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10 million animals die on our roads each year. Here’s what works (and what doesn’t) to cut the toll

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/graeme-coulson-1378778">Graeme Coulson</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/the-university-of-melbourne-722">The University of Melbourne</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/helena-bender-98800">Helena Bender</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/the-university-of-melbourne-722">The University of Melbourne</a> There’s almost no warning. A dark shape appears on the side of the road, then you feel a jolt as something goes under the car. Or worse, the shape rears up, hits the front of your vehicle, then slams into the windscreen. You have just experienced a wildlife-vehicle collision. This gruesome scene plays out <a href="https://www.bbcearth.com/news/australias-road-kill-map">every night across Australia</a>. When these collisions happen, many animals become instant roadkill. An <a href="https://ses.library.usyd.edu.au/bitstream/handle/2123/23121/Thesis%20updated%20for%20library%20submission.pdf?sequence=1">estimated 10 million</a> native mammals, reptiles, birds and other species are killed each year. Others are injured and die away from the road. Some survive with <a href="https://theconversation.com/10-million-animals-are-hit-on-our-roads-each-year-heres-how-you-can-help-them-and-steer-clear-of-them-these-holidays-149733">terrible injuries and have to be euthanised</a>. The lucky ones might <a href="https://kb.rspca.org.au/knowledge-base/who-should-i-contact-about-injured-wildlife/">be rescued</a> by groups such as <a href="https://wildliferescue.net.au/">Wildlife Rescue</a>, <a href="https://www.wildlifevictoria.org.au/">Wildlife Victoria</a> and <a href="https://www.wires.org.au/">WIRES</a>. Wildlife-vehicle collisions also increase the risk to whole populations of some threatened species, such as <a href="https://doi.org/10.1071/WR17143">Lumholtz’s tree-kangaroo</a> on the Atherton Tablelands in Queensland. People are affected, too. Human <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/1742-6723.13361">deaths and injuries</a> from these collisions are rising, with motorcyclists at greatest risk. Vehicle repairs are <a href="https://www.mynrma.com.au/-/media/wildlife-road-safety-report--final.pdf">inconvenient and costly</a>. Added to this is the distress for people when dealing with a dead or dying animal on the roadside. How can we reduce the wildlife toll on our roads? Many measures have been tried and proven largely ineffective. However, other evidence-based approaches can help avoid collisions. <h2>Evidence for what works is limited</h2> Many communities are worried about the growing impacts of wildlife-vehicle collisions and are desperate for solutions. Recent reports from <a href="https://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:1822182/FULLTEXT01.pdf">Europe</a> and <a href="https://westerntransportationinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/4w7576_Huijser_etal_WVC_ConnectivityLiteratureReview_PooledFundStudyFinalReport_2021.pdf">North America</a> review the many methods to reduce such collisions. Do these findings apply to Australia’s unique fauna? Unfortunately, we don’t have a detailed analysis of options for our wildlife, but here’s what we know now. Well-designed fences keep wildlife off our highways but also fragment the landscape. Happily, animals will use crossing structures – overpasses and <a href="https://theconversation.com/good-news-highway-underpasses-for-wildlife-actually-work-187434">underpasses</a> – to get to food and mates on the other side of the road. Fences and crossings do work, but are regarded as too costly over Australia’s vast road network. As for standard wildlife warning signs, drivers <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4494358/">ignore most of them</a> after a while, making them ineffective. Signs with graphic images and variable messages get <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/ani3041142">more attention</a>, but we need road trials to assess their effect on drivers and collision rates. <h2>Whistling in the dark</h2> Some drivers install cheap, wind-driven, high-pitched wildlife whistles on their vehicles. Tests in the United States 20 years ago found humans and deer <a href="https://doi.org/10.1121/1.1582071">could not hear any whistling sound</a> above the road noise of the test vehicle. Yet these devices are still sold in Australia as kangaroo deterrents. The Shu-Roo, an Australian invention, is an active wildlife whistle. It is fitted to the bumper bar, producing a high-pitched electronic sound, which is claimed to scare wildlife away from the road. Sadly, <a href="https://rest.neptune-prod.its.unimelb.edu.au/server/api/core/bitstreams/3c3154e0-2f48-5b73-a6cd-a7423c2a75ee/content">our tests</a> show the Shu-Roo signal can’t be heard above road noise 50 metres away and has no effect on captive kangaroo behaviour. We also recruited fleets of trucks, buses, vans, utes and cars to field test the Shu-Roo. Nearly 100 vehicles covered more than 4 million kilometres across Australia over 15,500 days. The drivers