11

W A \ f W 1
f m 1 i
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April 8, 2001
Average Printing 20,682,000 Published in 83 Languages

Cities
W hy in Crisis? 3-10
Cities are experiencing explosive growth. However, the strain of
coping has thrown many major cities into a state of crisis.

Exploding Cities 3

The Art and Science Cities-Why in Crisis? 4

of Weather What Future for Cities?
Forecasting 12 8
Crossword Puzzle ii
Read about how meteorolo
gists make their predictions. Where Camels and
Brumbies Run Wild
The Bibles Viewpoint
Are Dreams Messages From God? 20
Glorifying Peace A Closer Look at Your Hair 25
Instead of War 22
Watching the World 28
Learn why an artist aban
doned a successful career. From Our Readers 30
Making Barren Land Fruitful 31
Does God Really Exist? 32

Awake! April 8, 2001

Explo ding C ities
H u m a n ity is on the m o ve as n e v e r b e fo re , an d m o st o f those
w h o le a v e h o m e s e e k in g a b e tte r life h e a d fo r a c ity .
O SAID the publication For
S eign Affairs in the introduc
tio n to an a rtic le e n title d
The Exploding Cities of the De
veloping World. According to that
article, m any p e o p le have been
lured by the bright lights, or driv
en from the co u n try sid e by p o
litical and economic turm oil, pop
ulation pressures, and ecological
breakdown.
Ju st how fast are cities grow
ing? Some estim ate that people are
flocking to cities at the stagger
ing rate o f m ore th an a m illion
a week! In developing lands more
than 200 cities now have popula
tions that pass the million mark.
Some 20 have reached the ten mil
lion mark! And no slowdown is in
sight. Take, for example, the city of
Lagos, Nigeria. According to a re
port by Worldwatch Institute, by
2015, Lagos may be home to near
ly 25 million people, rising in rank
from the worlds thirteenth largest
city to the third largest.
Many experts feel that this does
not bode well for the future. Federi
co Mayor, former director general
of the United Nations Educational,
Scientific, and C ultural Organiza
tion, warns that by the year 2035,
three thousand million more peo
ple will be living in the urban set
tlements that exist today. To care
for this staggering population, we
shall have to build a thousand cities
of three million inhabitants in the
next forty years, twenty-five a year.
Experts also say that rapidly ex
panding city populations are having
a devastating effect on cities around
the world. And th at includes cit
ies in the prosperous industrialized
world. Just what problems are cit
ies facing, and what impact may this
have on you? Are any solutions in
sight? The following articles explore
these critical issues.
 3#$g
Why in Crisis?
C om e on! L e t us b u ild ourselves a c ity and also a to w er
w ith its top in the h e a v e n s ,. . . fo r fe a r w e m a y b e scattered
o v er a ll the surface o f the e a rth . Genesis 11:4.
HESE words, spoken over 4,000 years cities. A fter all, cities afforded protection

T ago, heralded the building of the great

city of Babel.
Babel, later called Babylon, was located on
the once fertile plains of Shinar in M esopo
from enemy attack. Cities provided lo ca
tions where farmers could store and distrib
ute their produce. The advent of the m ar
ketplace also allowed many city dwellers to
tamia. C ontrary to popular opinion, though, pursue livelihoods other than farming. Says
it was not the first city of Bible record. Cit The Rise o f Cities: Once freed from the con
ies actually got their start before the Flood straints of a hand-to-mouth existence, city
of N oahs day. The m urderer Cain founded dwellers could turn their hands to a pleth
the first one on record. (Genesis 4:17) This ora of specialized trades: basketry, potting,
city, called Enoch, was probably little more spinning, weaving, leather working, carpen
than a fortified settlem ent or village. Babel, try and stoneworkingwhatever the market
on the other hand, was a great citya prom could hold.
inent center of false worship that featured a Cities served as an efficient distribution
spectacular religious tower. However, Babel center for such goods. Consider the Bible ac
and its infamous tower stood in utter defi count of a severe famine in Egypt. The prime
ance of God. (Genesis 9:7) So according to minister, Joseph, found it expedient to settle
the Bible, God intervened and confused the the people in cities. Why? Evidently because
language of the builders, putting an end to this made for a more efficient distribution of
their ambitious religious scheme. God scat the remaining food supplies.Genesis 47:21.
tered them from there over all the surface of Cities also enhanced com m unication and
the earth, says Genesis 11:5-9. interaction between people at a time when
N ot surprisingly, this led to the spread of transport was slow and limited. This, in turn,
Awake!
W hy Awake! Is Published Awake! is for the enlightenment of the entire family. It shows how to cope with
todays problems. It reports the news, tells about people in many lands, examines religion and science. But it does more.
It probes beneath the surface and points to the real meaning behind current events, yet it always stays politically neutral
and does not exalt one race above another. Most important, this magazine builds confidence in the Creators promise of
a peaceful and secure new world that is about to replace the present wicked, lawless system of things.
Unless otherwise indicated, New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures With References is used.

Curate/(ISSN 0005-237X ) is published sem im onthly by W atchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc.; M. H. Larson, President; G. F. Sim onis,
Secretary-Treasurer; 25 Columbia Heights, Brooklyn, NY 11201-2483. Periodicals Postage Paid at Brooklyn, N.Y., and at additional m ailing offices.
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Vol. 82, No. 7 Printed in U.S.A. 2001 Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania. All rights reserved. Sem im onthly ENGLISH

Awake! April 8, 2001

 accelerated the rate o f social and cultural fare dependency, profuse public health prob l
change. Cities became centers of innovation lems, and, most startling, rising crime. The
and prom oted technological development. book Mega-city Growth and the Future similar l ;
As new ideas flowed freely, innovation in sci ly observes: The massive inflow of people of ! 'i #
entific, religious, and philosophical thought ten leads to high levels of unemployment and
emerged. underemployment because the market for la ' $
Unfulfilled Dreams bour may be unable to absorb the expanding
In modern times, cities continue to offer num ber of job seekers.
: M many of the same advantages. Little won The growing num ber of street children is
der, then, that they continue to attract mil heartrending evidence o f the deep pover
lionsespecially in lands where life in the ty that exists in the cities of the developing
rurals has become unbear world. According to some
ably difficult. However, for e stim a te s, th ere are as
many people who migrate The massive many as 30 million street
to cities, the dream s o f a children worldwide! Says
better life go unfulfilled.
inflow of people the book Mega-city Growth
The book Vital Signs 1998 often leads and the Future: Poverty
says: A ccording to a re and o th er problem s have
cent study by the Popula to high levels of eroded family ties so that
tion Council, the quality of unemployment the s tre e t ch ild ren have
*>,*. >1 life in many urban centers been fo rced to fend for
of the developing world is and themselves. Such children
poorer today than in rural underemployment often eke out a miserable
V areas. Why is this so? existence by scavenging,
begging, or doing m enial
Henry G. Cisneros writes
work at local markets.
'jr**#* in The Human Face o f the
Urban Environment: When Other Grim Realities
poor people become con j- 7
P o v erty can lead to
i l s l centrated in precisely de crime. In one South Am er
fined geographic areas, ican city noted for its in
i ^ | their problems grow exponentially__ The in novative m odern a rc h ite c tu re , crim e has
fts&wgf become so ram pant th at the city is rapid
c fJ P | creasing concentration of poor, mostly minor
ity people has been accompanied by soaring ly becom ing a landscape of iron railings.
unemployment, increased and prolonged wel- From the richest to the poorest, citizens are , ||| ^

