YEAR IN REVIEW 1998: CORAL REEFS

Coral Reefs: The Forgotten Rain Forests of the Sea by Clive R. Wilkinson Because they harbour great concentrations of biodiversity, coral reefs have been called the rain forests of the sea. With hundreds of species of corals and fishes frequently found on a single reef, metre for metre these undersea ecosystems may even exceed tropical rain forests as the most species-rich places on Earth. Ironically, however, reefs have been far less studied--until now. In 1992 scientists at the seventh International Coral Reef Symposium in Guam raised a global alarm. They estimated that 10% of the world's coral reefs were effectively lost, an additional 30% were under immediate threat, and another 30% could be destroyed by 2050. To focus the world's attention on the plight of coral reefs, governments, organizations, and individuals around the world have recognized 1997 as the International Year of the Reef (IYOR). Even the most concerned researchers agree that coral reefs are remarkably resilient, having withstood such massive forces as periodic temperature fluctuations, ice ages, volcanic eruptions, tropical storms, and flooding for about 35 million years. Recent evidence, however, suggests that while reefs have survived the assaults of nature, they may be succumbing to an unrelenting barrage of human-induced stresses. Steady increases in sediment runoff onto reefs; excessive mining of coral sand and rock for building; increases in pollution, particularly from agriculture and domestic sewage; and chronic overexploitation of reef resources have resulted in widespread reef damage and, in some cases, ecological collapse. The most endangered reefs are located along some of the world's most heavily populated coastlines--Asia, East Africa, and the Caribbean, including the Florida Keys (see Map). Among the most alarming threats to reefs is the increase in destructive fishing practices. The poison cyanide, for example, was being used routinely in the capture of fish for the live fish trade, a billion-dollar business that supplies seafood to Chinese restaurants in Hong Kong and nearby regions, as well as to Taiwan and Singapore. Fishermen liberally douse the reefs with cyanide in concentrations that temporarily stun large fish but indiscriminately kill smaller animals, including the corals themselves. The use of toxins, however, accounts for only part of the damage. With the help of compressed air, fishermen now can dive as deep as 40 m (130 ft), where they are able to flush dazed escapees from reef crevices by demolishing the fishes' refuges with crowbars. Even more devastating is the wholesale harvesting of fish during critical spawning periods. Particularly targeted are coral trout and other groupers (family Serranidae) and the spectacular humphead wrasse (Chelinus undulatus). Once or twice each year, fish from all parts of the reef congregate at a single location, usually a place swept by ocean currents so that their larvae are washed away from the reef's plankton eaters, including the corals, into the relative safety of the open ocean. Intent on spawning and therefore less cautious than normal, the fish are vulnerable to unscrupulous fishermen, who can wipe out all the breeding species on a reef within hours. Studies conducted on reefs off the coasts of places as far apart as Jamaica, southern Japan, and Kenya have shown that eliminating these large fish can have disastrous consequences. Large fish serve as beneficial grazers, helping to check the growth of algae that threatens to smother the corals. In addition, without a diverse army of fish predators, populations of other marine organisms explode, including sea urchins that wreak havoc by grazing everything in their path, even juvenile corals, and the rampaging crown-of-thorns starfish (Acanthaster planci), the scourge of coral colonies throughout the Indo-Pacific. Coral reefs also may be suffering from less-direct, but no-less-damaging, forces. Many scientists suspect that rising ocean temperatures due to global warming are compounding the extent and severity of coral bleaching. Increases in temperature of only one or two degrees can stress corals, causing them to expel the symbiotic algae known as zooxanthellae that they harbour in their stomach cells. The algae not only give corals their brilliant colours (without them corals appear white or "bleached") but also supply them with the surplus energy and nutrients they need to build reefs. Satellite images, especially of the Caribbean and parts of the Pacific, show distinct correlations between large areas of bleaching and increased sea-surface temperatures. In time and under optimal conditions, reefs can recover. Scientists, however, have documented an alarming reef mortality. Some researchers suspect that these rising temperatures and other stresses such as pollution may be causing corals to lose their resistance to once-minor ailments. In the last decade alone, scientists have documented about eight new diseases of corals. Even very large, century-old corals appear to be succumbing to these previously unknown maladies. In 1993 concerned scientists realized that it would be necessary to involve the public, particularly communities dependent on reef resources, in rescuing the reefs. In 1994 small-island nations met