reported just over one wildlife-vehicle collision per 100,000km travelled, but <a href="https://doi.org/10.7882/AZ.2021.042">there was no difference in the rate</a> for vehicles fitted with a Shu-Roo versus those without one. The virtual fence is the latest attempt to reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions. It uses a line of posts spaced along the roadside, each with a unit producing loud sounds and flashing lights aimed away from the road. Vehicle headlights activate the units, which are claimed to alert animals and reduce the risk of collision. Early results from Tasmania were encouraging. A 50% drop in possum and wallaby deaths was reported, but <a href="https://doi.org/10.1071/AM19009">this trial had many design flaws</a>. Recent trials in <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/9/10/752">Tasmania</a>, <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/12/10/1323">New South Wales</a> and <a href="https://www.redland.qld.gov.au/downloads/download/292/virtual_fence_to_reduce_vehicle_collisions_with_wallabies_on_heinemann_rd_-_final_report_2020">Queensland</a> show no effect of virtual fencing on collisions with possums, wallabies or wombats. Our concern is that this system is being <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-06-02/wildlife-fence-trial-underway-in-queensland-and-phillip-island/12268110">rolled out</a> in <a href="https://www.townsville.qld.gov.au/about-council/news-and-publications/media-releases/2023/june/councils-innovative-trial-helping-keep-local-wildlife-safe">many</a> <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-10-26/nsw-south-coast-council-first-virtual-fence-to-protect-wildlife/101571600">parts</a> of <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/politics/victoria/the-stealth-tech-aiming-to-stop-roos-from-becoming-roadkill-20231222-p5etda.html">Australia</a>. It gives the impression of action to reduce collisions with wildlife, but without an evidence base, solid study design or adequate monitoring. <h2>A very messy problem</h2> The problem has many dimensions. We need to consider all of them to achieve safe travel for people and animals on our roads. At a landscape level, collision hotspots occur where wildlife frequently cross roads, which can help us predict the collision risk for species such as <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/aec.13465">koalas</a>. But the risk differs between species. For example, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2021.e01530">on Phillip Island</a> most wallaby collisions happen on rural roads, while most involving possums and birds are in urban streets. Traffic volume and speed are key factors for many species, including <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.2306">kangaroos</a>. Driver training and experience are also important. In the Royal National Park in New South Wales, <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/6/6/40">half the drivers surveyed</a> had struck animals, including wallabies and deer. Yet most still <a href="https://theconversation.com/10-million-animals-are-hit-on-our-roads-each-year-heres-how-you-can-help-them-and-steer-clear-of-them-these-holidays-149733">weren’t keen</a> to slow down or avoid driving at dawn and dusk. Road design has a major influence on wildlife-vehicle collions too, but the planning process too often <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2022.959918">neglects wildlife studies</a>. Smarter cars are <a href="https://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:1822182/FULLTEXT01.pdf">being developed</a>. One day these will use AI to spot animal hazards, apply automatic emergency braking and alert other drivers of real-time risk. To explore potential technological solutions, Transport for NSW is running a <a href="https://www.eianz.org/events/event/symposium-using-technology-to-reduce-wildlife-vehicle-collisions">symposium</a> at the University of Technology Sydney on May 21. The symposium will cover wildlife ecology and the evidence base for options to reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions in Australia. <hr /> If you see an injured animal on the road, call <a href="https://www.wildliferescue.net.au/">Wildlife Rescue Australia</a> on 1300 596 457. for specific state and territory numbers, go to the <a href="https://kb.rspca.org.au/knowledge-base/who-should-i-contact-about-injured-wildlife/">RSPCA injured wildlife site</a>.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/222367/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/graeme-coulson-1378778">Graeme Coulson</a>, Honorary Principal Fellow, School of BioSciences, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/the-university-of-melbourne-722">The University of Melbourne</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/helena-bender-98800">Helena Bender</a>, Senior Lecturer, Environmental Social Sciences, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/the-university-of-melbourne-722">The University of Melbourne</a> Image credits: Getty Images This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/10-million-animals-die-on-our-roads-each-year-heres-what-works-and-what-doesnt-to-cut-the-toll-222367">original article</a>.

