Watching the World
Huge New Debt Load
◆ The period from 1968 to 1974 has been called “the debt economy” in the United States. During that time the “tower” of debt of all kinds (government, corporate and individual) rose to a record $2.5 trillion (thousand billion). “The tower escaped toppling only by the thinnest margins,” relates Business Week. Since then some have felt that the past few years of “prosperity” put an end to excessive borrowing, averting the danger of widespread financial collapse. “Nothing could be further from the truth,” Business Week said, adding: “Since late 1975 the US [United States] has created a new debt economy, a credit explosion so wild and so eccentric that it dwarfs even the borrowing binge of the early 1970’s.” The debt load has now reached a staggering $4 trillion, causing great apprehension in financial circles. An economist pointed out: “The only time that debt will go down is when the economy crashes, a recession or a depression.”
Over 4,000,000,000
◆ The human population of the earth reached 4,200,000,000 during 1977, according to a United Nations estimate. The current rate of increase is 1.9 percent, slightly lower than the 2-percent rate from 1963 to 1972, but high enough to double the population in about 35 or 40 years. The lowest UN projection forecasts a total of nearly 6,000,000,000 people by the year 2000. But what makes the low estimates unlikely is that young people under 15 years of age make up a large part of many countries, over 40 percent in some, and they are just now entering the childbearing years.
Wave Power
◆ With a coastline of about 4,500 miles (7,200 kilometers), the British government is studying ways to use the ocean to provide energy when coal and oil run out. Each day waves sweep in from the North Atlantic onto the beaches and cliffs of northwest Scotland and southwest England. Waves from the North Sea come into the east coast of Britain. These waves generate huge amounts of energy. It is felt that a 600-mile (965-kilometer) stretch of ‘energy machines’ on the coast could provide half of Britain’s present electricity requirements. One idea is to have large rafts linked together, moving up and down on the waves. The motion would drive hydraulic rams, which, in turn, would drive electrical alternators. Seabed cables would then take the electricity inland. In Japan there is already an experimental working model of a similar type producing electricity.
“Too Feeble”
◆ “World food production is presently too feeble when compared with the population increase,” stated Arturo Tanco, chairman of the World Food Council during a conference in Dakar, Senegal. As an example, he cited African food production, which increased only a little over 1 percent from 1970 to 1978, while the population there increased over 2 percent in the same period. Tanco emphasized that “if nothing is done, third world country food imports could reach 120 million metric tons in 1990.”
Rights Meeting in Greece
◆ A two-day international congress on human rights was held in Athens this autumn. What is novel about this? The Athens Daily Post says: “It is the first time such a congress has been in Greece.” Formerly Greece had been the target of criticism by other nations for violating human rights, violations such as imposing repeated prison sentences on Jehovah’s Witnesses for their military neutrality. However, legislation has been passed to eliminate this gross violation of human rights, although reports say that in some instances local officials had not complied.
Girl Bites Cobra
◆ In New Delhi, India, the magazine Caravan told of an unusual encounter between a two-year-old girl and a deadly cobra. While playing in the courtyard of her house she spotted the snake and innocently tried to put it in her mouth. When the cobra moved, the child bit down hard on the snake. The panic-stricken parents wrested the snake from her grip and rushed her to a hospital. She was found to be “hale and hearty,” but the snake had been bitten to death.
Dental “Epidemic”
◆ Because “every man, woman and child in Britain” is affected by dental diseases, this should be termed “the last epidemic,” declared Dr. Aubrey Sheiham of the Department of Community Dental Health of London Hospital. The incidence of cavities is so severe, said Sheiham, “that 97 per cent of 15 year olds have had one third of their teeth affected, the figure rising in adults to over half their teeth.” Another alarming statistic: after periodontal disease takes its toll, four out of 10 adults will have false teeth. The doctor blames the dramatic increase in sugar consumption as the main culprit, from over four pounds per person annually in 1844 to over 120 pounds per person in recent times. Poor oral hygiene was also given as a major factor.
Garlic Capital
◆ The tiny village of Arleux, north of Paris, France, claims to be the garlic capital of the world, having about 3,000 garlic growers. According to Arleux’s mayor, the town produced more than 2,000,000 pounds (907,200 kilograms) of garlic last year. That cares for France’s domestic needs and allows some to be exported. Asked about the best way to get the scent of garlic off one’s breath, the mayor said that one method was to chew parsley after a meal. A mouthwash or chewing gum also helps. However, the mayor hastened to point out that garlic fumes do not cling to the mouth or teeth but are mainly exhaled by the lungs.
Concorde Route “Booming”
◆ British Airways reports that flights of the supersonic Concorde between the United States and Britain are “booming.” More than 100,000 passengers have flown this route since it began operating about two and a half years ago. Now there are 26 weekly flights between Britain and the United States, three two-way trips between London and Washington and 10 each way between London and New York. The Washington flights run at 65 percent of capacity, and the New York flights at 73 percent. Westbound service is often over 80 percent. Passengers include more elderly and infirm people than usual, people who would normally hesitate to leave home on flights that took longer.
Pig Squeals Hazardous?
◆ Research in Scotland is said to have shown that pigs are so noisy while being fed that a farmer may have to wear earmuffs to prevent hearing damage. At Aberdeen, the Scottish Farms Building Investigation Unit found that the noise of pigs before and during feeding times often exceeds tolerable limits. The researchers concluded that if the task of feeding pigs takes longer than four minutes, the worker should wear earmuffs. However, in Canada the Alberta department of labor has disputed the four-minute time. It says that only if the feeding time is an hour or more should stockmen wear hearing protectors.
“Litter Louts”
◆ So much rubbish is dumped on Britain’s highways, especially during holiday seasons, that it has become a hazard for drivers. Authorities describe the rubbish dumpers as “litter louts” and “potential killers.” The litter includes empty tin cans, old suitcases, used car parts, beer crates, discarded refrigerators, cookers and washing machines, as well as old furniture. The annual weight of this rubbish is measured in the tens of thousands of tons. Also mentioned is a little-known cause of accidents: when motorists discard food from the windows of their passing cars, flocks of birds swoop down to eat. This has caused some drivers to swerve suddenly when the birds flew into their windscreens.
Hungry Children
◆ In Thailand, the Bangkok Post noted that malnutrition is affecting over 60 percent of the preschool-age children in that land. According to Dr. Aree Wanyasewi of the Nutrition Research Institute of Mahidol University, out of a total of 7,000,000 children in this age group 4.2 million are suffering from malnutrition. In one recent year the death toll of children under the age of one was 54,990, of which 13,705 (25 percent) were victims of malnutrition, Dr. Aree said.
Tokyo’s Deficit Grows
◆ In 1977 the city of Tokyo was shown to be on the verge of bankruptcy because of its registering persistent and huge budget deficits. These deficits are continuing, so that an official study estimates that by 1985 Tokyo’s deficit will be about 1.2 trillion yen (about $6.5 billion, U.S.). An official admitted “that there was no means under existing local and municipal tax and bond issuance regulations by which Tokyo can maintain solvency in the coming years.” Thus many of the world’s largest cities continue to be beset with deepening financial woes.
Atoms and Aging
◆ An international symposium on aging held in Kyoto, Japan, was told that the aging process speeds up for persons exposed to heavy atomic radiation. Previously it had been known that experimental animals exposed to radiation had shown a speedup in their aging process. Now it has been confirmed that humans do the same. The results were noted in detailed information recently made available from a study of atomic bomb victims in Hiroshima.