Watching the World
Slave Trade in Brazil
“Ten times more slaves were shipped to Brazil than to the United States—yet the death rate for Brazil-bound slaves was so high that in 1860 Brazil’s black population was only half the size of that in the United States,” reports the ENI Bulletin of the World Council of Churches (WCC). It is estimated that 40 percent of the African slaves died in the ships’ hulls. To increase their value, African slaves were baptized collectively by having water thrown over them while priests uttered “the words of baptism.” Speaking at a service of “remembrance, repentance and reconciliation” held in Salvador, Brazil, Aaron Tolen, a WCC leader from Cameroon, noted: “Those who brought us here were not alone in the making of this tragedy. We Africans share in the responsibility. We have degraded ourselves by selling our brothers and sisters as goods.”
European Smokers
European and Chinese citizens are the world’s highest consumers of tobacco per capita, reports the Nassauische Neue Presse of Frankfurt, Germany. In the European Union, 42 percent of the men and 28 percent of the women smoke. The percentages, however, are considerably higher within the 25 to 39 age group. Smoking kills 100,000 persons in Germany and another 100,000 in Britain each year. Recently, the president of the Czech Republic, Václav Havel, a heavy smoker for many years, was treated for lung cancer. The Süddeutsche Zeitung reports that the president wrote to the European movement called Smoking or Health saying that he admires anyone who manages to give up the smoking habit.
Sick of Noise?
Exposure to noise, even at relatively low levels, can make you sick, according to studies reported in Britain’s New Scientist magazine. In the light of such findings, the World Health Organization has revised its guidelines on safe nighttime noise levels. Of special concern is evidence indicating that children may be at particular risk. One study found that children living near Munich’s international airport had both higher blood pressure and higher levels of adrenaline. The researchers also found that the children suffered from impairment of their reading skills and their long-term memory. People who appear to adapt to noise do so “always at a cost to their system,” says noise specialist Arline Bronzaft. “Noise is stress and eventually the body gives in some way.”
Pesticide Dangers
According to the International Rice Research Institute in the Philippines, rice production would remain the same if farmers did not use any pesticides at all. A scientist with the rice institute informed the World Food Summit, held in the Philippines, that extensive spraying of crops is both wasteful and unnecessary. Not only do farmers spray at the wrong time of year, reports New Scientist magazine, but they actually kill the wrong insects. Moreover, many farmers ignore safety advice when applying chemicals and use fine sprays, which are easily inhaled, or they mix herbicides with soil and spread it by hand. The World Health Organization reports that worldwide pesticides currently cause 220,000 deaths and three million severe poisonings each year.
Teens Describe Ideal Parents
How would teens describe the ideal parent? To find out, school counselor and psychologist Scott Wooding surveyed more than 600 teenagers. Since Wooding expected the youngsters to praise permissiveness, their responses surprised him. Consistently, the teenagers said they want “fairness, caring (‘they want to hear the words: “I love you”’), humor, [and] the setting of a good example,” reports The Toronto Star newspaper. Wooding also found that teens want their parents to help them develop a sense of responsibility. When they have done something wrong, they expect discipline. Most important, young people said that they long for their parents to spend more time with them.
Bloodless Medicine
“Fears of blood-borne disease and chronic shortages of donated blood have sparked a major effort to eliminate transfusions wherever possible,” reports The Globe and Mail newspaper. Bloodless medicine and surgery rely on the meticulous control of blood loss, and “many new techniques were originally developed to treat Jehovah’s Witnesses,” says the Globe. Dr. James A. Robblee, an anesthetist at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute, one of many hospitals implementing bloodless surgery programs, acknowledged: “I really do think they [Jehovah’s Witnesses] have tremendously raised our consciousness about this business.”
From “Stone Age” to Shotguns
A vast rain forest reservation between Brazil and Venezuela is home to the Yanomami Indians. First “discovered” in the 1960’s, the Yanomami have slowly been introduced to modern inventions such as fishhooks, mirrors, matches, and radios. However, the latest modern device to reach them—the shotgun—is posing a threat to “the last Stone Age tribe in the Americas,” reports The Daily Journal of Caracas, Venezuela. Through barter and trade, gold miners, jungle traders, and missionaries have introduced shotguns into the Yanomami’s primitive culture. But the accidental shooting deaths of three Yanomami in one week is a shocking reminder of how contact with modern civilization can have disastrous consequences. As Claudia Andujar, head of the Pro-Yanomami Commission, says: “Imagine how dangerous the sudden addition of guns and gunpowder can be to a tribe that prides itself on its ability to fight with poison arrows, stones and clubs.”
Blue Whale Makes a Comeback
Hunting blue whales has been strictly regulated since 1946. By then, these mighty 100-foot-long [30 m], 150-ton mammals had been hunted to the brink of extinction. But now, thanks to the U.S. Navy’s Sound Surveillance System, it has been revealed that the North Atlantic is home to a sizable whale population, including finbacks as well as humpback, minke, and rare blue whales. “There are many more whales off the coast of Britain than previously thought,” says The Sunday Telegraph of London. The hydrophones lying on the seabed at depths of up to 10,000 feet [3,000 m] were originally designed to track submarines. However, it has been found that they are also ideal for picking up the low-frequency calls of whales. The call of the blue whale is said to travel 2,000 miles [3,000 km] underwater.
Divorce Classes?
In Pima County, Arizona, U.S.A., parents who want a divorce are required to take a four-and-a-half-hour seminar to understand the effect on their children, reports The Dallas Morning News. The classes are designed to help parents learn “how to structure visitation schedules” and consider “when a child may be old enough to live with a noncustodial parent for the summer.” More important, parents are helped to understand divorce through a child’s eyes, says class director Frank Williams. “I do wonder, though, why education like this is mandatory at this end of the process,” says family law attorney Alyce Pennington. Why not “go through a class like this before they even get married?”
World’s Greatest Jailers
In 1995 there were 615 people in prison for every 100,000 residents of the United States, says the U.S. Justice Department. This is double the incarceration rate of 1985, making it the world’s highest, reports The Wall Street Journal. Russia is in second place, with 590 per 100,000, based on the most recent data available (1994).
Recycling Makes Sense
According to El Universal newspaper of Caracas, Venezuela, recycling aluminum cans saves 90 percent of the energy used to make new cans. Recycling paper also makes ecological sense. Fifty percent less energy is used to recycle paper than is used to produce new paper, water pollution is reduced by 58 percent, and air pollution is cut by 74 percent. Glass fares even better because it can be recycled totally, over and over.