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ip ifls ip f Awake! April 8, 2001 5

p- -V
* i \ *f . V
. *- J ' A>- - - '-- <* ~ ILJk^r ~- A . ^ , V* "

erecting iron fences to protect their proper too easily ignoredwhere sewerage systems
ty and privacy. In effect, they live in cages. break down; where water purification is in
Some even put up the railings before their adequate; where vermin infest garbage-filled
ZXzlPJk^ '*^1>1 house is finished. ? tr
V-';^;..V lots and invade dwellings; where little children
Large populations also strain a citys abili eat lead paint from the walls in deteriorating
*&'$&&&v'ii ty to provide such basic services as water and apartment buildings . . . where no one seems
**: ^ sanitation. It is estimated that in one Asian to care. In such an environment, crime, vio
city, 500,000 public toilets are needed. Yet, a lence, and despair flourish.
%'X:S^4 recent survey indicated that only 200 work In addition, Western cities are having dif #s
ing toilets could be found! ficulty providing basic services. Back in 1981,
N ot to be overlooked either is the devas authors Pat Choate and Susan Walter wrote a
y ^ r ^ fr tating effect overpopulation often has on the book with the dramatic title in Ruins
local environment. Nearby farmlands disap The Decaying Infrastructure. In it they stat
p e a r as city b o u n d a rie s expand. F orm er ed: Am ericas public facilities are wearing
U nited Nations Educational, Scientific, and out faster than they are being replaced. The
Cultural Organization chief Federico Mayor authors expressed great alarm over the num
says: Cities consume enorm ous amounts of ber of rusting bridges, deteriorating roads, and
energy, exhaust water supplies, and devour crumbling sewerage systems in major cities.
food and m aterials.. . . Their physical envi Twenty years later, cities such as New York
ronment is worn out because it can no longer still have ailing infrastructures. An article
provide the input or absorb the output. in New York Magazine described the massive
B ig -C ity P rob lem s in W e stern Lands Third Water Tunnel project. It has gone on
^>vjc; now for some 30 years and is called the sin
The situ atio n in W estern lands may be
somewhat less dire, yet an urban crisis still ex gle biggest infrastructure project in the West
ists. For example, the book The Crisis o f Amer ern Hemisphere. It involves an expenditure
icas Cities says: American cities today are of some five billion dollars. When finished,
*;?v^j marked by violence of extraordinary propor the tunnel will deliver one billion gallons of !*$}&
<'^^ I
tions___The prevalence of violence in Amer fresh water a day to New York City. But for I
Ifjr fCW
ican cities is so severe that medical journals all this prodigious digging, says the writer,
l i4pr^r
have begun devoting significant space to it as the tunnel is m eant only to supplem ent the I)>
existing pipes, enabling them to be repaired
*j * one of the major public health issues of our
day. O f course, violence is a plague in many for the first time since they were laid down
t p w m i major cities throughout the world. in the beginning of the century. According
y*sJS&gM
7rJ-jf^T*^'fX The deterioration of city life is one reason to an article in The New York Times, repair f# ?
Y'MfiW3 why many cities have become unattractive ing the rest of the citys crumbling infrastruc \%%ix
\$&
:'/)0''i'-*>4*4 to employers. Says the book The Human Face tureits subways, its water mains, its roads,
its bridgeswill cost an estimated 90 billion
^r^SXX'i o f the Urban Environment: Businesses have
moved to the suburbs or overseas, shutting dollars.
m
down plants, leaving behind brown fields New York is hardly the only city that has
*rigr*Ce*? >
em pty buildings on contam inated lots, difficulty providing needed services. Actual
- rS
V ,.'W
C&L 4 with toxic m aterials buried in the ground, ly, a num ber of large cities have proved to be
totally unfit for development. As a result, vulnerable to disruption from a wide range
tfsc-t '.>: many cities find poor people concentrated in of causes. In February 1998, Auckland, New
areas in which environmental problems are Zealand, was crippled for over two weeks by m
6 Awake! April 8, 2001
 WALLACE

Traffic jams plague many cities

a devastating power failure. Inhabitants of

Melbourne, Australia, went without hot wa
ter for 13 days when gas supplies were shut
off because of an industrial accident at a pro
duction plant.
Then th ere is the problem sh ared by
virtually all citiestraffic jam s. A rchitect
M oshe Safdie says: A fundam ental con-

Millions of street children flicta misfitexists between the scale of

fend for themselves cities and the transportation systems th at
serve them ___Older cities have had to adapt
their downtowns to traffic volumes unimag
ined at the time they were built. According
to The New York Times, in cities such as Cairo,
Bangkok, and Sao Paulo, traffic jam s are the
rule.
In spite of all these problems, there seems
to be no letup in the ongoing move to the
cities. As an article in The UNESCO Courier
put it, rightly or wrongly, the city seems to
offer progress and freedom, a vision of op
portunity, an irresistible lure. But just what
does the future hold for the big cities of the
world? Are there any realistic solutions to
their problems?
For many city dwellers, dreams
of a better life go unfulfilled
 O LOOK at our cities is to see into
our future. So said Ismail Seragel-
din of the W orld Bank. But from
what we have seen thus far, that future does
not look bright.
Com m endably, serious efforts are being
made to improve life in many urban areas.
New York City recently completed a refur
bishm ent o f Times Square in M anhattan.
Previously, it was notorious for its pornogra
phy establishments, drug culture, and crime.
New retail outlets and theaters now line the
streets, luring visitors by the thousands. Na
ples, Italy, a brilliant, cultivated city that
once ranked with London and Paris, accord
ing to National Geographic magazine, suf
fered devastation during World War II. Na
ples became a virtual symbol of crime and
chaos. However, when the city was selected
as the site for a 1994 political conference, it
enjoyed a rebirth of sorts with a major reno
vation of the citys center.
O f course, having safer, clean er cities
Serious efforts are being made to improve life in many urban areas
Naples, Italy
com es at a price. In cre a se d safety o ften
means an increased police presence. A noth
er cost might be privacy. Some public areas
are under the constant surveillance of TV
cameras and plainclothes police officers. As
you walk through a park and pass by foun
tains, sculptures, or flower beds, you may un
wittingly be passing by security checkpoints.
Sometimes improvements also come at a
high cost to the poor. Consider what some
call gentrificationthe process by w hich
higher-income families take over form erly
poor neighborhoods. Gentrification results
from a changing econom ya shift from
m anufacturing to services, from reliance
on mid-level skills to au to m a tio n . (Gen
trification o f the City, edited by Neil Smith
and Peter Williams) As blue-collar jobs be
come obsolete and the demand for profes
sional and technical workers grows, the de
mand for convenient middle-class housing
also grows. R ather th an com m ute to the
suburbs, many highly
 0 ^^^-rr -
>" * . ' . ; f 2 2 ? * > A ' V f
*&&

s :
paid professionals prefer to refurbish homes village-scale life and electronically the cul iiy s fe
in relatively run-down neighborhoods. tural richness of great historic cities.
Naturally, this results in substantial neigh W h a t Fu tu re fo r C itie s ?
borhood im provem ent. But as n eig h b o r
M any observers believe th at technology
hoods improve, prices go up. The poor often
notwithstanding, cities offer services and ad
find themselves unable to afford to live in the
vantages that will continue to draw people.
neighborhoods where they have worked and
W hatever the future may hold, todays cit
lived for years!
ies are in trouble now! And no solution is
Death o f th e C ity? in sight for the massive problems of housing I
C ities may have ju s t begun to feel the and sanitation for the growing millions of ur
forces of change spawned by new technolo ban poor. N or has anyone come close to find
gies. As the In tern et grows in popularity ing a means to eliminate crime, environmen
as a way to shop and carry on business, this tal decay, or urban pollution.
could have dram atic results. The new tech Som e w ould arg u e th a t g o v ernm ents
nologies have already made it easier for some should simply funnel more money into their
businesses to relocate outside citiesdraw cities. But given the track record that many
ing many workers with them. governments have in managing their assets, is
As shopping and working on-line become it realistic to think that solving the problems
m ainstream , people may feel less inclined of cities is as simple as writing out a check?
to travel to crowded business districts. The Decades ago the book The Death and Life o f
book Cities in Civilization suggests:Great
WeAmerican Cities said: There is a wistful
might foresee some routine workers, espe myth that if only we had enough money to
cially part-tim e workers, w orking entirely sp e n d . . . , we could wipe out all our slu m s...
from home or neighbourhood workstations, But look what we have built with the first
. . . thus reducing the overall volume of traf several billions: Low-income projects that be 1
fic. Architect Moshe Safdie likewise spec come worse centers o f delinquency, vandal
ulates: In this new environment, we might ism and general social hopelessness than the
have a universal scattering of millions of vil slums they were supposed to replace. These
lages, giving individuals words continue to ring true.
New York City, locally the comforts of But if money is not the solution, what is?
U.S.A.
Sydney, Australia
We must rem ember that cities are made up
of people, not just buildings and streets. So
in the final analysis, it is people who must
change if city life is to improve. The best
economy of a city is the care and culture of
men, says Lewis M umford in The City in His
tory. And if drug abuse, prostitution, pollu
tion, environmental decay, social inequality,
vandalism, graffiti, and the like are to be elim
inated, more is required than an increased
police presence or a fresh coat of paint. Peo
ple m ust be helped to make dram atic chang
es in their thinking and behavior.
A C h a n ge in M a n age m e n t
Effecting such sweeping change is clear
ly beyond the capability of humans. So at
tem pts to solve the problems of todays cit
iesno m atter how w ell-intentioned they
arewill ultimately fail. Students of the Bi
ble do not despair, however, for they see to
days urban difficulties as just one more ex
am ple o f m a n s in ab ility to m anage o u r
planet properly. Todays sprawling, chaot
Gods new world offers a solution to the
problems of todays city dwellers
ic cities dram atically underscore the words
of the Bible at Jeremiah 10:23: To earthling
man his way does not belong. It does not be
long to man who is walking even to direct his
step. M ans attem pts to rule himself have re
sulted in misery on a grand scaleproblems
that are simply magnified in our cities.
City dwellers the world over can thus take
com fort in the Bible prom ise recorded at
Revelation 11:18, that God will bring to ruin
those ruining the earth. Far from being neg
ative, this points to a positive future for m an
kind. It promises that G od will take over the
management of our planet by means of a gov
ernment, or Kingdom. (Daniel 2:44) N o lon
ger will millions live in unimaginable pov
erty, deprived of proper housing and basic
sanitation, deprived of dignity, or deprived
of hope. U nder the rule of G o d s govern
ment, people will enjoy material prosperity,
vibrant health, and fine housing.Isaiah 33:
24; 65:21-23.
This new world is the only realistic solu
tion to the problems of todays cities.
 CROSSWORD PUZZLE

