SUNDAY, JUNE 4, 2006
Monday Edition: When Children Drown
Last fall,
Aquatics International magazine examined
why so many children who are members of racial or ethnic minority
groups drown, when compared to the number of white children who die in
drowning accidents:
Minorities make up a disproportionate number of drownings in the United States
every year. In 2002, the most recent year for which statistics are
available, nearly 650 children between the ages of 5 and 19 drowned.
More than 40 percent of the victims were minorities.
The problem is even
worse among black children between the ages of 5 and 19, who are 2.6
times more likely to drown than whites.
Such high rates among minorities, who make up less than a quarter of the U.S.
population, signal a systemic problem in the aquatics industry. Experts
say minority kids are not learning to swim as often or as well as their
white counterparts. They blame a number of thorny issues surrounding
the problem -- race, class, culture, privilege, poverty -- that make it
difficult for the industry and minority groups to attack the problem
head on.
Meanwhile, few
lifeguards, leaders or role models of color exist in the world of
swimming. Though some aquatics professionals have taken steps to
address the minority drowning problem, experts say the industry has not
done enough. And every year, children such as Luis Gonzalez suffer the
deadly consequences.
No one
contests that drowning rates among minority groups are higher than they
are for whites: The statistics place Native Americans with the highest
rates, and blacks are not far behind.
Still, the number of drowning deaths is not large enough to demand action.
"Not enough people are dying and not enough people are saying it's a
problem," says Gail H. Ito, an assistant professor in the College of
Health, Physical Education and Recreation at Chicago State University.
"This isn't an issue that has claimed a lot of lives; it sounds
terrible, but that's the reality. It hasn't become a public safety
issue at all."
The magazine also includes some other resources:
By the numbers [PDF]
A closer look at U.S.
drowning rates, swimming ability and minority representation in
swimming. For example, a stunning 77 percent of black females questioned said
they do not know how to swim.
Inability to swim closes doors for many minorities [PDF]
While drowning is the biggest risk minority children face, an inability to swim causes additional problems.
The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention's National Center for Injury Prevention and Control has a useful Web page on drowning statistics. So does the International Life Saving Federation.
In 2001, the National Institutes of Health released a study on where children typically drown.
Here are some more resources (this time, from Poynter Online) that you might find helpful, as you delve into this topic:
Organizing to See Gore's Film
It's beginning to look like a political campaign. Moveon.org even has a "pledge" site, which asks readers to pledge to go see Al Gore's new global warming film. Here is an NPR interview with Gore about the film. When asked if he would see the film, President Bush responded, "Doubt it."
To further the political-campaign feel of this movie's release, the Competitive Enterprise Institute, a group that fights regulation of just about everything, released two TV ads last month, challenging the "alarmism" of climate change. (Watch the ads.)
Here is what the Environmental Protection Agency says about global warming:
Like
many fields of scientific study, there are uncertainties associated
with the science of global warming. This does not imply that all things
are equally uncertain. Some aspects of the science are based on
well-known physical laws and documented trends, while other aspects
range from 'near certainty' to 'big unknowns.'
What's Known for Certain?
Scientists
know for certain that human activities are changing the composition of
Earth's atmosphere. Increasing levels of greenhouse gases, like carbon
dioxide (CO2), in the atmosphere since pre-industrial times have been well
documented. There is no doubt this atmospheric buildup of carbon
dioxide and other greenhouse gases is largely the result of human
activities.
It's
well accepted by scientists that greenhouse gases trap heat in the
Earth's atmosphere and tend to warm the planet. By increasing the
levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, human activities are
strengthening Earth's natural greenhouse effect. The key greenhouse
gases emitted by human activities remain in the atmosphere for periods
ranging from decades to centuries.
A
warming trend of about 1°F has been recorded since the late 19th
century. Warming has occurred in both the northern and southern
hemispheres, and over the oceans. Confirmation of 20th-century global
warming is further substantiated by melting glaciers, decreased snow
cover in the northern hemisphere and even warming below ground.
