• Australian households on track to add near-record rooftop solar capacity to electricity grid
• The social lives of kangaroos are more complex than we thought
• Rare and beautiful polar ring galaxies discovered by ASKAP

• Australia: Transcendental Meditation effective tool against 'stress epidemic' in the world
• Log home in Australia built according to principles of Maharishi Vastu Architecture
• Foolproof your New Year's resolutions with Transcendental Meditation

• Invasive species No 1 driver of biodiversity loss in Australia - and feral cats have biggest impact, report finds
• Millions of dead fish wash up near Australian town
• Methane from Australian coal and gas could be 60 percent higher than estimated

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Positive Trends
Short Summaries of Top Stories

Australian households on track to add near-record rooftop solar capacity to electricity grid
25 September 2023 - Households are on track to add three gigawatts of rooftop solar capacity to the electricity grid this year but investment in large-scale wind and solar remains all but stalled, according to the Clean Energy Regulator. The regulator said 1.4GW of capacity, from almost 160,000 rooftop systems, was added to the grid in the first half of 2023, which chief executive and chair David Parker said showed consumers were looking to save money on their energy usage while reducing their carbon footprint. (more)

The social lives of kangaroos are more complex than we thought
20 September 2023 - Kangaroos have stronger bonds to one another than you might think. Over six years, we [researchers] monitored a population of around 130 eastern gray kangaroos near Wollar in New South Wales to see how their relationships changed over time. ...We found that kangaroo mothers become more social when caring for joeys (which is the opposite of what we previously thought). We also uncovered new evidence that indicates kangaroos could potentially form long-term relationships. (more)

Rare and beautiful polar ring galaxies discovered by ASKAP
13 September 2023 - Astronomers have revealed the discovery of two potential polar ring galaxies, NGC 4632 and NGC 6156. In a study published yesterday [12 Sept] in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, the research team, led by Canada's Queens University-based astrophysicist Nathan Deg, explained that the discovery was made while analyzing data from the Widefield ASKAP L-band Legacy All-sky Blind surveY (WALLABY). (more)

Message sticks: Australia's ancient unwritten language
25 August 2023 - The continent of Australia is home to more than 250 spoken Indigenous languages and 800 dialects. Yet, one of its linguistic cornerstones wasn't spoken, but carved. Known as message sticks, these flat, rounded, and oblong pieces of wood were etched with ornate images on both sides that conveyed important messages and held the stories of the continent's Aboriginal people -- considered the world's oldest continuous living culture. Message sticks are believed to be thousands of years old and were typically carried by messengers over long distances to reinforce oral histories or deliver news between Aboriginal nations or language groups. (more)

'I've got the best job in the world', prestigious Eureka prize winner says
23 August 2023 - At the start of October for almost 40 years, Professor Richard Kingsford has climbed into a small plane to lead one of the world's biggest and longest-running wildlife surveys, scanning and recording waterbirds across almost a third of the Australian continent. Kingsford and his Waterbirds Aerial Survey team were awarded a prestigious Eureka prize on Wednesday night for their efforts that have influenced the conservation of the Murray-Darling Basin and helped create three new national parks. (more)

Australia: A quarter of Queensland's energy now generated from renewables
10 August 2023 - A quarter of Queensland's energy is now being generated by renewables and the state is on track to hit 50 percent within seven years, the state's energy minister says. Mick de Brenni said the clean energy supply had jumped by 20 percent over the past 12 months and more than 25 percent of the state's power was now generated by renewables. ...De Brenni said Queensland was 'on track' to reach its legislated target of 50 percent of energy to be renewable-generated by 2030, followed by 70 percent by 2032 and 80 percent by 2035. (more)