Clues Across safeguarding Israel from 13. His son Eliasaph served as
1. Where the Jewish high relying on war horses rath the chieftain of the tribe of
court assembled [2 words] er than on His protection Gad while Israel was in the
(Acts 5:27) (Joshua 11:6) wilderness
8. A Benjamite whose 11 sons 3. Hindered (1 Timothy 3:15) (Numbers 7:42)
are listed among the head 4. When mild, it turns away 15. A social gathering
men who resided in Jeru rage (Proverbs 15:1) (Luke 5:29)
salem 16. Explanatory statements
(1 Chronicles 8:22-25) 5. This appears as part of the
superscriptions of many (2 Samuel 14:14)
9. The period of time during psalms [3 words] 18. The Mosaic Law prohib
which Jesus brings certain (Psalm 3)
things in connection with ited eating the fat of this
Gods purpose to a success 6. When Job used this expres sacrificed animal
ful conclusion [2 words] sion, he evidently meant (Leviticus 7:23)
(Revelation 1:10) that he escaped with practi 21. To get back (Acts 9:12)
cally nothing [4 words] 22. One of the Levites
10. One of the three weapons (Job 19:20)
that Goliath possessed who attested by seal to
when he came against 7. Offspring (Job 18:19) Nehemiahs trustworthy
David (1 Samuel 17:45) 11. One of Benjamins descen arrangement
12. Braced up (Judges 18:11) dants (1 Chronicles 7:12) (Nehemiah 9:38; 10:13)
14. The father of one of Solo Crossword Solutions Page 27
mons 12 deputies, each of
whom provided food for
Solomons household for
one month of the year
(1 Kings 4:7-9)
17. Possessing (Proverbs 1:17)
19. Repurchase (Psalm 49:7)
20. Hoseas wife (Hosea 1:3)
23. Four of these men discov
ered that the Syrians had
fled (2 Kings 7:3-5)
24. What the Persian King
Ahasuerus granted at the
time of making Esther his
queen (Esther 2:18)
25. Stay (Genesis 2:18)
26. Unlawful (Romans 13:13)
27. Relationship of Ruth to
Naomi [3 words]
(Ruth 2:22)
Clues Down
2. Jehovah directed Joshua
to do this to the horses of
Israels enemies, thereby

Awake! April 8, 2001 11

 T H E A R T A N D S C IE N C E OF
WEATHER FORECASTING
B Y - A W A K E ! - W R I T E R - I N - B R I T A I N

ON OCTOBER 15, 1987, A W OM AN CALLED A T V STATION IN BRITAIN AND REPORTED

THAT SHE HAD HEARD THAT THERE WAS A STORM ON THE WAY. THE WEATHER FORECASTER
REASSURINGLY TOLD HIS AUDIENCE: DONT W O RRY THERE ISNT. THAT NIGHT, HOWEVER,
SOUTHERN ENGLAND FELT THE FORCE OF A STORM THAT DESTROYED 15 MILLION TREES,
CAUSED 19 DEATHS, AND LEFT A TR A IL OF DAMAGE COSTING OVER $1.4 BILLION.

ACH morning, millions o f us turn on In 1643, Italian physicist Evangelista Tor

E o u r rad io s and televisions for the

weather forecast. Do the cloudy skies
mean rain? Will the early sunshine last? Will
rising tem p eratu res bring a thaw to melt
snow and ice? Once we hear the forecast, we
decide what clothes to wear and whether to
carry an um brella or not.
From time to time, though, weather fore
casts are conspicuously off the mark. Yes,
though the accuracy o f forecasts has im
proved dram atically in recent years, predict
ing the w eather is a fascinating mixture of
art and science that is far from foolproof.
W hat is involved in predicting the weather,
and how reliable are weather forecasts? In
answer, let us first explore how weather fore
casting developed.
M e a su rin g th e W e a th e r
In Bible times weather forecasting was pri
marily based upon observations made with
the naked eye. (M atthew 16:2, 3) Today me
teorologists have an array o f so p h isticat
ed tools at their disposal, the most basic of
which m easure air pressure, tem perature,
humidity, and wind.
ricelli invented the barom etera simple de
vice that measures air pressure. It was soon
noted that air pressure rises and falls as the
weather changes, a drop in pressure often
signaling a storm . The hygrom eter, which
measures atm ospheric humidity, was devel
oped in 1664. And in 1714, G erm an physicist
Daniel Fahrenheit developed the m ercury
therm om eter. Now the tem perature could
be accurately measured.
A bout 1765, F ren ch scien tist A ntoine-
Laurent Lavoisier proposed that daily m ea
surem ents o f air pressure, m oisture c o n
tent, and wind speed and direction be made.
W ith all this in fo rm atio n , he declared,
it is almost always possible to predict the
weather for one or two days ahead with rea
sonable accuracy. U nfortunately, doing so
proved to be anything but simple.
T ra c k in g th e W e a th er
In 1854 a French warship and 38 m erchant
vessels sank in a fierce storm off the Crimean
port of Balaklava. The French authorities
asked Urbain-Jean-Joseph Leverrier, direc
tor of the Paris Observatory, to investigate.

