• World's largest thermal energy storage to be built in Finland
• Finland is offering free vacations for people to come and learn how to be happy after being named the happiest country in the world
• Finland named happiest country in the world for sixth year in a row

• Transcendental Meditation to be offered in Finland universities, tech firms
• Finland schools and universities adopt Transcendental Meditation
• Invincible Finland University

• Men's long working hours, short sleep may harm health in old age
• Finnish study finds: Children's exposure to secondhand smoke tied to clogged arteries
• Finland: Infants exposed to 'potentially harmful' chemicals in vinyl

---

Positive Trends
Short Summaries of Top Stories

World's largest thermal energy storage to be built in Finland
16 April 2024 - A seasonal thermal energy storage will be built by Vantaa Energy in Vantaa, which is Finland's fourth largest city neighboring the capital of Helsinki. When completed, the seasonal energy storage facility will be the largest in the world by all standards. The operating principle of the seasonal thermal energy storage, called Varanto, is to store heat in underground caverns so that it can be used to heat buildings via the district heating network whenever it is needed. (more)

Finland is offering free vacations for people to come and learn how to be happy after being named the happiest country in the world
24 March 2023 - Finland has been named the happiest country in the world for the sixth year running. It's now offering 10 people a free trip to take part in a 'Masterclass of Happiness.' After repeated success in the area, Visit Finland is now offering ten people the chance to come to the country and learn how to be happy like the Finnish. (more)

Finland named happiest country in the world for sixth year in a row
20 March 2023 - Want to live in the happiest country in the world? It might be time to move to Finland. The Scandinavian nation has just been named the happiest country in the world by the World Happiness Report for the sixth year in a row, beating other countries such as Denmark, Iceland, and Israel to nab the top spot. Both Norway and Sweden join Finland in the top 10. Other countries included in the top 10 are the Netherlands, Switzerland, Luxembourg and New Zealand. Lithuania is the only new country to be listed in the top 20, moving up more than 30 places since 2017. (more)

Regular visits to green spaces linked to lower use of certain prescriptions - study
18 January 2023 - Frequent visits to green spaces in cities such as parks and community gardens -- rather than the amount or views of them from home -- may be linked to lower use of certain prescription meds, suggests research conducted in Finland. The observed connections between such visits and lower use of drugs for depression, anxiety, insomnia, high blood pressure, and asthma were not dependent on people's educational and income level. (more)

Visiting green spaces deters mental health drug use, researchers find
18 January 2023 - Visits to parks, community gardens and other urban green spaces may lower city dwellers' use of drugs for anxiety, insomnia, depression, high blood pressure, and asthma, research has found. Researchers in Finland found that visiting such areas three to four times a week cuts people's chances of turning to drugs for mental health problems or high blood pressure by a third, and for asthma by about a quarter. (more)

Traditional knowledge guides protection of planetary health in Finland
31 March 2022 - Scientists and Finnish traditional and Indigenous knowledge holders are collaborating to rewild and protect peatlands and associated forests and rivers, turning them into carbon sinks again, while bringing back wildlife and offering economic benefits to local communities. (more)

Finland: Architect's ephemeral lake art a winter tradition
14 December 2021 - An architect-designer in southern Finland has returned to a frozen lake with a snow shovel to draw a large animal on the ice for the sixth year in a row, creating an artwork that he hopes will 'make people happy and encourage them to go out to hike in a beautiful nature.' (more)

What is world's happiest country? Finland, Denmark, Switzerland, Iceland
19 March 2021 - Finland defended its title as the world's happiest country through a year marked by the pandemic, with people's trust in each other and their government proving a key factor. It's the fourth straight trophy for the Nordic country in the World Happiness Report 2021 published on Friday [19 March] by the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network. (more)

Finland: Greener play areas boost children's immune systems, research finds
14 October 2020 - Children whose outdoor play areas were transformed from gravel yards to mini-forests showed improved immune systems within a month, research has shown. The scientists believe this is because the children had developed significantly more diverse microbes on their skin and in their guts than the children whose playgrounds were not upgraded. The study involved 75 children in two cities in Finland, a relatively small number for a trial. 'But when we saw the results, we were very surprised because they were so strong,' said Aki Sinkkonen, at Natural Resources Institute Finland, who led the work. 'Our study can pave the way for new preventive practices to cut the global epidemic of immune-mediated diseases.' (more)

Neste and Shell to increase supply of sustainable aviation fuel
23 September 2020 - Finnish biofuel producer and oil refiner Neste said on Wednesday [23 September] it had signed an agreement with Shell Aviation to significantly increase the supply and availability of sustainable aviation fuel. The Finnish company, which has invested heavily in renewables, said the cooperation anticipated increasing demand from airlines to reduce emissions. (more)