The EPA has an
interesting section that makes some predictions about what is ahead.
You can get down to the state level on these resources. Here's what the section's intro says:
Here you will find clickable maps of the World, United States, and
Natural Places. To use the dynamic version of the maps, you will need
to have Macromedia Flash
Version 6 or higher. If you cannot use Flash, you will be able to
access all the same information with the static maps and text
navigation.
World -- This section contains materials on how specific parts of the world
will be impacted by climate change. Materials can be viewed by:
United States -- This section contains materials on specific impacts to the United States,
- States -- materials organized by the states and territories; and
- EPA Regions -- materials organized by the 10 EPA Regions designated to serve specific states.
Natural Places: This section is organized by specific ecotypes, which could be impacted by climate change.
Student Loan Rates Set to Rise July 1
The good news: There is something students can do right now to save money on their loans.
The bad news: If you wait until July 1, it will cost big bucks.
The St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times reports:
Rates on federal education loans will increase dramatically July 1,
adding thousands of dollars to the cost of college for many student and
parent borrowers.
Lenders said last week that the interest rate on existing variable rate Stafford
and PLUS loans will jump nearly two full percentage points. That
translates to an increase of about 40 percent for students and 30
percent for parents. It's one of the largest rate hikes in the
program's history, affecting millions of borrowers.
The good news is that borrowers who hold those loans -- primarily
students currently enrolled and those who recently graduated or left
school -- can lock in low rates by consolidating their loans before July
1.
The potential for savings is dramatic. A typical recent graduate
with $20,000 in debt can consolidate now at 4.75 percent interest for a
monthly payment of $129. Waiting until July 1 to consolidate at 6.625
percent interest would cost $22 more a month, or an extra $5,123 over
the 20-year life of the loan.
"Time is money and waiting too long
to consolidate your student loans will cost you for many years into the
future," said Keith D'Ambra, senior vice president at Sallie Mae, the
country's largest educational lender.
More coverage here.
Governors Making a Comeback
Stateline.org has a nice piece
about how often former governors try to make political comebacks to
regain their old office. Three of 36 gubernatorial races nationwide
include former governors this year. The piece says:
Since 1977, 16 of 45
former state chief executives who have attempted gubernatorial
comebacks have regained their seats, according to data from University
of North Carolina political scientist Thad Beyle. The group includes
former President Bill Clinton (D), who served as Arkansas governor from
1979 to 1981 and again from 1983 to 1992, and 1988 presidential
candidate Michael Dukakis, who was governor of Massachusetts from 1975
to 1979 and again from 1983 to 1991.
The most recent was Cecil Underwood, who was elected governor of West Virginia in 1996 after a 36-year hiatus.
Two governors since 1970 have moved in and
out of the governor's mansion three times: New Mexico Gov. Bruce King
(D), who served from 1971 to 1975, 1979 to 1983, and 1991 to 1995, and
Louisiana Gov. Edwin Edwards (D), who served from 1972 to 1980, 1984 to
1988 and 1992 to 1996.
Honoring Long-Term Journalism Excellence
I want to tell you about a journalism prize that you may not have heard about, but is worth noting.
The John Chancellor Award
(named after the NBC anchorman) honors a long-term commitment to
excellence in journalism (in any media). I like the long-term nature of
this. It seeks out people who may not be nationally known, but who deserve
recognition -- as in $25K of recognition. Here is the official description of the award:
The award is given to
a journalist whose distinguished body of work is known by his/her peers
to embody the courage, integrity, curiosity and intelligence that
characterize the traditional values of journalism.
Last year, Jerry Mitchell of The Clarion-Ledger in Jackson, Miss., received the award
for "sustained coverage and investigative reporting that led to the
convictions of four Ku Klux Klan members for civil rights crimes
committed in the 1960s."
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Editor's Note: Al's Morning Meeting is a compendium of ideas,
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provided whenever possible. The column is fact-checked, but depends
upon the accuracy and integrity of the original sources cited. Errors
and inaccuracies found will be corrected.
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