12 Awake! April 8, 2001

By checking meteorologic records, he discov
ered that the storm had formed two days be
fore the disaster and had swept across Eu
rope from the northw est to the southeast.
Had a system o f tracking the m ovem ents
of storms been in place, the vessels could
have been given advance warning. A nation
al storm-warning service was thus established
in France. M odern m eteorology had been
born.
Needed, though, was a quick way for scien
tists to receive weather data from other loca
tions. And Samuel M orses recently invented
electric telegraph was just the means to do so.
This made it possible for the Paris Observato
ry to begin publishing the first weather maps
Torricelli
Lavoisier in his
laboratory
in modern form at in 1863. By 1872, Britains
Meteorological Office was doing the same.
The m ore th at m eteorologists acquired
data, the m ore they becam e aware o f the
enormous complexity o f the weather. New
graphic devices were thus developed so that
weather maps could convey additional infor
mation. Isobars, for example, are lines drawn
to link points that have the same barometric
pressure. Isotherm s connect locations that
have the same tem perature. W eather maps
also use symbols that show wind direction
and force, along with lines that depict the
meeting of warm and cold air masses.
Sophisticated equipm ent has also been
developed. Nowadays hundreds of w eath
er stations aro u n d the w orld release bal
loons carrying radiosondes in stru m en ts
th at m easure atm ospheric conditions and
then radio the inform ation back. R adar is
also used. By bouncing radio waves off rain
drops and ice particles in clouds, meteorolo
gists can track the movement of storms.
A leap forw ard in accurate w eather ob
servation came in 1960 when TIROS I, the
worlds first weather satellite, rocketed heav
enward equipped with a TV camera. Now
weather satellites orbit the earth from pole to
pole, whereas geostationary satellites m ain
tain a fixed position above the earths sur
face and continuously m onitor the part
of the globe in their field of view. Both
types beam down pictures of the weath
er, which they view from above.
F o re c a s tin g th e W e a th e r
While it is one thing to know exact
ly what the weather is right now, it
is q u ite a d ifferent m a tte r to pre-
what it will be in an hour, a day,
a week. Shortly after World War I,
B ritish m eteo ro lo g ist Lewis Rich-
reckoned th a t since the a t
mosphere follows the laws of physics,
he could use m athematics to predict
Pictures of Leverrier, Lavoisier, and Torricelli: Brown Brothers
Thermometer: G. Tomsich, Science Source/Photo Researchers
 the weather. But the formulas were so com
p lic a te d and the nu m b er-cru n ch in g p ro
cess so time-consuming that weather fronts
were gone before forecasters could complete
their calculations. Besides, Richardson used
weather readings taken at six-hour intervals.
An only marginally successful forecast re
quires that measurements be taken at inter
vals of thirty minutes at the most, observes
French meteorologist Rene Chaboud.
With the advent of computers, however, it
became possible to perform the lengthy cal
culations speedily. Meteorologists used Rich
ardsons calculations to develop a complex
num erical m odel a series o f m athem ati
cal equations that encompass all the known
physical laws governing the weather.
To employ these equations, meteorologists
divide the earths surface into a grid. C urrent
ly, the global model used by Britains Meteo
rological Office has grid points spaced about
50 miles apart. The atm osphere above each
square is called a box, and observations of
atm ospheric wind, air pressure, temperature,
and hum idity are recorded at 20 different lev
els of altitude. The com puter analyzes the
data received from the observation stations
throughout the worldmore than 3,500 of
them and then produces a forecast of what
the worlds weather will be for the next 15
minutes. Once this has been done, a forecast
of the following 15 m inutes is rapidly pro
duced. Repeating this process many times
over, a com puter can make a six-day global
forecast in a mere 15 minutes.
For greater detail and accuracy in local
forecasting, the British Meteorological Office
employs the Limited Area Model, covering
the N orth Atlantic and European sectors. It
uses grid points spaced at intervals of about
30 miles. There is also a model that covers
only the British Isles and surrounding seas. It
has 262,384 grid points ten miles apart and 31
vertical levels!
14 Awake! April 8, 2001
The F o re c a s te rs R ole
Predicting the w eather, however, is not
all hard science. As The World Book E n
cyclopedia puts it, the form ulas used by the
com puters are only approxim ate d escrip
tions of the behavior o f the atm osphere.
Furtherm ore, even an accurate forecast for
a large area may not take into account the
effect of local terrain on the w eather. So
some degree of art is also necessary. Here
is where a weather forecaster comes in. He
uses his experience and judgm ent to deter
mine what value to place on the data he re
ceives. This allows him to make a more accu
rate forecast.
For exam ple, w hen a ir co o led by th e
N orth Sea moves over the European land-
mass, a thin cloud layer often forms. W heth
er this cloud layer heralds rain in continental
Europe the following day or simply evapo
rates in the suns heat depends on a tem per
ature difference of only a few tenths o f a de
gree. The forecasters data, along with his
knowledge of previous similar situations, en
ables him to offer good advice. This m ixture
of art and science is critical to producing ac
curate forecasts.
H ow R e lia b le ?
Presently Britains M eteorological Office
claims 86-percent accuracy for its 24-hour
forecasts. Five-day estim ates from the Eu
ropean C entre for M edium-Range W eath
er Forecasts achieve an accuracy of 80 per
centbetter than the reliability of two-day
forecasts in the early 1970s. Impressive but
far from perfect. Why are forecasts not more
reliable?
For the simple reason that w eather sys
tems are enorm ously complicated. And it is
not possible to take all the m easurem ents
needed to make foolproof predictions. Vast
areas of the ocean have no weather buoys
to beam data via satellite to ground stations.
Rarely do weather-model grid points corre-
 spond exactly to the location o f w eather observatories.
Besides, scientists still do not understand all the forces
of nature that shape our weather.
But im provem ents are co n stan tly being m ade in
weather forecasting. For example, until recently, fore
casting the weather depended mainly on observation
of the atmosphere. But with 71 percent o f the globes
surface covered by ocean, researchers are now focus
ing attention on the way energy is stored and trans
ferred from the ocean to the air. Through a system of
buoys, the Global Ocean Observing System provides
information about slight rises in w ater tem perature in
one region that can have dram atic consequences on
the weather far away.*
The patriarch Job was asked: W ho can understand
the cloud layers, the crashings from [Gods] booth?
(Job 36:29) Today m an still know s relatively little
about the shaping of our weather. Nevertheless, m od
ern weather forecasting is accurate enough to be taken
seriously. In other words, the next tim e the forecaster
tells you that rain is likely, youll probably want to grab
an umbrella!
* El Nino and La Nina are the names given to climate phenomena pro
voked by variations in the temperature of the Pacific Ocean. Please see the
article What Is El Nino? in the March 22, 2000, issue of Awake!

Satellites,
weather balloons,
and computers are
some of the tools of
weather
 Where Camels and Brumbies

,4* '
~RUN WI L D BY AWAKE!WRITER IN AUSTRALIA
H E

UTBACK A u stra lia w hat im ages B u ilt on th e C a m e ls B a ck

O I come to your mind when you hear of For the past four decades, some outback
this place? A land filled with bounc cattlemen have echoed the com plaint that
ing kangaroos and flightless emus, dusty red a cowboy made in the book The Camel in
deserts and blistering hot days? To some ex Australia: I have seen evidence here where
tent you are rightbut it is also a land of 5 camels practically tore down 7 miles of
surprises. boundary fencing... One place they not only
Did you know that Australia hosts the last broke the wires but took posts and all.
untamed camel herds left on earth, the largest Expensive fence lines are no match for the
mob of wild horses in the world, and a plague long legs and bulk of a determ ined camel.
of donkeys unparalleled on the planet? The Yet, these same sturdy legs made it possible
arrival and survival of these hardy animals is to build the lifelines that cross the parched
a little-known story of resilience and conflict interior of this continent.
and is a living reminder of times gone by. Im ported from India in 1860, camels ac-
com panied explorers Burke and Wills on
their epic crossing o f Australia from south to
north. The exotic creatures becam e the pre
ferred com panions o f early adventurers be
cause of their superior strength and stam
ina. Am azingly fuel-efficient, they carried
700-pound loads for 500 miles on just four
gallons o f water.
W onderfully reliable, cam els helped in
hauling food and equipm ent to the frontier
gold towns, in building the overland tele
graph line from Adelaide to Darwin, and in
surveying the Trans-Australian Railway con
necting Sydney and Perth. Over an area of
one and a h alf m illion square miles, they
blazed a trail that m odern machines still find
hard to follow.
The domestic camel count peaked at 22,-
000 by 1922, b u t as the autom obile took
over, many camels were turned loose. Free
Brumbies run wild on the
edge of the Simpson
A camel train hauling wool, 1929
to roam and reproduce, rep o rted ly m ore
than 200,000 now call the A ustralian deserts
home, and some people estim ate th at the
population will double within six years.
N ot all these camels are left to run wild
though. A spokesm an for the Central Aus
tralian Camel Association told Aus
tralia has the only disease-free camel herds
in the world, and so each year a small num
ber are exported to zoos and parks in the
United States and Asia. Local tour opera
tors also offer visitors a chance to m ount a
camels back and rediscover Australias wild
interioran interior shared by other liberat
ed beasts of burden.
W h a t Is a B rum by?
T h e first fleet o f En-
glish sh ip s u n lo ad ed
its burden of prisoners, j j | ^ | | i 9
Desert