in Barbados to discuss their concerns about reef destruction and rising sea levels. Many of these countries have few resources other than coral reefs; some are built on coral islands only a few metres above the surrounding reefs. Together they formed the International Coral Reef Initiative, a global effort that has drawn the world's attention to the plight of coral reefs and spawned numerous other monitoring and management initiatives, including the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network. In one of the projects sponsored by the network, leading coral-reef scientists train personnel in government natural-resource agencies and universities in the basic methods of assessing the health of corals and reef-fish populations. To highlight reef issues and challenges further, Robert Ginsburg of the University of Miami, Fla., proposed that 1997 be designated the International Year of the Reef. Among the hands-on projects launched under IYOR auspices was Reef Check, coordinated by Gregor Hodgson of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. Between June and August hundreds of scientists and recreational divers measured indicators of human activities on 300 reefs in 30 countries. This first global survey of the human impact on coral reefs provided valuable data on reef damage due to blast or cyanide fishing, overharvesting of marine organisms, and boat and anchor collisions. Preliminary results from the Reef Check reconnaissance were announced at a press conference in Hong Kong on October 16. The report confirmed what recreational divers had been reporting for several years--coral reefs were being abused by people throughout the world. The data showed that although some pristine reefs were found, few were in excellent condition. Even the most remote reefs had been heavily fished for sharks, lobsters, giant clams, and, most troubling, large predator fish such as grouper and snapper. In many of the reefs surveyed in Southeast Asia, these marketable species were completely absent. IYOR also targeted children by means of interactive educational activities. Coral reef scientists, for example, prepared teaching kits for primary and secondary schools. Children learned about coral reef values and problems through painting, writing, song, and dance competitions. Even a new computer game entitled Murder Under the Microscope was developed, in which players solved problems of reef degradation by enlisting the input of stakeholders in decision making and management of reef resources. The World Bank helped promote coral reef education and awareness by producing and distributing an award-winning hour-long video, The Fragile Ring of Life. The documentary explored reef problems through the eyes of some of the millions of people whose livelihoods depend on ecologically healthy marine environments. Finding solutions will not be easy, but as Charles Birkeland of the University of Guam's Marine Laboratory observed, people "need to develop a new paradigm for the exploitation of coral reefs, a new perspective that might also be a framework for our management of the Earth as a whole." Clive R. Wilkinson is coordinator of the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network at the Australian Institute of Marine Science, Townsville, Queen., Australia. Court Decisions. During 1997 a number of decisions having jurisprudential or newsworthy importance or both were handed down by the courts of the various countries. In the United States Clinton v. Jones was a case that attracted national and international attention because it involved the current president of the United States. Jones sued him, alleging that while Clinton was governor of Arkansas he made "abhorrent" sexual advances to her. Clinton urged the district court to defer the action until his presidential term ended, and the court agreed. The U.S. Supreme Court was, however, of a different opinion. It held that the district court had abused its discretion, because nothing in the Constitution requires that civil damages litigation against the president be deferred until his term has ended. It ordered the trial to proceed in a normal manner. Washington v. Glucksberg sustained the validity of a Washington state statute that provided that a person who knowingly causes or helps another to attempt suicide is guilty of a felony. The Supreme Court said this statute did not violate the due process clause of the Constitution. Chandler v. Miller held unconstitutional a Georgia statute requiring candidates for designated state offices to certify that they had taken a urinalysis drug test and that the test result was negative. The Supreme Court opined that this statute offended the Constitution's Fourth Amendment, which prohibits the government from undertaking a search or seizure if there is no reasonable suspicion of wrongdoing. Reno v. American Civil Liberties Union ruled unconstitutional the Communications Decency Act (1996), which prohibited the knowing transmission to minors of indecent or patently offensive communications. The court held that the statute abridged the right to free speech. This case excited national attention and resulted in many newspaper editorials, mostly of a critical nature, because the condemned statute was aimed at Internet pornography. Another American case of