---

Success of Maharishi's Programmes
Short Summaries of Top Stories

Transcendental Meditation to be offered in Finland universities, tech firms
28 December 2010 - Three newly qualified Transcendental Meditation Teachers recently returned home to Finland, with the aim of offering the programme in several universities and tech firms in the cities where they will be teaching. In other news from Finland, a January expo featuring Maharishi Ayur-Veda products will help increase public awareness of the world's oldest complete system of natural health care. (more)

Finland schools and universities adopt Transcendental Meditation
26 June 2010 - Several schools and universities in Finland have begun incorporating the Transcendental Meditation Programme among faculty and students, as the result of a tour of the country by Dr Ashley Deans, Global Ambassador for Consciousness-Based Education, in February 2010. (more)

Invincible Finland University
5 November 2007 - This week, iconic filmmaker Dr David Lynch will launch new national universities in Finland, Estonia, and Bulgaria, which will provide Total Knowledge--full enlightenment--to every student and invincibility to national consciousness. (more)

Progress of Consciousness-Based Education in Finland
24 June 2007 - The Chief Minister for Finland of the Global Country of World Peace reported that plans for building an Invincibility School in Finland are progressing. (more)

Finland: Yogic Flyer presents goals of the Global Financial Capital of Finland to reconstruct the whole world for life in accord with Natural Law
28 February 2007 - As a result of a press conference organized by Mr Hannu Heikkila, Director of the Global Financial Capital of Finland, Hameen Sanomata, a regional daily newspaper, published on 25 February a half-page article about the Global Financial Capital and its six programmes for creating invincibility in every nation. (more)

---

Flops
Short Summaries of Top Stories

Men's long working hours, short sleep may harm health in old age
4 November 2016 - Working long hours and skimping on sleep in midlife may lead to poorer physical health in old age, according to a study from Finland. A quarter-century study of Finnish businessmen found those who worked more than 50 hours a week and slept less than 47 hours weekly when they were middle aged were in worse physical health as old men than peers who had healthier work and sleep habits when they were in their prime. 'This is an exciting study because the follow-up is unusually long, 26 years,' said Dr. Mika Kivimaki at University College London in the U.K. who also was not part of the new study. (more)

Finnish study finds: Children's exposure to secondhand smoke tied to clogged arteries
23 March 2015 - In a Finnish study spanning 26 years, children exposed to parental smoking were more likely to develop plaque in their carotid arteries as young adults than children who were not exposed to secondhand smoke. These findings and others suggest the health effects of passive smoking on children are not limited to respiratory or developmental health, but can have a long-term impact on cardiovascular health, said senior author Costan G Magnussen of Menzies Research Institute Tasmania in Hobart, Australia. (more)

Finland: Infants exposed to 'potentially harmful' chemicals in vinyl
10 June 2014 - Most babies born prematurely and one-third of full-term infants are exposed to chemicals found in vinyl 'at a potentially harmful level,' according to new research in Finland. The study of 125 babies from the day they were born to 14 months old is the first comprehensive examination of infants' exposure to several phthalates. The chemicals, considered hormone disruptors, have been linked to health effects in animal tests and some human studies, including altered male genitalia, attention and learning problems, and asthma. The sources of the phthalates in the babies are unknown. But some researchers suspect that they came from hospital equipment or household materials. Shanna Swan, an environmental health scientist at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, said she is concerned by the findings because preterm babies already have 'a whole lot stacked against them.' Eighty per cent of the infants born before 37 week and 30 per cent of the full-term infants had levels of four phthalate metabolites in their urine that exceeded adult guidelines, based on hormone effects, set by the European Food Safety Authority. In animal tests, the chemicals had anti-androgenic effects on offspring, which means they blocked male hormones that guide reproductive development. (more)

Finland: Cynical attitude in golden years linked to dementia risk
30 May 2014 - An individual's personality and outlook on life may affect their risk of developing dementia, according to a new study from Finland. Cynical distrust, anger, or hostility have been linked to heart problems and inflammation in past research, and dementia may be another potential consequence of a bad attitude, researchers say. It's also possible that health problems and behaviours associated with cynicism are contributing to dementia risk, the study team notes. Cynical people tend to smoke more, weigh more, and exercise less, which can affect health, and they are less likely to follow medical advice or treatment regimens, researchers said. They also tend to have higher stress responses and inflammation, which can accelerate heart disease, which in turn contributes to dementia risk. (more)