A brumby roundupoutback style
Fitting a radio transmitter to a Judas donkey
soldiers, and horses on Australian shores in
1788. The history of the horse in this coun
try, like that of its hum an com panions, is
both romantic and tragic.
Vital in the quest to tam e the new fron
tier, horses carried early pioneers to the
four corners o f the continent. Strays and
runaways soon established feral, or wild,
herds, and these horses becam e known as
brumbies. The word brum by may have
com e from th e Q u een slan d A b o rig in a l
word baroomby, meaning wild.
The wild, free spirit of the brum by fired
the imagination of poets like A. B. (Banjo)
Paterson, and his ballad The M an From
Snowy River secured the brum bys place
in the h e a rts o f m any A u stra lia n s. T h e
b ru m b y s ran k s gained in n u m b er a fter
World War 1 when demand for the Walera
horse bred specifically for the A ustralian
Light Horse Brigade and used by the Indi
an arm ydeclined and the m ounts were set
free. Now an estim ated 300,000 feral horses
roam the continent.
As they roam , their hooves pound the
fragile topsoil like a blacksm iths ham m er
and tear at the banks o f w atering holes.
When drought strikes, they starve or die of
thirst. In a land already straining under the
weight o f its cattle herds, these brum bies
have become an intolerable burden. Thus,
thousands are culled each year. Some are
processed for hum an consum ption; others,
sold as pet food.
For sheer weight of num bers, though, it is
the brum bys cousin, the donkey, that has
truly run wild. M ore prolific than the fe
ral horse and distributed over a wider area
than the camel, it has become a victim o f its
own success.
The Judas Solution
Like the horse, donkeys were first imported
in the late 1700s to pull loads or plow fields,
and they quickly made themselves at home.
They were released into the wild en masse
during the 1920s, and their population densi
ties reached 30 times that of natural herds of
wild asses.
Designed for desert life, donkeys, like the
camel, inhibit perspiration when dehydrat
ed and survive water loss equal to 30 per
cent of their body weight. (A loss of 12 to
15 percent would kill many other mammals.)
They prefer to dine on lush pasture but are
able to thrive on coarse plants that cattle will
not touch. By the 1970s, more than 750,000
donkeys swept across half the continent. This
swelling tide became a threat to the ecolo
gy and the cattle industry; action had to be
taken.
Systematically culled from 1978 to 1993,
over 500,000 donkeys w ere destroyed in
northwestern Australia alone. Currently 300
donkeys are fitted
w ith radio tra n s
m itters in what is
called the Judas pro
gram. Released to
jo in th e ir herd,
these donkeys are
tracked by heli
c o p te r, and th eir
co m p an io n s are hu
Awake! April 8, 2001
manely culled. As the Judas donkey befriends
another group, these too are located and
liquidated.
This is a long-term problem, an agricul
tural protection officer in W estern A ustra
lia told Awake!If small seed populations are
left, then within a very short time, donkey
numbers will be back to where they were in
the 1970s, he warned. People often dont
understand why these animals are culled and
left where they fall. But people dont realize
just how inaccessible these areas are. There
are no roads out here, and most of the area
can be reached only by helicopter. It is hu
man intervention that caused the problem, so
we have to try to limit the damage as humane
ly as possible.
Tough and Prolific
You could now be forgiven for imagining
that the center of Australia is a giant traf
fic jam of unwanted pack animals. But Aus
tralias backyard is very large. These animals
roam over an area the size of Europe and
nearly as remote as the m oonwith terrain
that is similar to both places. Just tracking
the herds is a challenge, let alone controlling
them.
Unlike many endangered native species,
these tough and prolific animals are carving
out a perm anent niche in the landscape. Free
from natural predators and isolated from dis
ease, they run wild in outback Australia!
Religion in Russia
W hat Is Its Future?
Why Should I Get to Know
My Grandparents?
Though Deaf and Blind,
I Found Security
19
 EPORTEDLY, inventor Elias Howes
R idea for the design of the sewing ma
chine was based on a dream . The com pos
er M ozart said th a t m any o f the them es
for his music cam e to him in dreams. The
chem ist Friedrich August Kekule von Stra-
d o n itz likew ise claim ed to have d iscov
ered the shape o f the benzene m olecule
in a dream . Such occurrences are hardly
unique. T hroughout history m any cultures
have attributed dream s to the supernatural.
Some believe that the dream ing and waking
worlds are equally real.
T he Bible contains several accounts in
which dream s are described as an im por
tant source o f inform ationa form of di
vine c o m m u n ic a tio n . (Ju d g es 7:13, 14;
1 Kings 3:5) For example, G od com m uni
cated with Abraham , Jacob, and Joseph in
dreams. (Genesis 28:10-19; 31:10-13; 37:5-11)
Babylonian King N ebuchadnezzar received
prophetic dream s from God. (Daniel 2:1,28-
45) So might there be good reason to be
20 Awake! April 8, 2001
lieve that even today some dream s are m es
sages from God?
Dreams From God
In the Bible, God-inspired dream s were
always induced for a specific reason. True,
at tim es the dream er could not im m ediate
ly understand the meaning o f the dream . In
many cases, however, the Revealer of se
c re ts h im se lf provided the e x p la n a tio n
so that there would be no doubt as to the
m eaning o f the dream . (D an iel 2:28, 29;
Amos 3:7) D ream s from G od did not have
the vague illogic th at often characterizes
normal dreams.
At tim es, dream s were used by G od to
p ro te c t key in d iv id u als in th e o u tw o rk
ing of his purpose. The recipients o f such
dream s were not necessarily servants o f
God. For example, the astrologers who visit
ed the young child Jesus did not return to
see m urderous H erod as he had requested.
Why? They received a warning in a dream .
 (M atthew 2:7-12) This gave Jesus adoptive
father, Joseph, enough tim e to flee to Egypt
with his family, in response to the direction
that he too had received in a dream . This
saved the life o f young Jesus. M atthew 2:
13-15.
C enturies earlier, an Egyptian pharaoh
had dream s o f seven healthy ears of grain
and seven fat-fleshed cows contrasted with
seven sickly ears of grain and seven emaci
ated cows. Joseph, with divine help, inter
preted the dream s correctly: Egypt would
enjoy seven years o f abundance followed by
seven years o f famine. Knowing this in ad
vance allowed the Egyptians to prepare and
stockpile food. This proved instrum ental in
preserving the descendants o f Abraham and
in bringing them to Egypt.Genesis, chap
ter 41; 45:5-8.
King N ebuchadnezzar o f Babylon like
wise had a dream . It foretold the rise and
fall of the future world powers that would
have a direct im pact on G o d s people. (D an
iel 2:31-43) Later, he had another dream that
predicted his personal fall into madness and
subsequent recovery. This prophetic dream
had a larger fulfillm ent, p in p o in tin g the
establishm ent o f the M essianic Kingdom,
through which G od would accom plish his
will. Daniel 4:10-37.
W h a t A b o u t Today?
Yes, G o d did c o m m u n icate w ith som e
people through dream s. But the Bible indi
cates th at this was quite rare. D ream s were
never the p rin c ip al form o f divine co m
m unication. There were m any faithful ser
vants o f G od who never received messages
from G od in dream s. G o d s use of dream s to
com m unicate with m an can be com pared
to His partin g o f the Red Sea. We know
th at he did it once, bu t th a t is certainly
not his usual way of dealing with his peo
ple.Exodus 14:21.
Awake! April 8, 2001
The apostle Paul acknowledged th at in
his day G ods spirit was operating on his
servants in m any extraordinary ways. Paul
said: To one there is given through the spir
it speech of wisdom, to another speech of
knowledge according to the same spirit, to
another faith by the same spirit, to another
gifts of healings by th at one spirit, to yet an
other operations of pow erful works, to an
other prophesying, to another discernm ent
o f inspired utterances, to another different
tongues, and to a n o th er in terp retatio n of
tongues. (1 C orinthians 12:8-10) A lthough
divinely inspired dream s are not specifically
m entioned, a num ber o f C hristians evident
ly received divinely inspired dream s as one
of the gifts of the spirit in fulfillm ent o f Joel
2:28.Acts 16:9,10.
However, the apostle said regarding these
special gifts: W hether th ere are gifts o f
prophesying, they will be done away with;
whether there are tongues, they will cease;
w hether there is knowledge, it will be done
away w ith. (1 C orinthians 13:8) Evident
ly included among the gifts th at would be
done away w ith were the various forms
o f divine com m unication. A fter the death
of the apostles, G od ceased to im part these
special gifts to his servants.
Today experts are still trying to under
stand the process o f dream ing and w hether
it has a practical function. The Bible sheds
no light on such issues. However, to those
who insist on seeking divine com m unica
tions in their dream s, the Bible does pro
vide a warning. At Zechariah 10:2, it states:
The p racticers o f d ivination, . . . value
less dream s are w hat they keep speaking.
G od also warns against looking for omens.
(D euteronom y 18:10-12) In light o f these
warnings, C h ristians today do not expect
to receive divine guidance in their dream s.
Rather, they view dream s simply as som e
thing experienced during sleep.
21
 Glorifying PEACE
Instead of War
As t o l d by D o r o t h y H o r l e

In 1919, I was born into an Italian Catholic family in Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A
My parents never attended church services, but they did send my two sisters and me.
I was impressed by imposing churches with their splendid architecture, statues, and pomp.