great interest and importance was handed down by a federal appeals court. Coalition for Economic Equity v. Pete Wilson sustained the validity of an amendment to the constitution of the state of California that provided that the "state shall not discriminate against, or grant preferential treatment to, any individual or group on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity or national origin in the operation of public employment, public education or public contracting." This amendment was the result of a referendum, called Proposition 209, that opponents claimed was aimed at ending affirmative action. The U.S. Supreme Court, acting without an opinion or other comment, let stand this decision. Though this action set no national precedent, it was viewed by many to encourage voters in other states to adopt similar measures and thus signaled a possible end to affirmative action in the U.S. In Australia in Applicant A v. Minister for Immigration and Ethnic Affairs, the High Court denied asylum to a Chinese couple who claimed that because of China's one-child-only policy, they would be sterilized if forced to return there. The court said the applicants did not fit into any group protected by its laws of asylum. In Belgium the Dutroux case, involving a pedophile who killed several children, attracted worldwide attention and later made headlines when a judge involved in the case was dismissed on the ground that he lacked impartiality because he had accepted a modest token at a fund-raising dinner sponsored by the families of the victims. The judge contended that taking this small token did not violate the rules of the European Convention on Human Rights, but the Cour de Cassation said this fact was irrelevant because Belgium was entitled to apply higher standards. Under those standards the judge was dismissed. The case of Illman v. The Queen in Canada clarified the exclusionary rules of sec. 7 (security of the person) and 8 (unreasonable seizure) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. In this case the accused was charged with murder. For purposes of DNA testing, samples of his hair and a dental impression were taken from him without his consent and, indeed, despite advice of counsel that he should not consent. The Supreme Court of Canada held that these seizures violated sec. 7 and 8 of the Charter and could not be used in evidence against him. In R. v. Noble the Supreme Court ruled that a judge cannot draw inferences adverse to a person charged with a crime because of his or her failure to testify. The case seemed to expand the protection of criminally accused persons. Well-established Canadian doctrine precludes the use of statements made involuntarily by one accused of crime, and the presumption of innocence is a constitutional right. The court said these principles should be extended to allow an accused person to remain silent with impunity. According to newspaper reports, the French public in 1997 was intensely interested in the right of the government to deport "undesirable" aliens and to exclude permanently other "objectionable" persons. Two cases handed down during the year on those matters, therefore, excited much interest. The first, H.L.R. v. France, was decided by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR); it involved a Colombian national whom a French court had convicted of drug trafficking and sentenced to permanent exclusion from France. The ECHR sustained this sentence despite the applicant's complaint that he would be subject to treatment forbidden by the European Convention on Human Rights if forced to return to Colombia. The second case was resolved by the Conseil d'tat, which held that a foreign national who had committed violent crimes in France could not be expelled. The person involved in the case had been born in France and had lived there all his life, along with his parents and siblings. The court said that expulsion is an extreme remedy aimed at protecting the public order. In this case, the court ruled, expulsion went beyond protecting the public order and interfered with the applicant's right to family and private life, in violation of art. 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights. In Germany a case of little jurisprudential significance but wide public interest involved Peter Graf, father of the international tennis star Steffi Graf. He was convicted of tax fraud and sentenced to three years and nine months in prison. Another case of interest was the opinion of the Federal Constitutional Court that a federal act requiring the labeling of tobacco products did not violate the free-speech rights of the tobacco companies. In Britain The Matter of Serafinowicz concerned the first war crimes prosecution in that nation. The accused, Szymon Serafinowicz, was the police chief of Belorussia (Belarus) during World War II. He was charged with having played a leading role in the murder of some 2,000 Jews. The case was dismissed after a jury decided that Serafinowicz, who was 86 years old, was unfit to stand trial. In R. v. Shaw the Court of Appeal held that a defendant who insisted on, and indulged in, sexual intercourse without protection was guilty of rape when the woman did not consent to this activity unless and until the man provided the proper protection. He was