Domestic Travel

"Each bauble represents a life lost": Haunting Christmas tree sends powerful message

As the holiday season approaches, a haunting symbol of despair has once again taken root at Victoria Police headquarters – carrying with it a message of melancholy that we are unaccustomed to at this normally festive time of year. Instead of joyous ornaments and twinkling lights, a Christmas tree adorned with glistening blue baubles now stands as a remarkably poignant testament to the road death carnage that has befallen the state throughout 2023. These beautiful baubles, each etched with the name and age of those lost on Victoria's roads this year, tell a grim tale of grief and loss. With the toll reaching 274 by December 6, it marks the darkest year for the state since 2008. In a moving video accompanying the dressing of the tree, Road Policing Assistant Commissioner Glenn Weir implored the public to drive cautiously during the Christmas period, desperately hoping to prevent the addition of any more baubles to this sorrowful tree. "This Christmas tree is unlike any other; it's one we don't want to see decorated," Commissioner Weir soberly explained. "Each bauble represents a life lost, a stark reminder of the importance of road safety. Please, drive safely this festive period. Take care, have conversations with your loved ones, and remember the responsibility you bear when behind the wheel." November alone witnessed the loss of 35 lives on Victorian roads, marking it as the worst month this year. In response, the police are intensifying road policing operations throughout December in an attempt to curb further tragedies. In a bid to address the escalating death toll, the Transport Accident Commission (TAC) has launched the initiative "Stop kidding yourself. If you drink, don't drive," running from December 4 to the end of January. Shockingly, it has also been revealed that one in five individuals killed on Victorian roads had a blood alcohol concentration of .05 or higher. TAC CEO Tracey Slatter also called on the urgent need for a cultural shift, challenging the notion that driving after consuming any amount of alcohol should be deemed "normal". "Many people think they can manage their blood-alcohol level with vague rules handed down through generations," she said. "But the only way to avoid the risk entirely is to completely separate drinking and driving." As the Christmas tree of remembrance continues to grow with each passing day, it stands as a poignant symbol of the lives lost on Victoria's roads, imploring society to reflect, change and prioritise the safety of every journey. Images: Victoria Police