S TH E years went by, I lost interest in Ca- took up the hobby of creating military m inia

A l tholicism. The church put no emphasis tures out of lead. Toy soldiers? By no means!
on the Bible, which my father revered andHe desired to produce genuine works of art.
read regularly. I was troubled by church bulOther craftsmen worked in plastic, wood, or
letins naming donors and the amounts that plaster, but lead fit in nicely with Bills train
they contributed. There were also many ru ing as a machinist.
mors about wayward priests. By age 15,1 was He would design a figure, construct a mold,
no longer a practicing Catholic. This gave me and then cast the figure in lead. In tim e,
more time to pursue training in art. he became quite skillful in assembling cast
A Career in Art parts, soldering, filing, and polishing. He
In 1940, when I was 21 years old, I married later shifted from plaster-of-Paris molds to
William Horle, a young man who enjoyed molds made of dental compound. That al
draw ing anything related to the m ilitary lowed him to work in finer detail.
airplanes, soldiers, guns, ships. Bill was After each solid metal piece was finished,
pleased that I was an artist, and he bought it was my job to complete it. Through ex
me my first set of oil paints. 1 began to learn haustive research, we found descriptions of
the techniques of the old masters. old military uniformsdown to the buttons,
A fter about two years of m arriage, Bill braiding, rank badges, and colors.
With the help of magnification, I would ap
With General L. C. Shepherd, Jr., in 1954
Defense Dept, photo (Marine Corps) ply oils and paints form ulated to adhere to
metal. This helped bring our figurines to life.
Out of our small cellar in Philadelphia, Penn
sylvania, we created American Indians, Civil
War soldiers, U.S. Marines, Napoleonic hors
es and riders, Egyptian Mamluks, Algerian
Zouaves, and others.
Then Bill received an invitation from the
U.S. Marine C orps to create a representa
tion of the first horse-mounted marine de
tachm ent in Peking (now Beijing), China,
prior to 1939. We worked unceasingly on it,
and in 1954 we presented it to the Smith-
sonian Institution in Washington, D.C. Some
years later, President Lyndon Johnson asked
if it could be moved to the W hite House. Of
course, we consented.
We never sold our figurines, but Bill gave
away hundreds. We were favorably m en
tioned in many books on model soldiers. O ur
work was displayed at the W orlds Fair in
1965 at Flushing Meadow, in Queens, New
York. Museums asked for our models. Bruce
Catton, a U.S. Civil War historian, used sev
eral of our dioramas and figurines to illus
trate his books.
Questions About Life Grew
About the time I turned 40, though, things
began to change for me. I began to wonder
about God. On a Christm as Day, five C atho
lic children burned to death in a house fire
while their parents were in church. I pon
dered, How could God allow that to happen
on his birthday? I saw a book that recounted
the a tro c itie s o f the Jew ish H olocaust.
These and other terrible events in the world
prompted me to ask, W here is God?
He isnt doing what he is supposed
to do!
From my fathers early ex
ample, I felt that the an
swer must be in the Bi
ble. So I w ent to the
Catholic rectory near
our home in Philadel
phia and made an ap
pointm ent with a priest
to discuss the Bible.
I waited and waited, but he did not appear.
Every week for four weeks, I made that trip to
the rectory but never had one discussion with
the priest.
One evening, in sad desperation, I looked
up to the heavens and prayed: I dont know
who you are. I dont know which religion
youre associated with, but I know youre
there. Please let me know you! A short time
later, Jehovahs W itnesses came to my door.
O ccasionally, I had seen the W itnesses
parking their cars, climbing out, and going
to different doors. Although I knew nothing
about them or why they called, I had been in
trigued by their mission.
T h a t day in 1961 w hen the W itnesses
called, I was depressed because I w asnt
getting anywhere in my search for God. As
I scrubbed the front door o f my house, a
middle-aged woman by the name of Marge
Brion climbed the porch steps and greeted
me. 1 never turned around to acknowledge
her presence. But as she spoke about the
earth being transform ed into a beautiful
paradise, I hung on every word. Finally she
asked, Are you listening to me?
I repeated everything she had said, includ
ing the Bible verse she quoted from Isaiah 55:
11. Then I turned around, grabbed her by the
(Actual size)
arm, and said, Come on in! She gave me new world! (Isaiah 25:8; Revelation 21:4, 5)
my first Bible and the Bible study aid He thought th a t I was crazy. W hen I ex
Paradise Lost to Paradise Regained. She also plained why I could no longer in good con
offered me a regular Bible discussionthe science paint military figurines, he becam e
very kind of study I had hoped that the C ath angry and th re a te n e d to leave me. L ater
olic Church would give me. he did.
With two sessions a week, I made rapid Bill produced military figurines by him self
progress in my study of the Bible. In a short for many years. But he didnt move far away,
time, it was clear that I had found the truth. and he was always supportive of me and our
Learning the name of God, Jehovah, was a son, Craig, who had been born in 1942. In
very emotional experience for me. (Psalm 83: 1988, Bill returned, and we rem ained togeth
18) Imaginethis was the God I had longed er for ten years until his death.
to know from childhood! I also learned that In the m eantim e, in 1966, I realized my
his Son, Jesus Christ, is not a mystical part of goal of becoming a pioneer. Since then, I
a triune godhead. (John 14:28) Before long, have never looked back. I had the privilege of
I was attending Christian meetings of Jeho studying the Bible with my older sister. She
vahs Witnesses and longing to be a full-time accepted its teachings, and she remains an ac
proclaim er of the Bibles message. tive Witness to this day. My father listened to
the Bibles message and within two weeks be
M a k in g Im p o rta n t C h o ice s gan attending meetings at the Kingdom Hall.
Now my biggest test was before me. Would At 75 years of age, he was baptized, and he
I break up the artistic team of William and continued faithful to God until his death at
Dorothy Horle? How could I serve the God 81. My m other also accepted Jehovah as her
of peace and his Son, the Prince of Peace, God, although she died before making her
while glorifying war in art? (Isaiah 9:6) Did dedication. She was nearly 94.
not Jehovah prom ise th at he would make Over the years, I have been greatly blessed
wars to cease to the extremity of the earth? by Jehovah, the G od of peace. Now at 8 1 ,1
(Psalm 46:9) So why perpetuate something am still a pioneer, although I have trouble
th a t G od would end? And did not Isaiah getting around. I feel as did the apostle Paul,
prophesy th a t G o d s people would beat who wrote: I am grateful to Christ Jesus our
their swords into plowshares and learn war Lord, who im parted power to me, because
no more? (Isaiah 2:4) 1 thought and prayed he considered me faithful by assigning me to
long and hard. I cant paint them anymore! a ministry. (1 Timothy 1:12) W hat a glori
was my decision. On April 25, ous ministry it has been! Dozens with whom
1964, I symbolized my ded I studied the Bible have made sacrifices of
ication to Jehovah God by their own to serve our merciful God.
water baptism. I am truly sorry that my whole family has
Bill had often said how not responded to Bible truth. Maybe in time
sorry he was that one day more will. But in my case Jesus words have
we would have to part proved true that his disciples would get a
in death. When I be hundredfold now in this period of time, hous
gan to study the Bi es and brothers and sisters and mothers and
ble, I would tell him: children. (M ark 10:30) Indeed, Jehovah has
Bill, we can live made me rich. W hat an honor and a joy to
forever in G o d s trade fame and war for G od and peace!
A CLOSER LO O K AT
U D
YUUK 1 IrA I l\ IAI
C6TN EV ERY age and c u ltu re ,
_L n o te s one re fe re n c e w ork,
h air expresses som e p a rt o f the
person beneath it. Small wonder,
then, th at m ost people are keen
ly interested in keeping their hair
