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Decades ago, John Lennon imagined a world with no religion. Today, that world is becoming a reality in his own country! The British Social Attitudes survey reports that those in Britain without religion (53%) now outnumber those with religion (47%) (The Times, September 5, 2017). The percentage is even higher among young people ages 18-24.
Just 20 years ago, who would have guessed that people would develop “separation anxiety” from their smartphones? Nomophobia is the clinical name for this emotional state, and it goes hand-in-hand with the fear of being offline. Studies show that growing numbers of people experience anxiety, along with increased heart rate and blood pressure, when separated from...
In recent decades, the Internet has become far more than a research and communication tool—it has become a wealth-generating machine and a tool used to topple governments around the world. This fact has prompted nations to seek to control Internet commerce as well as the political power inherent in the Internet.
Hurricane Harvey slammed into the Gulf Coast over the weekend, destroying properties and drenching parts of Texas and Louisiana. One Houston county saw over 30 inches (nearly a meter) of rain in just 72 hours (Washington Post, August 28, 2017). Officials expect over 30,000 people in evacuation shelters, and President Trump designated parts of Texas and Louisiana...
Recent studies in the UK suggest that lung cancer rates among those who have never smoked have doubled in the last ten years, and this increase may be related to severe air pollution (The Times, August 12, 2017).
In the last five months, the deadly diarrheal disease known as cholera has infected over half a million people and killed about 2,000 so far—mostly children and the elderly (Deutsche Welle, August 14, 2017). The disease results from water and food supplies that are contaminated by dirty, sewage-laden water. Sadly, there is not enough clean water to improve...
Although defense spending has dropped in some nations—mainly in Africa and oil-producing countries—many nations are building up their defense capabilities. Iran’s leadership recently voted to boost missile and other defense spending by over $500 million (BBC, August 13, 2017).
Due to an unusually hot and dry summer, Portugal has requested help from Europe to combat forest fires on a scale not seen in recent memory. Thousands of firefighters are battling hundreds of blazes around the nation (Reuters, August 13, 2017).
U.S. public health officials have discovered fleas infected with the bubonic plague—sometimes called the “Black Death”—in the state of Arizona. This is the same bacterium that killed millions of people in Europe in the fourteenth century.
On September 24, Germans will participate in a federal election to select their chancellor. Many wonder if Chancellor Angela Merkel will be able to retain the office she has held since 2005. Her critics abound.