-Deprived Teens
Some sleep specialists in Australia and the United States believe that there may be more to blame for teenagers’ wanting to stay in bed in the morning than TV, rebellion, or laziness, reports Asiaweek magazine. Australian sleep expert Dr. Chris Seton says that hormonal changes and growth spurts could be related to many teens’ inclination to sleep in. Beginning at age nine, a youngster’s need for sleep increases. In a survey of 3,000 U.S. students 17 to 19 years of age, however, 85 percent were getting less than adequate sleep. The New York Times reports that the result is students who constantly fight drowsiness, especially in early morning classes. “We have these kids so sleep-deprived,” remarks Cornell University Professor James B. Maas, “it’s almost as if they are drugged.” Experts believe that teens need at least eight and a half hours of sleep a night.
Diet Reduces Cancer Risk
Eating at least five servings of fruits and vegetables a day lowers a person’s risk of lung, colon, stomach, and other types of cancer, reports The Wall Street Journal. “Powerful evidence” for this comes after more than 200 studies confirming benefits in at least 17 countries. Portions need not be very large. According to a U.S. National Cancer Institute program, qualifying portions include: “One medium piece of fruit, three-fourths cup [180 cc] of juice, one-half cup [125 cc] of cooked vegetables, one cup [250 cc] of fresh greens in a salad, or one-fourth cup [60 cc] of dried fruit.” The Institute has promoted such a diet for the last five years, but at present in the United States, only 1 adult in 3 and 1 child in 5 meets the guideline. The craving for fast food seems to be limiting success. The Wall Street Journal notes: “Curly fries with ketchup do not count as two servings.”
A Stable Population?
According to the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), in Vienna, the present world population is unlikely to double. Their estimate is that the population “will grow from its present 5.75 billion to 10 billion by 2050, reach a peak of around 11 billion by 2075, and remain almost level or decline slightly towards 2100,” says New Scientist. According to the IIASA, there is a 64-percent chance that our present global population will never double. Their figures show that fertility rates appear to have declined in every region of the world in 1995.
Battery-Free Radio
To cope with the lack of electricity and the poor availability of batteries in much of rural Africa, a small factory near Cape Town, South Africa, is manufacturing a portable radio with a built-in hand-cranked generator. “Give the handle a few aerobic turns,” reports The New York Times, and it “holds forth for half an hour.” In spite of being the size of a lunch box and weighing six pounds [3 kg], the new model seems destined for success. According to Siyanga Maluma, who heads the factory’s marketing operation, if the radio is played five to ten hours a day, it will save $500 to $1,000 in batteries over three years. Along with the bicycle and the motorcycle, “a radio is one of the three big African status symbols,” states Maluma. “Make no mistake,” he asserts. On the basis of just owning a radio, “you can procure a wife.”
Killer Rain
Acid rain has contributed indirectly to the deaths of many Scandinavian elk, according to Swedish scientist Dr. Adrian Frank. To counteract the effects of the contaminated rain, lime is put on fields and in lakes. However, plants growing in limed soil show an increase in the level of certain elements, particularly molybdenum. When elk absorb too much molybdenum, it causes a lethal deficiency in copper that seriously affects the animals’ immune systems. As a further result of acid rain, in more than 4,000 of Sweden’s lakes, fish cannot now survive and the trout population in Norway is down to half of previous levels. The Sunday Telegraph of London notes that although the British government is reducing the sulfur emissions from its power stations to control the source of contamination, the residual effects of acid rain can continue for many years.
Training African Elephants
Asian elephants have been used for centuries as work animals. Their larger African cousins, however, have been thought to be too aggressive to tame. But at least one experiment has enjoyed apparent success. African elephants are being used in the Imire game reserve of Zimbabwe to plow fields and to carry rangers into hard-to-reach areas. The training method used is called “love and reward.” A reporter for an African newspaper watched an elephant named Nyasha plow a field, with a laborer, Muchemwa, riding on its back. “Every now and then,” the reporter explained, “he stretched his trunk back and Muchemwa popped a high-protein game cube into it.” The report continued: “Nyasha and the six other trained elephants at Imire will be used to prepare fields before the next rains for crops such as maize, which will be used to feed them and the other animals on the farm.”
Supplements Made From Blood
Prothemol, an experimental protein supplement, is being used in northeastern Brazil to address the region’s problem of malnutrition. According to an Associated Press report, the product is based primarily on cow’s blood obtained from slaughterhouses, which is said to be “even more nutritious than meat.” Similar experiments were made in Guatemala, in 1990, with a product called “Harina de Sangre” (blood flour). In Brazil the state arranged for Prothemol to be distributed from house to house, “giving out the supplement and keeping tabs on the children who took it.” Previously, slaughterhouses in Brazil’s northeast simply disposed of the blood, as is directed in the Bible.—Leviticus 17:13, 14.
Armies of Children
A quarter of a million children, some as young as seven, are serving in armed forces around the world, according to research done in 26 countries and reported in the Guardian Weekly of Manchester, England. The report, part of a two-year United Nations study, revealed that child recruits were themselves brutalized, often by being forced to witness the torture and death of relatives. Thereafter, they were used as executioners, assassins, and spies. In one country, “most child soldiers had been ordered to torture, maim or kill children or adults attempting to escape.” Children, often given drugs or alcohol before fighting, have been seen rushing into battle “as though they were immortal or impervious.”