• Takeaways from the Swiss women's climate victory
• Swiss voters back carbon cuts as glaciers melt
• World's first solar panel 'carpet' on railway tracks may generate electricity

• Five new findings about stress - and how Transcendental Meditation can help
• Switzerland: International leaders learn about Maharishi's peace-creating technologies of consciousness
• Switzerland: Women's health course covers wealth of knowledge about Maharishi Ayur-Veda

• Swiss glaciers lose 10 percent of their volume in two years
• Revealed: The secret push to bury a weedkiller's link to Parkinson's disease
• Cacti replacing snow on Swiss mountainsides due to global heating

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Positive Trends
Short Summaries of Top Stories

Takeaways from the Swiss women's climate victory
10 April 2024 - The European Court of Human Rights ruled in favour of more than 2,000 Swiss women on Tuesday, affirming their argument that the Swiss government violated their human rights by failing to take sufficient action on climate change. This is the first time a regional human rights court has ruled that countries can violate human rights by failing to reduce their climate-warming emissions fast enough. (more)

Swiss voters back carbon cuts as glaciers melt
20 June 2023 - Voters in Switzerland have backed a new climate bill designed to cut fossil fuel use and reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. The government says the country needs to protect its energy security and the environment, as glaciers melt rapidly in the Swiss Alps. The law will require a move away from dependence on imported oil and gas towards the use of renewable sources. (more)

World's first solar panel 'carpet' on railway tracks may generate electricity
23 March 2023 - European startup Sun-Ways has devised a mechanical device to deploy removable solar panels along railway tracks. This innovation could be implemented on half of the railway lines across the globe, according to the Swizerland-based energy startup. (more)

Swiss organic food sales jump sharply
22 March 2023 - Sales of organic food have risen 22.5 percent in four years, compared with an increase of 6.9 percent for non-organic food in Switzerland over the same period. According to the survey by the Federal Office for Agriculture, the vast majority of respondents intend to maintain or increase their organic consumption in the future. (more)

Making aircraft fuel from sunlight and air
4 November 2021 - Scientists at ETH Zurich have built a plant that can produce carbon-neutral liquid fuels from sunlight and air. The next goal will be to take this technology to industrial scale and achieve competitiveness. In a paper published in the journal Nature, researchers from Zurich and Potsdam describe how this novel solar reactor functions and outline a policy framework that would provide incentives to expand the production of 'solar kerosene'. (more)

Alpine solar project to help fill Swiss winter energy gaps
21 August 2021 - At a dam 2,500 metres (8,200 ft) high in the Alps, construction has begun on Switzerland's largest alpine solar plant aimed at helping the small country secure renewable energy throughout the year. (more)

ABB to electrify own fleet of 10,000 vehicles by 2030
3 June 2021 - The Swedish-Swiss power and automation technology group ABB has announced that it will completely electrify its fleet of more than 10,000 vehicles by 2030. The company's climate protection goals also include using only renewable energy, as well as establishing energy efficiency targets and energy management systems. (more)

ABB to electrify vehicle fleet, source 100 percent renewable elec by 2030
3 June 2021 - ABB said it would electrify its fleet of more than 10,000 vehicles by 2030 as part of its new sustainability strategy. The Swiss engineering group will also source 100 percent renewable electricity until 2030, versus 32 percent in 2020, it said in a statement on Thursday [3 June]. (more)

Parachutist makes world's first jump from solar-powered plane
25 August 2020 - A parachutist completed the world's first jump from a solar-powered aircraft on Tuesday [25 August] after the plane soared to a height of 1,520 metres (nearly 5,000 ft) over western Switzerland, Swiss organizers said. In 2022, the team aims to carry out a high-altitude flight powered exclusively by solar energy, seeking to reach the stratosphere with an altitude of 20,000 metres. (more)

Credit Suisse earmarks more than $300 billion for sustainable finance
30 July 2020 - Credit Suisse plans to provide at least 300 billion Swiss francs ($328.41 billion) in sustainable financing over the next decade in areas such as renewable energy and Green Bonds. The move is the latest in a string of announcements by banks looking to display their green credentials and capture demand for cash from companies to help a shift to a low-carbon economy. (more)

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Success of Maharishi's Programmes
Short Summaries of Top Stories

Five new findings about stress - and how Transcendental Meditation can help
16 September 2015 - Reducing stress to gain a calm, creative mind is a good reason to practise Transcendental Meditation each day. Scientists continue to provide more incentives, with new research showing deleterious effects of stress on the brain, immune system, premature ageing, and individual genetic makeup. Fortunately, our bodies are designed to eliminate stress, and daily TM practice naturally allows the nervous system to gain the deep rest that gives the body a chance to release stress. Scientific studies have shown that the daily practice of the TM technique helps eliminate stress and increases a person's resistance to stress. (more)