sentenced to 12 years in prison by the trial court. Upon appeal and in view of his medical condition, the sentence was reduced to eight years. In D. v. United Kingdom the ECHR, on a vote of 11-7, found that the U.K. had violated art. 3 (inhuman activities prohibited) of the European Convention on Human Rights in ordering an applicant deported to St. Kitts. The applicant, domiciled in St. Kitts, was arrested when he arrived in London in possession of a substantial quantity of cocaine. While he was in prison, it was discovered that he had AIDS and that his physical condition was rapidly deteriorating. Under these circumstances the British authorities ordered him deported to the Caribbean island. The applicant contended that he had no family in St. Kitts, no means of support there, and no place to live. The court found that under these circumstances his deportation would amount to inhuman treatment in violation of art. 3. In Tsirlis and Kouloumpas v. Greece, the ECHR applied art. 5(1) (liberty of person) and 5(5) (compensation for unlawful detention) to protect two Jehovah's Witnesses' ministers from improper action by the Greek government. The two ministers claimed exemption from military service on religious grounds. The Greek authorities denied the exemption and imprisoned the ministers for refusing to serve in the military. The ministers applied for relief to the ECHR. The court held that the refusal to grant the applicants an exemption from military service violated art. 5(1) of the European Convention on Human Rights and that, under art. 5(5) of the convention, they were entitled to compensation for wrongful imprisonment. In M.C. Mehta v. Union of India, the Supreme Court of India ordered that all coke- and coal-consuming industries in the Taj Mahal area, demarcated "Taj Trapezium," be closed because air pollution generated by them was damaging the Taj irreversibly. In PUCL v. Union of India, the Supreme Court held that telephone tapping violates a citizen's right to privacy. In so ruling the court said that art. 12 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948 and art. 17 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights 1966 should be read into Indian domestic law. The Constitutional Court in Italy delivered an important judgment invalidating the use of "reiteration" of government decrees. The Italian constitution allows the government in emergency situations to issue decrees that have immediate effect but become invalid unless converted into legislation within 60 days. In actuality, the government was using this procedure frequently. Under the government's interpretation, when a decree cannot be converted in time, the government can simply "reiterate" it, keeping it in force until the legislature finally acts. The court said the constitution did not authorize this practice. In Tala v. Sweden the United Nations Committee Against Torture held that an Iranian political activist opposing the present government of Iran should not be deported to Iran, where, in the opinion of the committee, he was bound to be tortured. WILLIAM D. HAWKLAND See also World Affairs: Multinational and Regional Organizations; United Nations. This article updates constitutional law. Cultural Anthropology. Cultural anthropologists continued to reexamine and reevaluate the goals, roles, and objects of their discipline in 1997. Many ethnologists questioned whether their field was most properly a humanistic project that critically interpreted culture or a scientific enterprise devoted to the discovery of the basic laws governing human behaviour. Others debated whether dwindling public and private research resources were most effectively expended upon basic theoretical scholarship or in applied research programs that directly addressed practical issues and problems. Many investigators reflected on whether other cultures or their own were the most appropriate objects of study. All pondered the theoretical, methodological, and physical limitations that influence what anthropologists can and cannot learn about the human condition. These concerns were mirrored in the 340 articles published in the four-volume Encyclopedia of Cultural Anthropology (1996), edited by David Levinson and Melvin Ember, anthropologists associated with Human Relations Area Files at Yale University. The first comprehensive survey of the discipline, the encyclopedia contained articles addressing economic anthropology, initiation rites, oral tradition, and other traditional anthropological concerns. Other article topics, such as altruism, colonialism, feminist anthropology, and Postmodernism, reflected more recent developments and interests. Long accustomed to carrying on scholarly discourse in the printed pages of academic publications, growing numbers of ethnologists in 1997 were communicating with one another via World Wide Web pages, Internet chat rooms, and other electronic media. Because of the strongly conflicting views expressed in many of these exchanges, cultural anthropology appeared to be a discipline in disarray. Dismayed by the occasional sharp tones punctuating their disputations, most anthropologists nevertheless regarded energetic debate as the mark of a discipline in creative ferment. This view was not fully accepted beyond disciplinary boundaries, and as contacts