Watching the World
Literacy Problems
◆ More and more college freshmen in the United States are deficient in reading and writing skills. For example, nearly half the entering class at the University of California at Berkeley failed their placement exams in the section having to do with reading and writing. From 30 to 50 percent of applicants to the journalism programs in various universities failed basic spelling, punctuation and usage tests. Geye Lyons, a university instructor, writing in Harper’s Magazine, says that the evidence is “persuasive” that “college freshmen really do read on what used to be considered a high-school freshman level.” Will the universities try to make up for these deficiencies? He states: “Teaching individual students to read, write, and think is surely not what the American university is about.” James Degnan, a writing instructor at the University of Santa Clara in California, notes that even many a “bright” student “is incapable of saying, in writing, simply and clearly, what he means.”
“Last-Fling Psychology”
◆ During the recent recession, many people, especially those in lower-income brackets, suffered economic hardships. However, Steven Star of the Harvard Business School says that “a large segment of people at the top of the income scale weren’t affected—and even prospered. They continue to have the disposable income, and they are turning toward high-priced products.” A luxury-car manufacturing official stated that people “might not be certain of the future, so they’re treating themselves now.” He called this a “last-fling psychology.”
Bacteria That Clean
◆ Many waste products of industry are difficult to purify or decompose. Sporous bacteria, such as those found in animal waste, have for some time been used in treatment plants to purify wastes. But that type of bacteria is not effective enough in treating wastes such as petroleum, fats, detergents and various poisons. However, biologists have been working with other bacteria that are able to break down the tougher industrial wastes. The bacteria are produced in large flasks, mixed with nutrients, freeze-dried and packaged. Then the bacteria are sold commercially. There are about five billion bacteria to the gram. The user must warm the package at 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius) for about an hour. This revives the bacteria and they begin to work on the waste products.
Guns Do Kill
◆ A three-year-old boy used a revolver to kill a six-year-old boy. The New York Times noted that those fond of guns claim that “guns don’t kill people; people kill people.” But, as the editorial pointed out, if that gun had not been available the boy “might have come away with a black eye, a scuffed shin and hurt feelings, but he would be alive. Guns do indeed kill people.”
Paying Bills by Phone
◆ The largest mutual savings bank in Seattle, Washington, has a computer system that allows customers of the service to pay bills by phone. Those who have dial phones can pay any of 1,600 merchants or credit-card firms by calling the bank, talking to a teller and giving their secret pass-code number, stating whom they want paid and how much. Those customers of this service who have touch-tone button phones can call the computer directly; a computer voice asks for the needed information and the customer punches the required numbers on his phone.
Flash Floods
◆ The flash flood that took over a hundred lives in Colorado last summer was caused by an unusually heavy rain. In recent years such floods have taken a high toll of lives. Why? Because more people are taking vacations in flash-flood areas. Authorities suggest staying away from stream beds, dry gullies and other drainage channels during and after rainstorms. They warn against camping on low ground, where a flash flood can occur while a person sleeps. Also vital is checking ahead of time for high ground, and then, at the first sign of flooding, moving there immediately.
More Shaves
◆ Most men who use the wet-blade shaving method need a new blade after only a relatively few number of shaves. But a Rhode Island doctor says that various barber schools have taught a technique that could improve blade performance many times over: vigorously lather the face for at least two minutes by actual clock time just before shaving.
Fish Catch Falling
◆ The world’s fishing fleets, using ever more modern equipment, have been harvesting the oceans intensively for a number of years now. With what result? Naturalist Garrett Hardin states: “Since the beginning of this decade the gross harvest of fish has fallen, an indication that we are exploiting this resource beyond its point of maximum sustainable yield.” He commented that, although “species after species of marine animal approaches extinction,” man’s response has often been to fish all the more intensively.
Caution on Power Mowers
◆ Millions of people mow lawns with power mowers. The National Safety Council estimates that more than 150,000 Americans are injured by these mowers each year, with about 65,000 requiring hospital treatment. Accidents occur when the operator catches his foot or hand in the machine, injuring or even amputating toes or fingers. The rotating blade can also hurl stones, twigs and other objects as though they were missiles, endangering bystanders. One source says that a 26-inch (.7-meter) power-mower blade rotating at 3,000 revolutions a minute has a propelling force equivalent to three times the muzzle energy of a .357 Magnum pistol.
