News and Prophecy Staff

The Wall Street Journal found 43 percent of Americans now consider “money” a very important value, up from 31 percent in 1998. “Patriotism” declined from 70 to 38 percent; “having children” from 59 to 30 percent; and “religion” from 62 to 39 percent. “Tolerance for others, deemed very important by 80 percent of Americans as recently as four years ago, has fallen to 58 percent since then.”

In a recent meeting at the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, scientists discussed the direction of fertility research. Current investigations are exploring the potential to improve fertility and treat fertility-related issues, but also darker and more troubling avenues.

Nearly a billion people dwelling in cities around the globe are experiencing a crisis concerning access to  water, and in the next three decades, that number is predicted to double, according to a new United Nations report (The Guardian, March 21, 2023). In fact, water demand in cities is predicted to increase by 80 percent by 2050. Currently, two to three billion people experience water shortages for at least one month each year.

In 2022, Canada was the fastest growing of 38 nations in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (BBC, March 23, 2023). The nation grew by over a million people, raising its total population by 2.7 percent. This is Canada’s fastest year of population growth since 1957, and if this rate continued, the nation would double its population in just 26 years.

On a recent visit to Berlin, the Czech president “called on Germany to take on a leadership role in European security efforts that would inspire other countries” (Euractiv, March 22, 2023).