with colleagues in disciplines that traditionally shared ideas and information with anthropology diminished, anthropologists were alarmed by decreasing public interest in their research. Aware that the health of the discipline depended upon closer communication with the widest-possible audience, past American Anthropological Association president James L. Peacock challenged anthropologists to increase efforts to reach out to associates in other fields and to the general public. Whatever their differences, most ethnologists agreed that cultural anthropology continued to possess the ability to make unique contributions to human understanding. Although colleagues in history, literature, women's studies, and other fields employed such anthropological concepts as culture, holism, and participant observation, none had yet adopted the broad comparative, observation-based perspective necessary to fully understand cultural similarities and diversities. People coping with the stresses of an increasingly diverse multicultural world needed this perspective more and more. It was also difficult in 1997 to find ethnologists who regarded themselves as detached neutral observers or their subjects as pristine objects unaffected by time, space, or sociopolitical context. In contrast to widespread public perceptions of anthropologists as field workers among exotic tribal peoples, most ethnographers worked with people in complex modern societies. For example, in Golden Arches East, a collection of articles edited by Harvard University anthropologist James L. Watson, field ethnographers examined the ways in which people in several East Asian countries creatively utilized McDonald's American-style fast-food restaurants as important family and community centres and meeting places. Half a world away, the results of a 15-year study among poor Hispanic residents on New York City's Lower East Side, coordinated by City College of New York ethnographer Jagna Wojcicka Sharff, were reported in King Kong on 4th Street. Assessing the impacts of large-scale socioeconomic processes on families, especially children, Sharff and her colleagues found that in the group studied, violence and other behaviour that the wider society regarded as deviant represented "survival strategies in a situation of great economic distress." Although many ethnologists focused attention upon problems facing people in developed nations, others continued working with indigenous people who were coping with the expansion of modern civilization onto their lands. Findings of ethnographers who had been working with such people to affirm the precision and exactitude of native traditions played an important role in the December 11 Canadian Supreme Court decision recognizing oral histories as valid evidence in native land and resource claims. By raising public awareness of those problems and coordinating projects that directly benefited native communities, other anthropologists working with international support groups such as the Cambridge, Mass.-based Cultural Survival assisted indigenous people and ethnic minorities who were struggling to preserve their traditional ways of life. Field workers involved in issues affecting the lives of those they studied struggled to balance advocacy with a level of detachment essential to both establish scholarly credibility and maintain the comparative perspective necessary to place their data within the broadest possible context. Anthropologists in 1997 increasingly recognized the need to expand the scope of their studies from small, marginal, or disenfranchised groups to broader groups encompassing entire cultures and societies. The ethical dilemmas and methodological innovations accompanying such a shift promised to challenge ethnologists well into the coming millennium. ROBERT S. GRUMET This article updates cultural anthropology. Demography At midyear 1997 world population stood at 5,840,000,000, according to estimates prepared by the Population Reference Bureau. The 1997 figure was more than 800 million higher than in 1987, when world population first reached five billion. It was now clear that a six billion total in world population would be reached before 2000, most probably in 1999. The 1997 figure represented an increase of about 86 million over the previous year. The annual rate of increase declined to about 1.47% in 1997 from 1.52% in 1996, a result of birthrate declines in some less-developed countries (LDCs). If the 1997 growth rate were to continue, the world's population would double in 47 years. In 1997, 139 million babies were born, 126 million (over 90%) of them in LDCs. About 53 million people died worldwide. A smaller proportion (77%) of these were in the LDCs, a result of their much younger age structure. Worldwide, 56% of married couples in 1997 used some method of contraception, and half of all couples were using a "modern" method, such as clinically supplied contraceptives or sterilization. In the LDCs 54% were practicing some form of family planning, and 49% were using a modern one, the latter a slight increase over 1996. The proportion of couples using modern family-planning methods in LDCs excluding China was much lower, only 36%. Regionally, this figure was 58% in Latin America and the Caribbean, 54% in Asia, and only 18% in Africa. Worldwide, 