Watching the World
The Numbers Game
For decades, gay-rights groups in the United States have maintained that homosexuals compose 10 percent of the population. The high percentage has been a handy lever to exert political pressure. But the 10-percent figure, based on Alfred Kinsey’s studies of human sexuality in the 1940’s and 1950’s, has recently come under increasing scrutiny. Newsweek magazine reports: “Most recent studies place gays and lesbians at somewhere between 1 and 6 percent of the population.” Why was Kinsey’s figure so high? It seems that his surveys were directed largely toward such institutions as schools, prisons, and hospitals, which may not be representative of the population as a whole. Newsweek quotes University of Washington sociologist Pepper Schwartz as saying of the 10-percent figure, “It’s just not a real number.”
A Living Giant
What is the largest living thing on our planet? In 1992 some thought they had found a candidate for the title: a giant fungus that covers some 30 acres [12 ha] of a forest floor in Michigan, U.S.A. However, the journal Nature recently reported on what may be an even stronger contender: a stand of aspen trees in Utah. These trees are all clones, genetically identical. Each of the 47,000 trunks stems from a single root system. University of Colorado scientist Dr. Jeffry Mitton describes it as a single organism “that can literally climb over mountains and across meadows.” It is estimated to cover 106 acres [43 ha] and to weigh about 13 million pounds [6 million kg]. While individual trees in the stand live for an average of 65 years, the organism as a whole may be thousands of years old.
Never Too Old
‘You’re never too old to learn.’ As if to illustrate this old saying, Bernabé Evangelista, a sprightly 93-year-old, is looking forward to completing his university studies in two years’ time. He is studying art at the University of Valencia, Spain, and his devotion to his studies has already earned him a prize for outstanding academic achievement. “Studying is the most beautiful thing there is,” explains Bernabé, who arrives at the university at eight o’clock each morning and often does not finish his evening classes until nine o’clock at night. Bernabé believes that older folk have a golden opportunity to study. “It is the time of life when you have the time to do it,” he says. His wife adds that keeping active gives him a purpose in life.
Deicing and Pollution
The deicing of airplanes and runways, so crucial to safe flights, brings with it an undesirable side effect: pollution. Britain’s New Scientist magazine reports that over 13 million gallons [50 million liters] of deicing fluids are used at the world’s airports each year, and the runoff of the fluids often contaminates groundwater and waterways, causing toxic algae blooms and killing fish. Several European airports have devised ingenious ways to fight this pollution. At Stockholm’s airport, vehicles that act like vacuum cleaners retrieve excess deicing fluid from the planes. The Munich airport deploys a giant machine that passes over a plane like an automated car wash, spraying the fluid and collecting the excess, which is recycled. The Munich runways collect chemical runoff, passing it through buried gravel and sand barriers, where it is treated with bacteria that break it down and render it harmless.
Space Mirror
A notion that might sound more like science fiction than science became a reality last February when Russian cosmonauts deployed and unfurled a 65-foot [20 m] mirror from the orbiting Mir space station. Some scientists suggest that mirrors in space could be used to reflect sunlight to earth during the nighttime, thus saving electricity bills and even extending the growing period for crops. The mirror, made of a thin sheet of Mylar, reflected a beam of sunlight to the earth, where observers in Russia, France, and Canada reported seeing it. The Russian cosmonauts spotted and tracked the two-and-a-half-mile-wide [4 km] patch of light that the mirror cast on the darkened planet below them. An engineer on the project pronounced the experiment a success and suggested that the next step be a 650-foot [200 m] mirror with its own guidance system.
European Court Decides in Favor of Greek Witnesses
On May 25, 1993, Jehovah’s Witnesses obtained a major legal victory in a decision rendered by the European Court of Human Rights, which sits in Strasbourg, France. The case involved an 83-year-old Witness, Minos Kokkinakis, who had been convicted of illegal proselytism. On March 20, 1986, he was sentenced to four months in prison by the Lasithi criminal court in Crete. However, the ruling of the European Court reversed his conviction in a six-to-three decision. For decades the government of Greece, strongly influenced by the Greek Orthodox Church, has caused thousands of Jehovah’s Witnesses to be arrested on charges of illegal proselytism. In this case the European Court found that the Greek government had violated Mr. Kokkinakis’ rights under the European Convention. The more than 26,000 Witnesses in Greece are hopeful that this decision will end their persecution and allow them to carry out their lawful ministry in peace.
Leprosy in Italy
The ancient plague of leprosy, or Hansen’s disease, continues to claim victims in modern Europe. Italian Health Ministry figures indicate that in Italy alone, there are some 410 known victims of the disease, with four or five new cases appearing each year. At a health-care conference held in Lecco, Italy, it was revealed that in recent months 20 cases had been registered among immigrants from developing countries where Hansen’s disease is widespread. According to Antonio Sebastiani, director of the Institute for Infectious and Tropical Diseases at La Sapienza University, Rome, “there are still some areas in Sardinia, Tuscany, and Liguria where the disease survives.”
Mass for the Beasts
Animals seem to be receiving particular attention from the Italian clergy of late. The religious order of Franciscans recently accused the Jesuits of being “heretics” and “enemies of the creation” because of saying that animals were “not capable of loving.” Catholic prelate Mario Canciani puts the view of the church this way: “The [Catholic] Church is open to all living creatures.” So, according to the Italian newspaper La Repubblica, churchgoers in Rome have long been able to procure blessings for their “small domestic friends.” Announcing such an occasion, the newspaper explains that “together with those who can more properly be described as Christians, cats, dogs, parrots, rabbits, and all the fauna for which a blessing is desired may also attend.”
Sleep Debt
“People behind on sleep can walk, hear, and see like everyone else. However, research shows that the ability to reason, the power to make decisions and to remain alert are weakened,” says Veja magazine. The article quotes experts who warn of the dangers of missing out on necessary sleep. A survey by Dr. Denis Martinez, president of the Brazilian Society for Sleep, shows that “2 of every 10 job accidents are due to sleeping poorly at night.” Dr. Martinez warns that those who get little sleep, “for example, working at three jobs, . . . are simply selling their health to the job market.”
Pesticides Threaten Wine Country
In the Moselle region of central Germany, which produces world-famous wines, more and more vineyard workers are suffering from nervous disorders. Gardeners, farmers, and foresters manifest similar symptoms, according to Peter Binz, a neurologist from Trier. There is also a high incidence of bronchial cancer along the course of the Moselle Valley. For what reason? “In Binz’s opinion, the cause in most cases is the use of garden pesticides,” reports the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung. Investigations have revealed that “up to 90 percent of pesticides distributed by spray or by helicopter evaporate into the surrounding air within a few hours and are inhaled by people in the area.”
“Solo Living”
“Going it alone is becoming increasingly attractive to Canadians,” claims The Toronto Star. “For many there is now a clear attraction for solo living,” a 1992 report of Statistics Canada indicated. Between the years 1981 and 1991, the desire for solo living increased by 43 percent for single people, 16 percent for divorced people, and 18 percent for widows and widowers. During this same period, “common-law unions . . . grew by 111 per cent,” according to the Star. Single-parent families now account for 20 percent of Canadian families. Despite the appeal of solo living, the birthrate is at its highest level in 14 years.