Switzerland: International leaders learn about Maharishi's peace-creating technologies of consciousness
7 September 2013 - The President of Maharishi University of Management, Dr Bevan Morris, returned recently from a tour of Switzerland where he spoke to hundreds of people in Zurich, Basel, Bern, and Geneva. At a lecture for dignitaries and leaders of NGOs (non-governmental organizations) in Geneva, Dr Morris presented scientific research documenting how Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's programmes are powerfully achieving peace--'the inner peace of the individual, the harmony, progress, and peace within a nation, and lasting peace in the family of nations,' commented one attendee. (more)

Switzerland: Women's health course covers wealth of knowledge about Maharishi Ayur-Veda
6 August 2013 - The 16-lesson course, Good Health through Prevention, goes deeply into the knowledge of Maharishi Ayur-Veda health care. Topics include fundamental elements and principles of intelligence that structure human physiology, the importance of healthy digestion, the special method of pulse diagnosis used in Maharishi Ayur-Veda, and creating balance in the physiology to maintain optimum health. The course for women is being offered from 6 to 12 August in Seelisberg, Switzerland, under the auspices of the College of Maharishi Ayur-Veda, MERU. (more)

Good Health through Prevention: 16-lesson course for women begins 6 August in Switzerland
4 August 2013 - A 16-lesson course on 'Good Health through Prevention' is being offered for women, starting 6 August in Seelisberg, Switzerland. This very comprehensive course, offered by the College of Maharishi Ayur-Veda, lays the foundation for understanding the holistic, prevention-oriented approach of Maharishi Ayur-Veda health care. It is also a prererequisite for taking the Healthy, Happy Mother and Baby Course for women health professionals, which begins 13 August in Seelisberg. The 16-lesson course is the foundation upon which all the practical knowledge provided in the later course can be fully appreciated. (more)

Switzerland: Healthy, Happy Mother and Baby - Course One starts 13 August - Register now
3 August 2013 - The Healthy, Happy Mother and Baby course for women health professionals is being offered for the second time this year, starting 13 August in Seelisberg, Switzerland. The programme is Course One, Part One of the Maharishi Ayur-Veda Family Health Series, offered by the College of Maharishi Ayur-Veda, MERU, Seelisberg. In addition, all women are welcome to take a 16-lesson course on 'Good Health through Prevention', starting 6 August in Seelisberg--a prerequisite for taking Course One. The programme provides an integrated approach with practical knowledge for promoting health in the areas of preconception, pregnancy, delivery, and postnatal care that can be offered by health professionals to prospective parents in every country. (more)

Healthy, Happy Mother and Baby course: Distinguished faculty present practical, time-tested knowledge for women health professionals
26 June 2013 - The four-part course, 'Healthy, Happy Mother and Baby'--the first in the Maharishi Ayur-Veda Family Health Series--has drawn on a wide range of expertise among both traditional and modern health professionals to offer the knowledge of Maharishi Ayur-Veda health care in the context of mother and baby care. Part One is being offered from 19 to 30 June for women medical doctors, nurses, and other health professionals by the College of Maharishi Ayur-Veda, MERU, Seelisberg, Switzerland. (more)

Switzerland: Healthy, Happy Mother and Baby: Maharishi Ayur-Veda Family Health Series - Course One offered in Seelisberg
19 June 2013 - An Advanced Paradigm in Mother and Baby Health Care: Simple, traditional, time-tested knowledge practically presented to supplement modern medicine. Every newborn child is a precious expression of pure intelligence who deserves to grow in health, happiness, and enlightenment. The College of Maharishi Ayur-Veda has these highest ideals in mind when introducing the time-tested knowledge of Maharishi Ayur-Veda health care in the context of mother and baby care. A special four-part introductory course has been created by leading experts and is being offered to women medical doctors, nurses, and other health professionals by the College of Maharishi Ayur-Veda, MERU, Seelisberg, Switzerland. Part One begins 19 June. (more)

Switzerland: Physician brings integrative medicine expertise to Ayurvedic health centre
6 October 2011 - At the Maharishi Ayurveda Health Centre in Seelisberg, high above Lake Lucerne in the idyllic Swiss Alps, guests are fortunate to have their treatment programmes in the care of medical director Dr Sophie Beall, whose interest has always been in the integration of modern medicine with natural health care. (more)

Switzerland: New Vastu facility brings benefits for Maharishi Ayurveda Health Centre guests
27 September 2011 - The Maharishi Ayurveda Health Centre, located 800m above sea level in the idyllic mountain village of Seelisberg, Switzerland, recently opened its new 'Vastu Chalet'--the first Maharishi Ayurveda treatment facility in Europe designed according to Vedic architecture, Maharishi Sthapatya Veda. The architect discusses the value of receiving Maharishi Ayurveda treatments in a Vastu clinic. (more)