32% of the population was below the age of 15 in 1997, but that figure was 38% in LDCs excluding China. In more developed countries (MDCs) only 20% were below age 15, as a result of the persistently low birthrate throughout Europe and in Japan. The continued younger age distribution of the LDCs in 1997 would result in a large number of people entering the childbearing ages in the near future, and so there was considerable potential for population growth in those areas. Only 4% of the population in LDCs excluding China was over the age of 65, compared with 14% in the MDCs. Sweden remained the country with the highest percentage of population above age 65 at 18%. Nearly half, 43%, of the world population in 1997 lived in urban areas. In the LDCs 36% of the population was classified as urban, a slight increase over the previous year, compared with 74% in the MDCs. Among the world's least urbanized countries was Rwanda, with only 5% living in urban centres. (For the World's 25 Most Populous Urban Areas, see Table.) Worldwide, life expectancy at birth was 64 years for males and 68 for females. In the MDCs the same figures were 71 and 78 and in the LDCs 62 and 65, respectively. The 1997 world infant mortality rate stood at 59 infant deaths per 1,000 live births. The lowest infant mortality rates were in Western and Northern Europe, at 5 and 6 infant deaths per 1,000 live births, respectively. Although there were small decreases in some LDCs, the overall rate remained at a high level, 64. Less-Developed Countries. In 1997 the population of the LDCs grew at 1.81% per year, 2.09% for LDCs excluding China. The total population of the LDCs was 4,666,000,000, 80% of the world total. Of the 86 million people added annually to the world population, 98% were in the LDCs. In LDCs excluding China, women still averaged four children each, unchanged from a year earlier. This remained far from the "two-child family" essential to slowing population growth to zero and stabilizing world population size. During 1997 Africa remained the region with by far the highest fertility, an average of 5.6 children per woman, 6 in sub-Saharan Africa. New survey data released in 1997 indicated, however, that there was a continued slow decline in fertility in the region. The 1997 Demographic and Health Survey in Senegal indicated that the average number of children per woman declined from about 6 in 1992-93 to 5.7 in 1997. A similar survey in Zambia showed a decline from 6.5 in 1992 to 6.1 in 1996. Africa's population in 1997 totaled 743 million, an increase of about 20 million since 1996. The continent's annual growth rate was 2.6%, the world's highest by a wide margin and sufficient to double population size in only 26 years. In 1997 life expectancy in Africa, at 52 years for males and 55 for females, was the world's lowest. Infant mortality was the world's highest at 89 infant deaths per 1,000 live births. In 1997 Latin America's population stood at 490 million, with an annual growth rate of 1.8%, slightly lower than in 1996. The average number of children per woman fell slightly in 1997, to 3, ranging from 5.2 in Honduras to 1.5 in Cuba. Life expectancy remained at 66 years for males and 72 for females. Infant mortality stood at 39. Asia's population was about 3.6 billion in 1997, by far the largest of the world's regions, up from 3.5 billion in 1996. The region's growth rate remained at about 1.6%, which resulted in a population increase of about 56 million. Life expectancy in Asia in 1997 stood at about 64 for males and 67 for females. Women averaged 2.9 children each, 3.5 excluding China. During 1997 data released for India in 1995 showed that the country's birthrate did not decline as much as expected. Early reports indicated that the number of new users of family planning fell sharply in 1996 as the government dropped specific demographic goals for its population program. More Developed Countries. The population of the MDCs in 1997 was 1,175,000,000, only 4,000,000 higher than in 1996. The growth rate of these countries was barely over zero, at 0.1% annually. During 1997 Europe continued to report a negative rate of natural increase (birthrate minus death rate) of -0.1%, the first time in history that a major world region had done so. This was due primarily to the sharp drop of the birthrate in the European republics of the former Soviet Union and to continued low fertility in Western Europe. Latvia's record low rate of natural decrease continued at -0.7%. Once again, 13 European countries reported natural decrease rates: Belarus, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Russia, and Ukraine. Italy and Spain again exhibited the lowest birthrates in the world, with an average number of children per woman of only 1.2; Bulgaria, Czech Republic, and Latvia also registered rates of 1.2. Life expectancy at birth in Europe (including the European republics of the former Soviet Union) was 69 for males and 77 for females. A major development was the end of the life-expectancy decline in Russia. Life expectancy in Russia was reported to have risen in 1996 to 59.6 for males, up 1.3 years from 1995, and to 72.7 for women, up one year. Japan maintained its leading position on life expectancy, 83 for females and 77 for males. With a rate of 3.9 infant deaths per 