healthy and attractive.
Awake! asked fo u r experienced
h airsty lists som e com m on ques
tions about the com position and
care o f the hair. As it tu rn s out,
th e re is m ore to y o u r h a ir th a n
meets the eye.
H air G row th and H air Loss
Q: What is hair made of?
A: H air contains keratin, a fibrous
protein. Each hair grows out of an
indentation in the scalp called a
follicle. At the bottom o f each folli
cle is the papilla, which contains a
rich blood supply. The papilla pro
duces hair cells th a t progress up
the follicle and harden into hair.
Q: It is widely believed that hair grows
faster when cut. Is this true?
A: No. Some people imagine that
h a ir is fed by th e bod y in th e
same way the lim bs o f a tree are
nourished by the trunk. But once
hair grows o u t o f the scalp, it is
a dead su b stan ce. T rim m ing th e
hair, therefore, does not affect its
growth.
Q: Why doeshair turn gray?
A: The inner layer of the hair contains a pig
m ent th at gives hair its color. As the pig
m ent cells die, the hair turns gray; its part
o f the aging process. P re m a tu re graying
m ight be caused by genetics or illness. It is a
myth, however, th at hair will turn gray over
night. Pigment is deposited below the scalp.
So tim e is required for the gray hair to grow
(about one half inch a m onth) and appear
on the surface of the head.
Q: What are the reasons for hair loss?
A: Hair loss is part of the natural cycle of
hair. On average, everyone sheds an estim at
ed 50 to 80 hairs daily. But male pattern
baldness has a hereditary basis and seems to
be caused by a horm onal imbalance, result
ing in perm anent hair loss. Abnorm al loss
of hair is called alopecia.*
* For more information, see the article AlopeciaLiving
in Silence With Hair Loss, in the April 22, 1991, issue o f
Awake!
Q: Some say that hair is a mirror o f a persons S ty lin g Your H air
health. Have you observed this? Q: What should a person keep in mind when
A: Yes. Below the scalp, blood feeds the visiting a hairstylist?
hair. So healthy h a ir may reflect a well- A: If you w ant to change your hairstyle,
nourished blood supply. However, a person bring a picture o f the style you want and
who eats poorly or overindulges in alcohol perhaps of the style you dont want. Frank
ic beverages may find that his hair becomes ly express your wishes and the am ount o f
limp and weak, since his blood supply can time you are willing to put into hair care
not properly nourish his hair. Hair loss or each day, since som e h a irsty le s re q u ire
weak hair can even be an early sign of ill more attention than others. Keep in m ind
ness or pregnancy. th a t it usually tak es tw o o r th re e v isits
K eep in g Your S ca lp and H air H ea lth y for a hairstylist to get to know your hair
Q: Describe how to shampoo the hair and scalp. and to establish good com m unication with
A: Experience has shown that the m ajority you. So dont give up on your stylist too
of people with dry scalp problems sham poo quickly!
their scalp too often. O f course, the oil in W h a t Your H air R eveals
your hair attracts dirt and skin debris and Hair care and styling are form s of self-
can plug the oil ducts leading to the folli expression. H air has been cut, extended,
cles. So regular sham pooing is necessary. straightened, curled, colored, and various
But these natural oils also protect your skin ly styled to m eet fashion trends, religious
against harm ful bacteria and seal in needed beliefs, and even social and political agen
moisture. By sham pooing too often, you are das. Take a closer look at your hair. W hat
robbing your scalp o f this protective layer does it reveal about you? H ealthy hair that
and creating problems like dry scalp. M ost is tastefully styled adorns its w earer and is
experts recom m end sham pooing whenever adm ired by others.
ones scalp or hair is soiled. People with oily
hair should sham poo m ore often than those
CROSSWORD SOLUTIONS
with norm al or dry hair.
When sham pooing, massage your scalp.
T h is rid s th e sc a lp o f dead cells and
promotes proper circulation o f the blood,
which feeds your hair. Rem em ber to rinse
thoroughly! If you didnt rinse your hands
after washing them w ith soap, your skin
would dry and crack. Similarly, if sham poo
is not properly rinsed off, the scalp can be
come dry and flaky.
Q: How can a dry scalp be treated?
A: Drink lots of water, and eat nutritious
meals. This hydrates your skin and nourish
es the blood supply. Use a mild sham poo,
and m assage your scalp regularly. Som e
people also use leave-in conditioners and lo
tions to m oisturize the scalp.
Awake! April 8, 2001 27
 WATCHING THE WORL
New Alexandrian Library missing limb, or feel sensation sure, employees with halitosis
Lacks Books in the absent limb if someone can gargle with a weak hydro
The great library of Alexan touches their face, reports the gen peroxide and water solu
dria, famous for containing magazine New Scientist. When tion.
the whole of human knowl part of the cortex no longer re
ceives sensory inputbecause Increasing Despair
edge in the time of C h rist,. . .
was ravaged by fire in 47 B.C. of amputation or a spinal cord According to a report by the
and finally disappeared in the injuryadjacent nerves en World Health Organization
7th century A.D., notes The croach on the defunct region, (WHO) on 105 countries, the
Wall Street Journal. With help essentially taking it over, the average suicide rate in those
from other Arab states and magazine explains. It adds: areas increased by 60 percent
This often results in people between 1950 and 1995, re
from the United Nations Ed
perceiving a missing limb, or ports the French newspaper
ucational, Scientific, and Cul suffering constant pain.
tural Organization, Egypt has Le Monde. Dr. Jose-Maria Ber-
created a new library in Alex Bad Breath and Job Prospects tolote, coordinator of WHOs
andria that it hopes will out mental-health department, es
shine the old one. The first timated that one million peo
four floors are below ground. ple would commit suicide in
Surrounded by a reflecting 2000 and that another 10 to
water-pool, the library has 17 20 million would attempt sui
elevators, self-cleaning win cide. The true figures, how
dows and a safety system so ad ever, could be m uch high
vanced it can extinguish fires er. According to the report,
without leaving so much as a more people die every year
drop of water on a rare text. from suicide than from all the
It is no exaggeration to say worlds armed conflicts com
However, continues the Jour
that [bad breath] harms many bined. Among those between
nal, the library is short on one
careers, states dentist Ana 15 and 35 years of age, suicide
crucial element. Books. The Cristina Kolbe in the Brazilian
newspaper adds that after mil has become one of the three
business magazine Exame. In
lions were spent during long principal causes of death,
extreme cases, adds executive
years of construction, the headhunter (recruiter) Lean says Dr. Bertolote.
new librarys budget for actu dro Cerdeira, people lose one
ally acquiring books is so puny South Africas Rape Victims
job after another without ever
that the librarys chief, . . .understanding what the real Each year, 1 million rapes
Mohsen Zahran, must grovel problem is. In a study car are committed in South Afri
for books whose main virtue is ried out in two large Brazil ca, states World Press Review.
that they are free. A chief li
ian cities, 40 percent of people This means that a rape is com
brarian is not being sought besurveyed suffered from hali mitted about every 30 seconds.
cause we cant afford the per
tosis, or bad breath. Among The article notes that South
sons salary, says Mr. Zahran.
the most common causes were Africa has the worlds high
The new library has space for stress and a fiber-deficient est number of rapes that end
eight million volumes. diet. To alleviate symptoms, with m urder. The num ber
Phantom Pain
Dr. Kolbe recommends that is 12 times higher than that
sufferers take a few days va for the United States, which
People who have lost a limb cation and increase their con is next on the list, although
often experience chronic pain sumption of vegetables. As South Africa has a population
seemingly coming from the an emergency short-term mea of only 40 million. The article