Travel Trouble

Why we feel like Christmas comes around more quickly each year

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/ruth-ogden-1182467">Ruth Ogden</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/liverpool-john-moores-university-1319">Liverpool John Moores University</a> Think back to your childhood. December was the longest of months. It might have been filled with rehearsing school nativity performances, writing up your wishlist and savouring the morning’s advent calendar chocolate. But at times it felt like Santa would never arrive. As an adult it’s a different experience. One minute it’s summer holidays, barbecues and sunburn and then, in the blink of an eye, it’s mince pies, tinsel and turkey. Is it just me, or is Christmas coming around faster? If you cannot believe the festive season is upon us already, you’re not alone. My colleagues and recently conducted a survey of 918 adults in the UK (full results still to be published) and found 77% of respondents agreed Christmas seems to arrive more rapidly each year. One reason may be the way we experience the <a href="https://brill.com/view/journals/time/9/3/article-p275_275.xml">passage of time changes as we age</a>, often resulting in the feeling that <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0961463x13478052">time speeds up as we get older</a>. For a seven-year- old, the 12 months between Christmases are a huge proportion of their life. For a 45-year-old, those same 12 months are a small portion of their experience. This <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.2466/pms.1975.41.1.235">difference in ratio</a> compresses the relative time between Christmases each year. Our experience of time also changes because we rely on memory to estimate duration. When we judge how long something lasted for, we base our estimate on <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2004-18721-003">how many memories we made during the period of interest</a>. Whether we are trying to remember the length of a film, car journey or relationship, the number of memories we encoded during it will serve as an indicator of its length. Periods of time in which fewer new memories are made, either because there was a lack of stimulating tasks, novel activities or heightened emotions, are interpreted by <a href="https://philpapers.org/rec/BLORAP">our brains as short</a>. <h2>Where has the year gone</h2> As we age, memory becomes more fallible and we recall less from our day to day lives. We’re also less likely to try new things than when we were younger. Together these factors may contribute to the sensation that less time has passed since last Christmas than we were expecting. Because what we do has such a strong influence on how we experience time, <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0235871">changes to our routine distort the passage of time</a>. A predictable day helps time to flow steadily. This was illustrated on a global scale during the pandemic. One minute we were all going about our daily lives. Then all of a sudden, our routines were scrambled. People from <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/comments?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0266261">Buenos Aries</a> to <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0266877">Bagdad</a> reported an overwhelming sense time did not pass as normal during the pandemic. While Christmas does not cause the same level of disruption as a global pandemic, it disrupts our habits. <h2>Can’t wait ‘til it’s Christmas?</h2> Another factor which may make us feel like Christmas is here too fast is the amount of energy we put into anticipating it. For many children, Christmas is arguably the most eagerly awaited event of the year. Advent calendars count down the days until Father Christmas arrives. All this excitement means children pay a lot of attention to the passage of time in the run up to Christmas. Unfortunately for them, focusing on the passage of time <a href="https://digitalcommons.usm.maine.edu/facbooks/472/">typically makes it drag</a>. For most adults, Christmas is less thrilling. So adults probably think less about the countdown. Paying less attention to time <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35902608/">makes it pass more quickly</a>. The effect may have been particularly pronounced this year because, in the post-pandemic normality, life is busier than ever and we have even less time to think about Christmas. Technological change also affects our perception of time. Advances in technology enable us to accomplish more tasks, more quickly, than ever before. This acceleration in the <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.2466/pms.1975.41.1.235">pace of life</a> over the past 20 years may also contribute to the sensation that Christmas now comes around too soon. <h2>Running out of time</h2> Despite paying less attention to time, adults experience significantly more demands on their schedules than children in the run up to Christmas. For children, Christmas happens by magic. For adults however the festive mystique is replaced by large amounts of planning, shopping, wrapping and cooking. The added time pressure created by Christmas may contribute to time passing more quickly. The lack of control children have over Christmas likely increases their level of <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1053810015300465">temporal uncertainty</a>. Not knowing when, or indeed if, something will happen can also slow the passage of time. However, maybe we feel like Christmas comes around faster each year because it really does. In years gone by Christmas advertising wasn’t seen until the start of Advent. Nowadays it is normal to see chocolate Santas on the supermarket shelves in early October. This literal <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0165176505002284">shifting of the Christmas timeline</a> undoubtedly adds to the psychological sense of Christmas coming earlier. However, retailers’ attempts to increase profits by starting the festive period earlier each year come at a price. When retailer Very.com launched it’s Christmas <a href="https://metro.co.uk/2022/10/10/christmas-advert-in-october-from-very-outrages-viewers-17534895/">advertising campaign on October 7</a> in 2021 there was public outrage. We don’t want to actually see Christmas coming around more quickly. Very didn’t repeat their mistake this year.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/194575/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/ruth-ogden-1182467">Ruth Ogden</a>, Reader in Experimental Psychology, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/liverpool-john-moores-university-1319">Liverpool John Moores University</a> Image credits: Shutterstock This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-we-feel-like-christmas-comes-around-more-quickly-each-year-194575">original article</a>.