1,000 live births, Finland reported the lowest infant mortality in the world, thereby replacing Japan, whose rate of 4 was tied with Singapore for second best. United States. The resident population of the U.S. was 267,575,000 on July 1, 1997, up from 265,284,000 a year earlier. This represented an increase of 2,291,000, or 0.86%. The National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) reported that during the 12 months ended in January 1997, natural increase--births minus deaths--amounted to 1,574,000, the net result of 3,882,000 births and 2,308,000 deaths. (For Causes of Death in the United States, see Table.) During that period the birthrate was 14.6 births per 1,000 population, compared with 14.7 in the 12 months ended in January 1996. This represented a much smaller decrease than for the same period in 1995-96. The average number of children per woman stood at about 2 as 1997 began. The U.S. infant mortality rate continued to fall, reaching its lowest level ever at 7.2 for the 12-month period ended in January 1997. Approximately 32% of the births during the 12 months ended June 1996 were reported as having occurred outside of marriage, about the same proportion as in the previous period. The age-adjusted death rate for 1996, 492.5 per 100,000 population, declined 2% from 1995. In 1997 the NCHS reported that in 1995 life expectancy at birth rose to a new high, 75.8 years. Female life expectancy was 78.9, a slight decline from the previous year, while male life expectancy rose slightly to 72.5. Life expectancy for white females approached 80 years, at 79.6, while that of white males was 73.4. Black men had the lowest life expectancy of all groups, 65.2 years, while for black females the figure was 73.9. There were 2,351,000 marriages in the United States in the 12-month period ended in January 1997, a slight increase from 2,324,000 one year earlier. The marriage rate was 8.9 marriages per 1,000 population, virtually the same as in the previous 12-month period. The number of divorces decreased from 1,167,000 to 1,148,000. CARL V. HAUB Der Spiegel at 50 On Jan. 4, 1997, Germany's leading weekly for news and analysis, Der Spiegel, celebrated its 50th anniversary. The magazine had long been something of a fat and mischievous only child in the German journalistic community. In 1947, when Rudolf Augstein received a license from the British zonal authorities to publish a newsmagazine, Germany's situation was sensational and scandalous enough, so the 23-year-old entrepreneur hardly needed to turn to sensationalism and scandal. Because this was the type of magazine that was launched, however, Der Spiegel soon found its access to authoritative sources progressively reduced. Comparatively few respectable public figures would lend themselves to a Spiegel interview (Chancellor Helmut Kohl consistently refused to be interviewed by Der Spiegel, and he was noticeably absent at Augstein's 70th birthday celebration in 1993), so Der Spiegel turned to other sources, exposing the underside of the upper classes, particularly the political class. The gleanings were served up in each issue in five or six long narrative articles, garnished with anecdote and innuendo and sauced with almost subliminal derogatory suggestion. Despite all this--indeed, because of it--Der Spiegel was the most important publication in Germany. On the one hand, since it trafficked in suspicion and resentment, it acquired a large constituency of grudge-bearing readers; on the other, it lent itself to all forms of political opposition. Instead of splitting away, dissident factions of political parties went into hiding and emerged in the offices of the magazine. Der Spiegel penetrated all political parties, and the range of its political coverage was unmatched in Germany. Above all, the magazine was the standard-bearer of Germany's confused and resentful postwar intellectuals. It also struck fear into the hearts of the elite and so brought comfort to the dispossessed and disaffected little people of Germany. In this way the magazine worked as a palliative to the country's enduring epidemic of envy. The success of Der Spiegel rested on Augstein's diagnosis of the deep psychological wounds of the German body politic. The division of Germany prolonged the confusion of moral values caused by the Third Reich, treason in one part of Germany constituting by definition heroism in the other. Augstein exploited these infirmities in pursuit of his own goal: a neutralist, antimilitaristic West Germany. In short, Der Spiegel's editorial policy was tailored to the Cold War and to a separate West Germany. Augstein called the desire of the West Germans for reunification the Lebenslge ("life-sustaining lie") of the Federal Republic; however, he simply ignored the desire of the East Germans for reunification. With the end of the Cold War and the disappearance of West and East Germany, Der Spiegel lost much of its editorial traction. The launching of the weekly newsmagazine Focus in January 1993 broke the monopoly Der Spiegel had enjoyed for 46 years. Within four years Focus had all but matched the dwindling circulation (roughly one million copies sold) of Der Spiegel. If reunification wrapped up the postwar period for Germany, perhaps Der Spiegel's era had also come to an end. GEORGE BAILEY