Australia's coronation gift to King Charles is $10,000 donation for WA endangered parrot
3 May 2023 - Australia is gifting King Charles III a donation to Friends of the Western Ground Parrot to mark his coronation. The government has pledged $10,000 to help conserve the critically endangered 'shy and rarely seen' species in honour of the monarch, on behalf of the people of Australia. The Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, said he was pleased to mark the coronation with the national contribution as 'His Majesty King Charles III has long championed conservation and sustainability.' (more)

Record levels of renewable energy help bring down Australia's energy prices, says AEMO
27 April 2023 - Australia's record levels of renewable energy helped extend the slide in wholesale power prices in the first three months of 2023, displacing fossil fuels and sending carbon emissions from the sector to new lows for the first quarter. ...Rooftop solar output alone averaged almost 3GW for the March quarter, up 23 percent from a year earlier. (more)

Australia: Solar to soon offer grid more capacity than coal, consultancy says
3 March 2023 - Almost one in three Australian households have solar photovoltaics -- or solar panels -- the highest penetration in the world. Australia's rooftops now boast 20 gigawatts of solar panels and will soon have the capacity to produce more electricity than the country's entire coal industry, according to the industry consultancy SunWiz. (more)

Record numbers of critically endangered orange-bellied parrots in Tasmania for breeding season
19 December 2022 - Record numbers of the critically endangered orange-bellied parrot have returned to Tasmania from mainland Australia for the breeding season. The orange-bellied parrot ... spends winter on mainland Australia's southern coast and makes the perilous journey to south-west Tasmania for summer. (more)

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Success of Maharishi's Programmes
Short Summaries of Top Stories

Australia: Transcendental Meditation effective tool against 'stress epidemic' in the world
16 May 2018 - Oprah sings its praises. Jerry Seinfeld swears by it. So do Nicole Kidman, Lena Dunham, Katy Perry and Gwyneth Paltrow. Hugh Jackman and Deborra-Lee Furness even do it with their kids. It seems everyone in Hollywood is practising Transcendental Meditation - and Bob Roth, who brought the technique to the stars, says Australians need it just as much, The West Australian reports. Roth says eight million people have already benefited from incorporating TM into their lives, but he is still concerned about the 'stress epidemic' gripping the world. He recently released his book Strength in Stillness: The Power of Transcendental Meditation to clarify what it is and how it can transform how we respond to stress. (more)

Log home in Australia built according to principles of Maharishi Vastu Architecture
25 October 2017 - The unique construction of a log home in Australia is featured in the current newsletter of Maharishi Vastu Architecture -- building in according with ancient principles of Natural Law. The construction company, Estonia Log Homes, first built the house in Estonia for quality control of precise Vedic measurements, then dis-assembled and shipped the home to New South Wales. The owner and a local builder worked alongside four Estonians who travelled to Australia especially for the project. After a few days the workmen returned to Estonia and the owner said, 'I was left alone to enjoy the quiet and the very strong feeling of silence in the new house even though it still had no roof. It is very simple, ingenious process and a joy to be able to see and appreciate how it is all connected and constructed.' View photos and links to more Maharishi Vastu projects. (more)

Foolproof your New Year's resolutions with Transcendental Meditation
8 January 2015 - Transcendental Meditation allows the mind to go beyond the experience of the surroundings, the physical body, and even thought itself. Transcending is like lifting the individual out of the maze of past experience and habitual behaviour to experience a sea of all possibilities. Experiencing unbounded awareness regularly during meditation allows this state to become integrated into daily life. The feelings of freedom and invincibility become a permanent part of our reality. Brain imaging shows that latent parts of the brain are awakened. Meditators report that they feel mentally clearer, procrastinate less, have more energy, and experience greater emotional stability. In this state it is much easier to implement any positive changes in to your life and let go of negative habits. (more)

Australia: Maharishi Honey offers new pollination service
16 August 2014 - Maharishi Honey is expanding its honey production throughout South Australia and Victoria, and in the process is offering a unique pollination service, the National Association for Sustainable Agriculture Australia (NASAA) announced in its August newsletter. NASAA is Australia's first organic certification organization. (more)