Mind

Do racehorses even know they’re ‘racing’ each other? It’s unlikely

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/cathrynne-henshall-572585">Cathrynne Henshall</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/charles-sturt-university-849">Charles Sturt University</a> When racing season arrives, everyone becomes an expert on the horses that are the stars of the spectacle. TV personalities, professional pundits and form guides talk confidently about the favourite’s “<a href="https://www.racenet.com.au/news/tony-brassel-on-the-great-unmeasurable-ticker">will to win</a>”. In close races, the equine contestants “<a href="https://www.justhorseracing.com.au/news/australian-racing/war-machine-to-battle-it-out/120326">battle it out</a>”, demonstrating “heart”, “grit” and “determination”. But do horses even know they are in a race, let alone have a desire to win it? Do they understand what it means when their nose is the first one to pass the post? Based on decades of experience and everything we know about horse behaviour, I think the most plausible answer is “no”. <h2>From the horse’s perspective</h2> From a horse’s perspective, there are few intrinsic rewards for winning a race. Reaching the end might mean relief from the pressure to keep galloping at high speed and hits from the jockey’s whip, but the same is true for all the horses once they pass the finishing post. If the race is close, the horse that eventually wins might even be <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0015622">whipped more often</a> in the final stages than horses further back in the field. So while being first to reach the winning post can be crucially important to the horse’s human connections, there is very little direct, intrinsic benefit to the horse that would motivate it to voluntarily gallop faster to achieve this outcome. So does a horse even know it’s in a race? Again, the answer is likely “no”. Running (cantering or galloping) is a quintessential horse behaviour and horses voluntarily run together in groups when given the opportunity – even in races <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/world/2022/08/22/riderless-race-horses-take-to-the-streets-in-central-italy-in-pictures/">without jockeys</a>. However, there are a number of reasons to think horses have not evolved a desire to “win” during a group gallop. Horses are social animals. In the wild, to minimise their individual exposure to predators, they <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0258944">synchronise their movement</a> with other horses in their group. This synchronisation includes maintaining similar speeds to other group members (to keep the group together), being alert to the positions of their own body and their neighbours’ to avoid collisions, and adapting their speed to the terrain and environmental cues that indicate upcoming danger or obstacles. In the wild, “winning” – that is, arriving first, long before other group members – could even be a negative, exposing the “winner” to an increased risk of predation. This collective behaviour is the opposite of what owners, trainers and punters want from horses during a race. <h2>The horse’s preferences (and how riders override them)</h2> Horse races depend on two horse-related factors: the horse’s innate tendency to synchronise with other horses, and its ability to be trained to ignore these tendencies in response to cues from the jockey during a race. Trainers and jockeys also harness the preferences of individual horses. Some horses are averse to bunching up with others during the race, so jockeys let them move to the front of the field (these are “<a href="https://www.racingnsw.com.au/news/feature-articles/the-art-of-the-front-runner-timing-a-jockeys-best-friend/">front runners</a>”). Other horses seek the security of the group, so jockeys let them remain in the bunch until closer to the winning post (these are “come-from-behind” winners). Jockeys use several different interventions to override the horse’s innate tendency to synchronise. These might include: <ul> <li> directing the horses to travel much closer to the other horses (risking the sometimes fatal injuries we sometimes see at the track) </li> <li> travelling at speeds not of the horse’s choosing (usually at far higher speeds and for longer durations, and often maintained by use of the whip) </li> <li> preventing the horse from changing course to adapt its position relative to other horses in the field (directing its path via pressure on the mouth from the bit or taps from the whip). </li> </ul> During the early stages of a race, jockeys rely on horses’ innate desire to remain with the group to ensure they maintain the physical effort required to keep in touch with the front runners. This tendency may then be overruled so the horse will act independently of the group, leave it behind and come to the front to hopefully win. <h2>No concept of being in a race</h2> So horses most likely have no concept of being in a “race”, where the goal of their galloping is to get to a certain location on the track before any of the other horses. However, they undoubtedly know what it’s like to be in a race. That is, they learn through prior experience and training what is likely to happen and what to do during a race. And with jockeys and trainers who understand the individual preferences of their horses to maximise their chances during the race, there will always be one horse that reaches that part of the track designated the winning post before the other horses in the group. But as for winning horses understanding they are there to “win”? It’s far more likely it is the combination of natural ability, physical fitness and jockey skill that accounts for which horse wins, rather than any innate desire by that horse to get to the winning post before the other horses.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/216641/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/cathrynne-henshall-572585">Cathrynne Henshall</a>, Lecturer, School of Agricultural, Environmental and Veterinary Sciences, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/charles-sturt-university-849">Charles Sturt University</a> Image credits: Getty Images This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/do-racehorses-even-know-theyre-racing-each-other-its-unlikely-216641">original article</a>.