28 Awake! April 8, 2001

adds: In other countries, peo
ple may rape you, rob you, or
kill you. But in South Afri
ca people will rape you before
they kill you, almost just be
cause you happen to be there.
Rape occurs almost automati
cally in connection with other
criminal acts. Also, rape has
become a part of the initiation
rites for new gang members,
who then go on to kill their
victims. Among the contribut
ing factors cited in the arti
cle are the high level of child
abuse and the prevailing idea
that life is cheap. Additional
ly, a 1998 Johannesburg sur
vey revealed that young men
believed that women in fact
enjoyed being raped but were
hiding it, and that if you take a
girl out, you have a right to de
mand sex, the article states.
Bloodless Surgery
in South Africa
Alarmingly high Aids sta
tistics have led one of South
Africas m ajor private hos
pital groups to opt for a switch
to 'bloodless medicine and
surgery, reports the South
African newspaper The Mer
cury. Our aim, said Dr. Ef-
raim Kramer, the medical di
rector of the program, is to
encourage the medical fra
ternity to provide m edical
and surgical care to patients
without using donor blood.
Although at least 800 doc
tors in South Africa individu
ally offer bloodless medicine
and surgery, this is the first
time that a hospital group has
decided to implem ent such
a nationally coordinated pro
gram. Dr. Kramer said that
the response of doctors was
overw he/m ingly positive.
The Mercury observes: Large
ly through demands from re
ligious groupings such as the
Jehovahs Witnesses, who re
fuse to be treated with donat
ed blood, effective methods of
bloodless treatment have been
developed.
Natural Vitamin-C Capsules
The azarole, also known
as the jungle cherry, m ea
sures only about three quar
ters of an inch in diameter.
Yet, this bittersweet fruit has
50 times more vitamin C than
an orange and 100 times more
than a lemon. Studies at the
San Martin State University
of Tarapoto, Peru, show that
100 grams of pulp from the
most acid lemon has 44 milli
grams of ascorbic acid, while
the same amount of azarole
has 4,600 milligrams. Just four
of these natural fruit cap
sules provide the daily re
quirement of vitamin C for an
adult. According to the news
paper El Comercio, efforts are
being made to see if azarole,
an easily perishable fruit,
can be grown commercially as
a substitute crop for coca.
Harmful Advice
The media and pop psy
chologists promote the idea
that venting [anger] is useful,
notes the magazine Psychology
Today. But this advice is more
harmful than helpful. Accord
Awake! April 8, 2001
ing to Iowa State University
psychologist Brad Bushman,
expressing anger actually in
creases aggression. Test sub
jects who let it out by hit
ting a punching bag showed
twice as much aggression and
cruelty as those who did not.
Even subjects who read an ar
ticle on the benefits of cathar
sis before punching the bag
were much more likely to want
to box than others, the arti
cle says. Instead of trying to
simmer down, says Bushman,
just turn off the heat altogeth
er. Count to 10or 100, if need
beand the anger will pass.
Biggest Ozone Hole Ever
During Septem ber 2000,
NASAs ozone monitoring sat
ellite registered the biggest
hole in the ozone layer ever ob
served over the Antarctic. So
reports the newspaper Clarin
of Buenos Aires, Argentina.
The hole appeared above an
area of about 10.9 m illion
square miles, exceeding the
previous record by more
than 300,000 square miles. The
enormous size of the hole sur
prised scientists. Dr. Michael
Kurylo of NASA said that
these observations reinforce
concern about the fragility of
the terrestrial ozone layer.
Physicist Ruben Piacentini of
Argentinas National Commit
tee for Space Activities com
mented that although the hole
is presently situated above
unpopulated Antarctica, it
could end up passing over the
southern area of [Argentina].
Clarin notes that ozone acts as
a protective shield by diminish
ing the destructive potential of
the suns ultraviolet radiation.
29
 F R O M OUR
Chemical Sensitivity I am 17 years old,
and I would like to thank you for the series
Everyday ChemicalsAre They Making
You Sick? (August 8, 2000) I recently re
ceived a diagnosis of multiple chemical sen
sitivity (MCS), and it was a great relief to
know that I am not the only one to suffer
such humiliating symptoms.
S.C., Italy
The articles you previously published on
the subject Is Pollution Making You Sick?
(June 8, 1983) had lifesaving inform ation.
This terrible illness excludes us from the vi
tal company of our spiritual family and from
social activity. Yet, it is a disease that hard
ly arouses any understanding or compassion.
Your latest articles describe what sufferers
really feel.
M. J., France
I was sick for over a year before 1 found a
doctor who could help me. During this time,
my friends were kind and nonjudgmental, but
I could tell that they really did not under
stand. So I thank you for these articles. It is
wonderful to be part of an organization that
is enlightened on so many matters.
S. B., United States
I suffer from MCS and have never read such
a thorough, well-balanced coverage of the
condition and its consequences. I enjoyed the
prescription of love and laughter as an aid in
coping. Also practical were the reminders to
be reasonable in my expectations of others.
D. G., United States
As one o f Je h o v ah s W itnesses, I have
served as a traveling minister for ten years
and have met quite a num ber who were suf
fering from MCS. It is very evident that this
malady is real and is not a figment of their
imagination. As usual, Awake! has not only
described the malady but also given practical
30 Awake! April 8, 2001
R E A D E R S
suggestions on how kindness, love, and com
passion can be displayed toward sufferers.
T. M., United States
Body Decoration 1 am writing in response
to your article The Bibles Viewpoint: Body
DecorationThe Need for Reasonableness.
(August 8, 2000) Tasteful body decoration is
beautifula true work of art. Society may
judge me and classify me by my looks, but 1
know that in G ods eyes I am loved. I hope
and pray that others will not dwell on my
tattoos but look at what I am inside.
K. M., United States
The article acknowledged that whether a per
son decides to indulge in body decoration or not
is a personal decision. Nevertheless, one way a
person gives evidence o f being beautiful inside is
by adorning himself with modesty and sound
ness o f mind. (7 Timothy The Bible also
makes it clear that a Christian is under obliga
tion to take into account not only his own con
science but that o f the other person. ( Corin
thians 10:29
) ED.
Language Thank you for the article Lan
guages Bridges and Walls to Com m unica
tion. (August 8, 2000) Languages have al
ways fascinated me, and I have already
learned five European tongues. I am now
learning Sinhala. W hat excites me, though,
is that learning a language makes it possible
to build a bridge to other cultures and im
part the pure language of Bible teaching!
Zephaniah 3:9.
C. B., Italy
Grief Thank you for the article Should
G rief Be Expressed? (August 8, 2000) The
subject is close to our hearts because we
lost a son three years ago. Even though we
still shed tears and grieve, articles like this
give us the strength to go on.
J. A. and L. A., United States
 Making Barren Land
FRU I T F U L
BY AW AKE! WRITER IN INDIA
How can barren land areas of Ladakh, a north
Mountain High Maps Copyright 1997 Digital Wisdom, Inc.
ern district of India, be made more productive?
That was the question that occupied the mind
of Tsewang Norphel, a retired civil engineer.
The runoff from natural glaciers located high in
the Himalaya Mountains begins in the month of
June, not in April when rain is scanty and the
farmers need water to irrigate their fields. Nor
phel came up with a clever answer: Build artifi
cial glaciers at lower elevations, where the melt
ing of the ice would begin earlier in the year.
According to the Indian newsmagazine The
Week , Norphel and his team set out to divert a
mountain stream into a 700-foot-long man-made
channel with 70 outlets. From these the water
would flow at a slow and controlled rate down
the mountain slope and freeze before reaching
the retaining walls built on the lower part of the
slope. The ice would gradually build up, eventu
ally covering the walls. Being in the shadow of
the mountain, the glacier would
melt only when the
Arvind Jain, The Week Magazine
temperature rises in April, supplying the water so
very badly needed for irrigation at that time.
Did the idea of building an artificial glacier
succeed? In fact, Norphels idea proved to be
so practical that ten such glaciers have already
been developed in Ladakh, and plans for more
are under way. One such glacier, built at an ele
vation of 4,500 feet, yields some nine million gal
lons of water. And its cost? Creating an artifi
cial glacier takes approximately two months and
costs Rs 80,000 [$1,860], most of it being la
bour costs," says The Week.
Mans ingenuity, when properly directed, can
certainly prove to be beneficial. Just think what
mankind will be able to accomplish under the
direction of Gods heavenly Kingdom! The Bible
promises: The wilderness and the waterless re
gion will exult, and the desert plain will be joyful
and blossom as the saffron___In the wilderness
waters will have burst out, and torrents in the
desert plain." (Isaiah 35:1, 6) What a delight it
will be to have a share in the beautification of
our earth!
 In the country of Thailand, a young man said that he had
prayed, asking: If you really exist, God, help me to learn
your ways. Later, the man explained:

One of Jehovahs Witnesses called at my home, but I was

not there. He left a tract and an invitation with a map show
ing the location of the meeting place. The man followed the
directions provided. He said: The hall was so clean and un
pretentious, and the people were very warm and friendly.

Another point that struck me was that everyone had his

or her own copy of the Bible and opened it to follow along
with the speaker. This is exactly how I felt one should study
the Bible to get to the heart of true religious teachings.
A further wonder to me was the way young ones could fol
low along in the study and give answers too. I had never
seen this before."

Is There a
Creator Pillars of Creation on cover of book:
Who Cares About You?
J. Hester and P. Scowen (AZ State Univ.), NASA