Younger Bank Bobbers
◆ The average age of bank robbers in Quebec has dropped to nineteen years, according to Montreal police. The province leads Canada in bank offenses. Last year there were 1,057 bank robberies in all of Canada, and 656 of them, or 62 percent, took place in Quebec. “Bank robberies are so common here that, to many kids, it’s no big deal,” says a police inspector in Quebec. “Many of them claim they want the money to buy soft drugs, hash and grass,” he added.
“Plowless” Farming Gaining
◆ An estimated three billion tons of valuable topsoil are lost in the United States each year due to wind and water erosion. Part of this has been due to the habit of plowing all vegetation under after a harvest, leaving the topsoil bare. But more farmers are leaving a protective blanket of stubble on the field to guard against erosion. At planting time a machine is used to cut a narrow slot through the stubble, into which seeds are dropped at a fixed spacing, after which wheels close the slot, completing the planting. An agriculture expert predicts: “Minimum tillage is going to be a major breakthrough. We’re on the verge of it right now.” Indeed, ten times as many acres are farmed this way now as were ten years ago.
What Worries Japanese Most
◆ The Japan Times reports that the main worry among the Japanese is the constant increase in the cost of living, about 90 percent of those questioned expressing concern. And in answer to the question, “Has your life in general improved compared with last year?” 65 percent said that it was about the same, 21 percent said that it had taken a turn for the worse, only 12 percent saying that their life had improved. The remainder did not express an opinion.
Homosexual Priests
◆ The London Sunday Telegraph, declares: “A Church of England vicar has claimed that one in every six priests is homosexual by nature, the highest proportion in any profession outside the theatre. The Rev. Peter Elers, vicar of Thaxted, Essex, since 1973 and a self-confessed homosexual, says that in one Church of England theological college two-thirds of the students are homosexually-oriented.” Yet God’s Word says “that those practicing such things are deserving of death.”—Rom. 1:32.
Big Government
◆ The federal government of the United States has five million people on its payroll. This includes 2.9 million civilian workers and 2.1 million in the armed forces. The payroll cost was 1.9 billion dollars in 1940; now it is 41.7 billion dollars. In the past 185 years, the nation’s population has multiplied 53 times, but the number of federal workers has multiplied about 1,500 times. Today, the government owns one third of all the country’s land. It also holds title to 405,000 buildings that cost 91 billion dollars.
More Congestion Ahead
◆ Vehicular traffic now congests many roads throughout the world. In the United States there were 76 million cars, trucks and buses in 1961; in 1976 there were 134 million. It is said that in another fifteen years there will be an estimated 170 million. Larger traffic jams, slower commuting, more noise and irritation are thus projected for each year of the immediate future.
Rising Postal Rates
◆ Along with nearly everything else, postal rates have risen sharply in the United States. First-class mail was three cents for one ounce in 1957. Now it is 13 cents, an increase of 333 percent in less than two decades.
New Poverty Level
◆ Not too many years ago, an income of $100 a week was considered an accomplishment in the United States. The Labor Department says that a family of four living on that income today is below the poverty level. All of this is due to the persistent rise in the cost of living. According to the Census Bureau, more than 33 million Americans were living below that poverty level last year.
Swimming-Pool Dangers
◆ In one year 65,000 Americans required emergency treatment in hospitals for injuries associated with swimming pools. Most of the victims were young people. Major-accident patterns involved falling on slippery walkways, diving boards or ladders; striking the bottom or sides of the pool when diving or sliding; and drowning when swimming alone or without adult supervision.
Oil Imports Soaring
◆ Paying for high-priced imported oil is a severe drain on the resources of many nations. The United States pays the highest bill, since it imports more than any other nation. It has sought to become more independent of imported oil, but the opposite has taken place—imports are at the highest level ever. The Commerce Department predicts that for the year 1976 an average of about seven million barrels a day will be imported. At the same time, domestic production has dropped to its lowest level in ten years—to about eight million barrels a day. At times during the year, imports even exceeded domestic production. Yet people are now tending to buy larger cars that use more gasoline, so it is felt that soon oil imports will rise even more. Imports from the Arab oil-producing countries alone have doubled in three years.
Burying the Hoodlums
◆ Reports from Japan indicate that the Catholic Church does not hold a monopoly on conducting funerals for gangsters and underworld figures. The Daily Yomiuri reports that “an influential [Buddhist] temple in Ichikawa, Chibaken, has rejected a police request not to hold a funeral service for a powerful local underground organization.” In turning down the police plea, the Buddhist temple’s head used expressions reminiscent of the Church’s rationale: “Buddha welcomes a service to console the spirit of the deceased no matter who observes it.” Welcome, too, no doubt, are the economic benefits to temples and churches from their wayward members.