Money & Banking

A drink each day or just on the weekends? Here’s why alcohol-free days are important

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/megan-lee-490875">Megan Lee</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/bond-university-863">Bond University</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/emily-roberts-1456408">Emily Roberts</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/bond-university-863">Bond University</a> In recent years, drinkers have become more aware of the health dangers of drinking alcohol, from disease to risky behaviour and poorer wellbeing. Events like the just-finished <a href="https://www.dryjuly.com/">Dry July</a>, <a href="https://febfast.org.au/">Febfast</a> and <a href="https://hellosundaymorning.org/2020/01/15/10-practical-tips-for-staying-af-alcohol-free/">Hello Sunday Morning</a> – when people voluntarily abstain from alcohol for periods of time – are growing in popularity and raise awareness about the risks involved in overindulgence. Many people extend these alcohol-free periods throughout the year by incorporating alcohol-free days into their weekly routines, while still enjoying a drink on the weekends. But does drinking the same amount spread over the week versus just on the weekends, make any difference health-wise? <h2>How much is too much?</h2> Australian alcohol <a href="https://alcoholthinkagain.com.au/alcohol-and-your-health/alcohol-guidelines#:%7E:text=Alcohol%20guideline%20for%20adults,standard%20drinks%20on%20any%20day">guidelines</a> and the <a href="https://www.who.int/europe/news/item/04-01-2023-no-level-of-alcohol-consumption-is-safe-for-our-health">World Health Organization</a> state there is no safe level of alcohol use. For adults who do drink, the guidelines recommend a maximum of four drinks in one sitting or ten in a week. (A zero-alcohol approach is recommended for under-18s and during pregnancy.) For some, this may not sound like much at all. One in four Australians exceed the recommendation of no more than four drinks in one session with men <a href="https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/alcohol/alcohol-tobacco-other-drugs-australia/contents/drug-types/alcohol">more likely</a> to do so than women. This amount <a href="https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/binge-drinking">can result</a> in alcohol poisoning, damage to brain cells and a higher likelihood of engaging in risky behaviours leading to violence, accidents and unprotected sex. <h2>But what about a wine each night?</h2> Even abiding by the Australian alcohol guidelines and drinking in moderation – one or <a href="https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/how-alcohol-affects-your-health#short-term-effects">two drinks each day</a> over the week – can be risky. Possible health outcomes of <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/alcohol/fact-sheets/moderate-drinking.htm">moderated drinking</a> include increased risk of cancer, liver and heart disease, alcohol use disorder, and an increase in the symptoms of anxiety and depression. Everyone processes alcohol at a different rate depending on age, gender, body shape and size. However, for most people, alcohol can still be <a href="https://www.alcoholrehabguide.org/alcohol/how-long-alcohol-stay-system/">detected</a> in the blood 12 hours after consumption. When the body is constantly processing the toxins in alcohol, it can lead to a chronic state of inflammation which is <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/acer.13886?casa_token=dxIr4RolhC4AAAAA%3Acy6BTsnPHzJoIpbf2Ow_JQhMOcb3fLPc3LPs_0OwiCi_4P3sAJTeWYgmE9YujD7Ev25bA_I757DeDLk">linked to</a> physical and mental health risks. There are several biological mechanisms associated with alcohol’s impact on the brain. Alcohol destroys the fine balance of the bacteria in the gut microbiome, which has been <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S152169181730118X?casa_token=zwAVYFxdTdcAAAAA:ku6TCQ-fl1btAYqie_ydg2GpHeLGnYy3QdUn_SDhV7EWtXfuLrolAO5TpI5DtFLM7Ngz9JgKYoGX">linked</a> to brain health. Alcohol consumption disrupts the function of the amygdala – a part of the brain important for <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/amygdala">processing and regulating emotion</a>, including our fear response. When this is impaired we are <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1053811910015405?casa_token=RmqcP2vnA5oAAAAA:GW3POct2CQA6Kv8zqE9GaEfsvwLY200NNpf3Qk1k31xE8ZhR5MWau-D0Wj7gWnV7ZiohfKNASHEY">less likely</a> to pay attention to our fears and more likely to engage in risk-taking behaviour. Areas involved in <a href="https://www.jsad.com/doi/abs/10.15288/jsa.1990.51.114">language production and comprehension</a> are also affected by alcohol, with too much leading to slurred speech and the inability to comprehend communication from others. When drinking dulls frontal lobe brain function, it can can lead to <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/add.15023#add15023-bib-0092">changes in personality</a> for some people. <a href="https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/brochures-and-fact-sheets/interrupted-memories-alcohol-induced-blackouts">Blackouts</a> can occur from the influence of alcohol on the hippocampus. <h2>So, no drinking then?