♦ The Minister of
Agriculture in South Africa announced that oil made from sunflower seeds has
been tested successfully as diesel fuel for tractors and a truck. It was also
reported that the oil can power any type diesel engine. After extracting the
oil from sunflower seeds, the residue, rich in protein, is said to make fine
cattle feed. However, while alternates to petroleum are being sought, it is
unlikely that ‘sunflower power’ will get very far, considering the huge
quantities that would be needed to produce enough oil for the vast number of motor
vehicles in existence, even if the price could be made competitive.
Fatal TV Influence
♦ It has been well
established that too much television viewing by impressionable young children
can produce many undesirable effects, such as slower mental development, poorer
health due to a lack of exercise, the inability to interact with other
children, irritability and nervousness, and also a tendency to commit more
violent acts. One child even committed suicide due to the cancellation by the
network of his favorite television show. His parents had allowed him to have a
television set in his own room so that, as the Sunday Oregonian related,
his “world was wrapped up in the programs he viewed on his own TV set in his
bedroom.” His father sadly declared regarding too much television viewing: “I
was never sure it did influence kids that bad, but now I’m convinced it does.”
Valium Abuse
♦ Last year about 45
million prescriptions for Valium, a tranquilizing drug, were filled in the
United States alone. However, Dr. Joseph Pursch, who heads a Navy alcohol
rehabilitation service in California, said that this widely used drug was
addictive and represented a major national health problem. While cautioning
that doctors should not prescribe it for everyday stress, he observed: “Classically
today, if a woman walks into her doctor’s office and says, ‘I’m nervous, my
husband drinks too much,’ the doctor will automatically give her a
tranquilizer,” such as Valium or Librium. Dr. Pursch noted that he had seen
people become addicted to the tranquilizer in only six weeks, adding: “None of
these drugs solve our problems. They make people feel better because they make
you feel dull and insensitive. But they don’t solve anything.” Senator Edward
M. Kennedy, chairman of a Senate health committee, said that the message was
clear: “If you require a daily dose of Valium to get you through each day, you
are hooked and should seek help.”
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