Australia: New Maharishi Vastu buildings for school in Melbourne
12 May 2014 - Maharishi School in Melbourne, Australia, offers primary education to boys and girls up to the age of 12. The school's Consciousness-Based Education approach, including the daily practice of Transcendental Meditation, offers a unique means of integrating all aspects of the curriculum, providing for the whole development of the student. The school has recently completed two new Maharishi Vastu buildings--constructed according to Vedic architecture in tune with natural law. The buildings are environmentally sustainable and have six large classrooms and three offices. (more)

Australia: Black Dog Institute researches effects of Transcendental Meditation on depression
18 April 2014 - The Black Dog Institute in Sydney, Australia has embarked on a research programme to assess the benefits of Transcendental Meditation (TM) on depression, led by Associate Professor Judy Proudfoot. Noting hundreds of peer-reviewed, published scientific research studies on Transcendental Meditation, the article on the Australian medical website '6minutes' quotes Dr Proudfoot: 'Already TM looks as if it is showing strong results in treating anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder with a positive impact on physical health, so our hypothesis is that it will have a positive impact on depression but nevertheless we are going into it with an open mind and will be evaluating it very rigorously.' (more)

Australia: 'How to heal your emotional and physical heart with Maharishi Ayurveda' - Expert gives workshop
12 October 2013 - Robert Schneider, MD, FACC, internationally renowned research cardiologist and one of the world's leading authorities on natural medicine in the prevention and treatment of heart disease, gave a workshop today in Sydney, Australia, on Total Heart Health. Dr Schneider is director of the Institute for Natural Medicine and Prevention, Maharishi University of Management Research Institute in Iowa, USA. He is visiting Australia this month, meeting with doctors and researchers to encourage collaborative research on non-drug approaches to heart disease. (more)

Australia: American brain research expert speaks on improving mental health with Transcendental Meditation
16 August 2013 - Dr Fred Travis, Director of the Centre for Brain, Consciousness, and Cognition in the USA, visited Sydney as part of his recent tour of Australia. There he spoke at the Black Dog Institute and on a national news show about research and clinical applications of Transcendental Meditation to improve mental health concerns ranging from depression to Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. (more)

Australia: EEG demonstrations show audiences profound effect of transcending
16 August 2013 - In the majority of his recent lectures in Australia, Dr Fred Travis used EEG demonstrations to show audiences the measurable effects on the brain of the mind settling down to a state of deep inner silence (transcending) during Transcendental Meditation. The demonstrations are very effective, he said, because they show the clear distinction between brain activity during daily life and the silence and coherence that immediately begin with transcending. (more)

Australia: In Melbourne, schools discover benefits of Transcendental Meditation
16 August 2013 - Continuing his recent lecture tour of Australia in Melbourne, Dr Fred Travis, a neuroscientist at Maharishi University of Management in the USA, focused on the benefits of Transcendental Meditation in education. He started his lecture tour at Maharishi School in Melbourne and spoke of the growing and successful school as providing the ideal education to develop the brain to its full potential. (more)

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Flops
Short Summaries of Top Stories

Invasive species No 1 driver of biodiversity loss in Australia - and feral cats have biggest impact, report finds
4 September 2023 - Advocates are calling for an urgent and coordinated national response to the threat of invasive species after the co-authors of a major international report identified it as the leading driver of biodiversity loss in Australia. The report, from the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), was produced by 86 experts from 49 countries and details the impacts of invasive flora and fauna on ecosystems globally. (more)

Millions of dead fish wash up near Australian town
17 March 2023 - Residents in a regional Australian town have woken to find millions of dead fish in their river. The large-scale fish deaths were first reported on Friday morning [17 March] in the New South Wales' (NSW) town of Menindee. The state's river authority said it was a result of an ongoing heatwave affecting the Darling-Baaka river. Locals say it is the largest fish death event to hit the town, that experienced another significant mass death of fish just three years ago. ... Heatwaves have become more frequent, more intense, and last longer because of human-induced climate change. (more)