Switzerland: More people learning Transcendental Meditation
17 July 2011 - Interest in the Transcendental Meditation Programme, as well as programmes for education and health, is growing in Switzerland. More people have been learning to meditate, and also taking advantage of the many approaches of Maharishi Ayur-Veda health care; participation in online education programmes offered by Maharishi University of Vedic Medicine, which is based in Switzerland, is also increasing. (more)

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Flops
Short Summaries of Top Stories

Swiss glaciers lose 10 percent of their volume in two years
28 September 2023 - Volume lost during hot summers of 2022 and 2023 equal to total depletion between 1960 and 1990, says report. Scientists have said climate breakdown caused by the burning of fossil fuels is the cause of unusually hot summers and winters with very low snow volume, which have caused the accelerating melts. The volume lost during the hot summers of 2022 and 2023 is the same as that lost between 1960 and 1990. (more)

Revealed: The secret push to bury a weedkiller's link to Parkinson's disease
2 June 2023 - Internal documents from chemical giant Syngenta reveal tactics to sponsor sympathetic scientific papers and mislead regulators about unfavorable research. The global chemical giant Syngenta has sought to secretly influence scientific research regarding links between its top-selling weedkiller and Parkinson's, internal corporate documents show. While numerous independent researchers have determined that the weedkiller, paraquat, can cause neurological changes that are hallmarks of Parkinson's, Syngenta has always maintained that the evidence linking paraquat to Parkinson's disease is 'fragmentary' and 'inconclusive'. (more)

Cacti replacing snow on Swiss mountainsides due to global heating
26 February 2023 - The residents of the Swiss canton of Valais are used to seeing their mountainsides covered with snow in winter and edelweiss flowers in summer. But as global heating intensifies, they are increasingly finding an invasive species colonizing the slopes: cacti. (more)

Snowless slopes spoil holiday skiing in Switzerland
5 January 2023 - Deprived of snow by unusually mild weather, Switzerland's world-renowned ski slopes have proven a disappointment to winter sports aficionados and resort managers eager to make the most of the holiday season. Recent temperatures climbing as high as a record 20.9 Celsius (69.6 Fahrenheit) have severely disrupted operations at many ski resorts, even forcing some to temporarily close. (more)

Secret files suggest chemical giant feared weedkiller's link to Parkinson's disease
21 October 2022 - For decades, Swiss chemical giant Syngenta has manufactured and marketed a widely used weed-killing chemical called paraquat, and for much of that time the company has been dealing with external concerns that long-term exposure to the chemical may be a cause of the incurable brain ailment known as Parkinson's disease. (more)

Study: Already shrunk by half, Swiss glaciers melting faster
22 August 2022 - Switzerland's 1,400 glaciers have lost more than half their total volume since the early 1930s, a new study has found, and researchers say the ice retreat is accelerating at a time of growing concerns about climate change. ... 'Glacier retreat is accelerating. Closely observing this phenomenon and quantifying its historical dimensions is important because it allows us to infer the glaciers' responses to a changing climate,' said Daniel Farinotti, a co-​author of the study, which was published in scientific journal The Cryosphere. (more)

Switzerland: Ongoing drought and heatwave imperils cows
7 August 2018 - Swiss army helicopters began airlifting water on Tuesday (7 August) to thousands of thirsty cows who are suffering in a drought and heatwave that has hit much of Europe. Some 40,000 cows graze in the summertime in high-altitude pastures in Vaud canton (state) in western Switzerland and each needs up to 150 liters (40 gallons) of water a day, authorities said. (more)

Nestle under fire for marketing claims on baby milk formulas
1 February 2018 - A report finds Swiss multinational is violating advertising codes and misleading consumers with nutritional claims. A new report by the Changing Markets Foundation found that Nestle marketed its infant milk formulas as 'closest to', 'inspired by' and 'following the example of' human breastmilk in several countries, despite a prohibition by the UN's World Health Organisation (WHO). The study, which analysed over 70 Nestle baby milk products in 40 countries, also found that Nestle often ignored its own nutritional advice in its advertising. (more)

Climate change seen as cause for mudslide in Switzerland
28 August 2017 - The effects of climate change are partially to blame for a mudslide through a southeastern village that left eight people missing after a massive chunk of rock broke off an Alpine mountainside, Switzerland's environmental protection office said Monday (28 August). Federal Office for the Environment director Marc Chardonnens said Switzerland must do more to brace for the effects of climate change, citing the 'weakening of the permafrost' atop many Alpine peaks as an example. (more)

Switzerland headed for record warm December
28 December 2015 - Switzerland will mark its warmest December since the country that founded winter tourism began keeping records 150 years ago. The dry warmth and slopes bereft of snow have hurt resort owners and ski lift operators, who are already contending with Switzerland's strong currency discouraging foreign visitors. Globally, this year will be the warmest on record and 2016 could be even warmer due to the El Niño weather pattern, the World Meteorological Organization said last month. (more)