Basic HTML Version
NEWS
ÜVERVIEW
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Understandi____
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World Events and Trends
Nonnally, the 12
mUe
thlck
ozone layar around
the
earth absorba nearty
all the ultravlolet
tadiation
from the aun.
(Upper limita
of earth's atmoaphere)
.-g~~~~NTRA
ION
NewWorries
OverOzone
T
he National Aeronautics
and Space
Administration (NASA) is
alarmed. Scientists, in a
recent discovery, found a
Africa's
LongestWar
N
ow into its 25th year,
the bloody war in
Ethiopia's northern province
of Eritrea appears to be no
closer to a conclusion than
when it began.
The protracted conflict
pits Eritrean nationalists,
fighting to regain their
independence, against
Soviet-equipped troops of
the Ethiopian government.
The predominantly Muslim
Eritreans maintain they are
ethnically and religiously
different from the Christian
southerners who comprise
most of Ethiopia's
population. Also,
independence for Eritrea
November / December 1888
"hole" over Antarctica in
which ozone is severely
depleted by man-made
gases, particularly
chlorofluorocarbons.
The ozone layer of the
upper atmosphere protects
the earth from the sun's
damaging ultraviolet rays.
would mean the loss to
Ethiopia of a strategic
600-mile coastline along the
Red Sea, a prospect the
central government in Addis
Ababa is determined to
avoid at all costs.
Formerly an ltal ian colony,
Eritrea carne under British
administration in 194 1. In
1948 the tate of Eritrea was
referred to the United
Nations, which voted in
1950 for federation of
Eritrea and Ethiopia. The
terms of the federation gave
Eritrea considerable local
autonomy.
In November 1962,
however, the late Emperor
Haile Selassie announced
the end of federation and
absorbed Eritrea as
Ethiopia's 14th province,
Scientists predict the
increased ultraviolet
radiation will result in a
significan! rise of skin
cancer and other ecological
damage.
The man-made gases are
<E
found in aerosol propellants.
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refrigeran! gas, industrial
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solvents and occur in the
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making of plastic foam.
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While many aerosol uses
~
of chlorofluorocarbons have
~
been banned in the United
States. their use in other
applications is increasing,
and they continue to be
used as aerosols in other
countries. In 1984, more
!han 1,000,000,000 pounds
of chlorofluorocarbons-the
largest since 1977-were
emitted worldwide. •
asserting full control over
the region in spite of the
autonomy provisions of the
1950 U.N. resolution. The
United Nations stood
helplessly by-and the
fighting began.
Determined to maintain full
control over Eritrea,
Ethiopia's Marxist
government has incurred a
staggering military
indebtedness to the Soviet
Union, its main ally and arms
supplier.
In an attempt to
depopulate the troublesome
Eritrean region, the
government launched a
torced resettlement
program in 1984 to
relocate more than a million
Eritrean peasants to the
nation's central and
South
American
Drought
A
large area of southern
Brazil and Paraguay and
northeastern Argentina has
experienced the ravages of
a severe, prolonged drought
since June 1985.
At its worst point in
January 1986, local media
began calling the drought
the worst in more than 100
years. Groundwater has
become precious.
Sorne measure of relief
carne in February and July
with light rains, but the
overall picture remains
bleak. •
southern regions.
The expressed objective
was to move the peasants
from famine-prone and
" overpopulated" Eritrea into
more agriculturally
productive areas. Many
thousands have died in
resettlement camps en route
to their new homes. •
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