Methane from Australian coal and gas could be 60 percent higher than estimated
26 February 2023 - Methane emissions from Australian coalmines and gas production could be more than 60 percent higher than federal government estimates suggest, according to satellite and ground data released by the International Energy Agency. The results of the Paris-based energy organization's annual methane tracker, released this week, led to renewed calls for the Albanese government [the federal executive government of Australia, led by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese] to require emissions cuts at existing local and gas mines using existing technology and to block new developments. (more)

Dementia now causes greatest burden of illness, injury, and premature death in older Australians
22 February 2023 - Condition overtakes coronary heart disease with 62 percent rise in number of healthy years lost since 2011, report finds, causing significant impact on carers and families. Dementia has now overtaken coronary heart disease as causing the greatest burden of illness, injury, and premature death in older Australians, according to a report from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW). (more)

Cruise ship with 800 COVID cases docks in Sydney
11 November 2022 - A holiday cruise ship carrying about 800 passengers with COVID-19 has docked in Sydney, Australia. The Majestic Princess cruise ship arrived at Circular Quay, having sailed from New Zealand. About 4,600 passengers and crew were aboard the ship when it docked -- meaning around one in five had COVID. ...The outbreak comes as COVID cases rise across Australia. In New South Wales, 19,800 new cases were detected in the seven days to Friday. (more)

Bleaching of marine sponges observed in warming Tasmanian waters for the first time
12 April 2022 - Scientists say bleaching could be 'canary in the coalmine' for climate impact as eastern Tasmanian sea temperatures rise. Bleaching in marine sponges in temperate waters off Tasmania's east coast has been observed for the first time, with scientists warning the discovery could be an indicator of climate change in deeper reef systems. The research findings were recently published in the journal Climate Change Ecology. (more)

Plague of ravenous, destructive mice tormenting Australians
28 May 2021 - At night, the floors of sheds vanish beneath carpets of scampering mice. Ceilings come alive with the sounds of scratching. One family blamed mice chewing electrical wires for their house burning down. Vast tracts of land in Australia's New South Wales state are being threatened by a mouse plague that the state government describes as 'absolutely unprecedented.' Just how many millions of rodents have infested the agricultural plains across the state is guesswork. ... NSW Farmers, the state's top agricultural association, predicts the plague will wipe more than 1 billion Australian dollars ($775 million) from the value of the winter crop. (more)

Australia man contracts COVID-19 after finishing two-week quarantine
22 April 2021 - A man in Australia tested positive for COVID-19 after finishing his hotel quarantine, authorities said on Friday, raising concerns about community transmission as more virulent virus strains emerge. The person is likely to have contracted the virus during his two-week quarantine in a Perth hotel, health officials said... Western Australia and New South Wales states are currently investigating into cases of travelers in quarantine contracting the virus from infected guests staying in nearby rooms. (more)

How Australia's regent honeyeaters are learning the wrong songs - video
16 March 2021 - New research has found that a loss of song culture could be a big problem for one of Australia's rarest songbirds. A lack of adult males passing on mating calls to younger birds may have forced some to pick up the tunes of other species. Females are less likely to pair and nest with those singing unusual songs, causing further problems for dwindling populations. Conservationists are trying a new technique to arrest this decline, playing songs captured in the wild to birds bred in captivity (more)

Long-term study reveals harm in regular cannabis use
27 January 2021 - Regular cannabis use has harmful effects regardless of the age a person starts using, a University of Queensland-led study has found. The study examined people who began regular cannabis use in high school or in their early 20s, and compared both with non-users. .... Lead author Dr. Gary Chan from UQ's National Centre for Youth Substance Use Research said many previous studies had documented the harms associated with regular cannabis use in teens, but few have looked at the adverse consequences associated with use from young adulthood. (more)