Mid-life job stress linked to later health problems
26 December 2013 - More strain at work might mean more illness in old age, according to a new study from Finland. The study found both physical and mental job strain were tied to hospital stays later in life. Mental job strain can come from tight deadlines, high demands and having little control over one's work. Physical strain includes sweating, breathlessness and muscle strain. 'Job strain is something that is individually perceived, so persons working in similar jobs can report different amounts of job strain,' lead researcher Mikaela von Bonsdorff said. 'When talking about job strain it is important to remember that occasional feelings of job strain are not necessarily a bad thing, but persistent high job strain has been identified as a health hazard.' Recent studies have linked long-term job strain to lower functioning that lasts into old age, added von Bonsdorff. She is a gerontology researcher at the University of Jyväskylä in Finland. (more)

Finnish mine struggles to fix leak, high uranium found
9 November 2012 - Finnish nickel miner Talvivaara said on Friday it was still trying to fix a waste water leak at its mine in Sotkamo, eastern Finland, which resulted in high levels of uranium in nearby waters. Uranium more than 50 times higher than normal levels were found in streams this week near Talvivaara's nickel and zinc mine, according to nuclear safety officials, although they said they did not see any risk to public health. The ore from the mine also contains uranium. Talvivaara shut down production at the mine on Sunday after discovering the leakage, the latest in a series of problems at the site over the past year including environmental concerns and the death of a worker in March. The company announced early on Friday that it stopped the leakage, but later said that another leak had occurred and it was working to fix it. Even before the week's problems, the company was already struggling with low production and weak nickel prices. Talvivaara has cut its annual nickel production target twice this year, blaming heavy rainfall for disrupting production. (more)

The nearer the bar, the greater the chances of risky drinking
2 November 2012 - Does living near a bar encourage people to overindulge, or do heavy drinkers move to neighbourhoods with easy access to alcohol? A new study suggests it may be the former for some people. Researchers in Finland found that of nearly 55,000 Finnish adults followed for seven years, those who moved closer to bars were somewhat more likely to increase their drinking. When a person moved one kilometre (0.6 mile) closer to a bar, the odds of becoming a heavy drinker rose 17 per cent. A 'heavy drinker' meant more than 10 ounces a week for men and about seven ounces a week for women, of distilled alcohol. Since the study was done in Finland, one question is how well the findings would apply to other countries. That's unclear, Jaana L. Halonen, of the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health in Kuopio said, because drinking habits and 'cultural norms' vary by country. 'For instance,' she noted, 'in the UK and Australia, heavy drinking is reported to be more common than in Finland, whereas in the USA it is less common.' 'On the other hand,' she added, 'it is unlikely that easy access to a bar would affect drinking only among Finnish employees.' (more)

Moms' smoking linked to psychiatric meds in kids
27 August 2011 - Kids whose moms smoked while pregnant were more likely to end up on medications such as antidepressants, stimulants and drugs for addiction in a new study from Finland that hints at maternal smoking's effect on a baby's developing brain. The new study is 'entirely consistent with a large and still-growing research literature on the effects of prenatal and secondhand smoke exposure on the mental health of children,' said Dr. Michael Weitzman, who studies that topic at New York University Medical Center and was not involved in the new study. 'At the very least, parents need to be educated that they might be doing brain damage to their children if they smoke during key times in development,' Weitzman said. (more)

Finland: link between swine flu shot, narcolepsy
2 February 2011 - Finnish researchers have found an increased risk of narcolepsy among 4 to 19-year-olds who were given swine flu shots, a government health agency said Tuesday. The National Institute for Health and Welfare, which published the findings, said that 60 children and adolescents contracted narcolepsy in Finland in 2009 and 2010. Fifty-two of them -- or almost 90 per cent -- had received the Pandemrix vaccine. 'Based on the preliminary analyses, the risk of falling ill with narcolepsy among those vaccinated in the 4-19 years age group was nine-fold in comparison to those unvaccinated in the same age group,' the study said. It found that the biggest increase was among those aged 5 to 15 years. The World Health Organization welcomed the report but said it does not recommend any changes, and that the vaccine remains on the list of recommended vaccines. (more)

Finnish dock workers begin strike halting cargo
4 March 2010 - Dock workers stopped handling cargo at Finnish ports on Thursday after labour contract negotiations broke down, leading to the closing of most of the country's foreign trade. Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen said he feared the long-term effects of the strike in the highly export dependent economy, adding that it is costing the country more than €100 million ($137 million) daily in lost earnings. 'This is a very serious situation. Our national economy is in recession and we need to participate in the budding global economic recovery,' Mr Vanhanen said. 'We didn't really need this homemade setback. We have enough problems as it is.' The Finnish economy shrank in the fourth quarter of last year, as the global downturn continued to hit the country. Finland's gross domestic product was down 5.1 per cent compared to the same period in 2008. In the full year, the Finnish economy shrank 7.6 per cent compared to 2008, its largest drop since 1918. (more)