USA
Florida's Gatored Communities
In just one week this past May, three women were killed in three
separate alligator attacks. These dangerous reptiles, which
are found only in the southeastern U.S., have lived side by
side with the human population without too much trouble over
the years (over the past 60 years, only 17 people have been
killed by alligators). Experts suggest the recent hot, dry weather
spells have pushed the gators into more populated areas, and
has left them hungrier than normal. It’s also suggested
that the thousands of people moving to Florida each month are
pushing development deeper and deeper into the alligators’
territory, and that the newcomers sometimes feed the gators
like pets. A note on the side: About one million wild alligators
now live in Florida, an impressive recovery considering they
were listed as an endangered species some 35 years ago.
Better Strap Yourself In For This One
Traffic update: There’s good news and there’s bad
news. The good news is that a record number of people (80%)
in the U.S. are buckling their seat belts when riding in their
cars and trucks. The bad news is that 48 million people still
are not using seat belts. A new study clearly shows that wearing
a seat belt significantly reduces the chance of serious injury
and death in road accidents. The chance of dying in a car is
reduced by 45%, and the chance of dying in a pickup truck, SUV,
or minivan is reduced by 60%. The study shows that seat belt
use is particularly low among young males in rural areas who
drive pickup trucks. Almost 60% of people who died not wearing
their belts crashed along rural roads, and in pickup truck deaths,
70% of the victims hadn’t buckled up.
MEXICO
The Best Offence if a Good Fence?
American soldiers are being sent to the U.S.- Mexico border
and a new triple-layer fence is being built to try to keep out
uninvited Mexican immigrants and criminals. The Mexicans themselves
are offended by the fence, and feel that America’s success
is largely due to workers from Mexico. Also, cash is sent back
to Mexico by the workers ($18 billion US in 2005), and no Mexican
wants that to stop. Many see the anti-immigration movement as
racism, as white Americans grow concerned that the Latino population
in many states is catching up to or exceeding their own. Meanwhile,
Mexico is doing little to stop the abuse of its own immigrants
entering from Guatemala, and foreign-born Mexican citizens are
barred from holding positions in the government, military, police,
or firefighting service.
CAMEROON
Chomping Chimps and HIV
HIV/AIDS still plagues the world, Africa especially,
with almost 2.5 million Africans dying of AIDS every year. While
no cure or vaccine has been discovered, scientists have finally
answered 
the
question of where HIV/AIDS originally came from. It has long
been suspected that chimpanzees were the source, but scientists
first need to do some dirty work in the field. Proof has finally
come from genetic testing of chimp poop in the jungles of Cameroon.
An isolated community of wild chimps has been shown to be carriers
of a virtually identical chimp version of HIV, which does not
harm the animals themselves. For the disease to jump from ape
to human, someone either was bitten by a chimp or was cut while
butchering one. This transfer is thought to have occurred as
early as the 1950s.
AFRICA
The Melting Snows of Kilimanjaro
For
almost 12,000 years, a handful of tropical mountains in Africa
have proudly sported glacial ice caps. Most famous of these
mountains is Kilimanjaro, a huge destination for the alpine
hiking and climbing crowd. But times are changing, and so is
the climate. Over the last century, Kilimanjaro’s ice
cap has shrunk by 80%, and on another mountain range, the Rwenzori,
ice has retreated by over 50% since 1987. Scientists generally
agree that there may not be ice left on these peaks by 2020.
There is concern that tourism will drop once the beauty of the
icy summits is gone, and local tribes worry that a key source
of water in dry seasons will disappear. The only other tropical
mountains with glaciers are in the Andes (South America) and
on the island of New Guinea (Asia).
INDIAN OCEAN
Dead and Dying
The
salty lake in the Middle East, known as the Dead Sea, is shrinking.
While not particularly large to start with (Canada has about 45
lakes that are bigger), the Dead Sea has shrunk in size by 33%
in the last 50 years, and the shoreline has dropped by over 65
feet! Its key source of fresh water, the Jordan River, is being
tapped by the people of Israel, Jordan, and Palestine. Now only
10% of the Jordan River’s water actually makes it to the
Dead Sea, and this is expected to drop to 4% in the coming years,
leaving the Dead Sea to continue dropping by three to four feet
per year. The only thing saving the Dead Sea is its tourist value,
as the saltiest body of water in the world is a huge attraction
and an important part of Holy Land history. A plan for a canal
to bring in water from the nearby Red Sea is being considered.
FINLAND
Lordi of all the Lands
For
51 years, the countries of Europe have been battling it out
in the Eurovision Song Contest. It is one of the world’s
largest music competitions and a major source of pride for the
winning country. The event has helped launch the international
careers of Abba and Celine Dion (representing France) and brought
major success to hundreds of artists in their own countries.
The songs, presented by over 40 countries, are an eclectic mix
of ethnic folk, pop, techno, soul, and rock songs. This year’s
winner, scoring the most points ever in the event (to both the
horror and amusement of millions of viewers), was the controversial
Finnish black metal band, Lordi, who sport demon costumes on
stage. Several religious groups had urged a boycott of the band,
claiming they are Satanists.