</h2> While sobriety may be the answer for optimal health, depriving ourselves of the things we enjoy can also lead to negative mental health and a <a href="https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-016-2766-x#:%7E:text=Deprived%20lower%20and%20increased%20risk,wine%20across%20all%20drinker%20categories">higher likelihood</a> we will binge in the future. This is why alcohol-free days are becoming so popular, to balance health risks while also giving us the chance to enjoy social activities. Including alcohol-free days in your routine can <a href="https://harmreductionjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12954-022-00603-x">give the body</a> a chance to rehydrate, detoxify and repair itself from the toxic properties of alcohol. Detoxification can <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32391879/">lead to</a> improved liver function and sleep quality, less water retention and easier weight control, clearer thinking, improved memory, more energy, clearer skin, a strengthened immune system and decrease symptoms of anxiety and depression. Alcohol-free days can also create a domino effect by encouraging <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0031938410000259">other healthy behaviours</a> like eating more fruits and vegetables, drinking more water, improved sleep patterns and getting up early to exercise. <h2>6 tips for better drinking balance</h2> If you’re looking to incorporate more alcohol-free days into your routine you could try to <ol> <li><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772724622000142">set realistic goals</a>. Clarify how many and what days will be your alcohol-free days, mark them on a calendar and set reminders on your phone</li> <li>plan <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/20/4/2884">alcohol-free activities</a> and find alcohol alternatives. List all the activities you like that do not include drinking and plan to do these at the times of the day you would normally drink</li> <li><a href="https://jamesclear.com/atomic-habits-summary">make alcohol “invisible”</a>. Keeping beer out of the fridge and wine and spirits in closed cupboards keeps them from the forefront of your mind</li> <li>seek support and encouragement from your <a href="https://www.proquest.com/docview/2528837696?pq-origsite=gscholar&fromopenview=true">partner and/or family</a></li> <li>incorporate stress management techniques like meditation and <a href="https://www.proquest.com/docview/2675715755?pq-origsite=gscholar&fromopenview=true">mindfulness</a>. Observe how you feel on alcohol-free days and note positive changes in your physical and mental wellbeing</li> <li>reflect on your progress. Acknowledge and celebrate each alcohol-free day. Allow yourself non-alcoholic rewards for achieving your goals.</li> </ol> Finally, it’s important to know everyone slips up now and then. Practice self-forgiveness if you do have a drink on a planned alcohol-free day and don’t give up. <img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/210193/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/megan-lee-490875">Megan Lee</a>, Senior Teaching Fellow, Psychology, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/bond-university-863">Bond University</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/emily-roberts-1456408">Emily Roberts</a>, PhD Candidate, Psychology, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/bond-university-863">Bond University</a> Image credits: Getty Images This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/a-drink-each-day-or-just-on-the-weekends-heres-why-alcohol-free-days-are-important-210193">original article</a>.

Food & Wine

"We love each other": Mayor marries reptile in stunning ceremony

Love comes when you least expect it and for one mayor in the small town of San Pedro Huamelula, Mexico, his match caiman he never looked back. Victor Hugo Sosa, the mayor of the town has said “I do” to his “princess girl”, a caiman named Alicia Adriana, and his wedding speech is one for the books. 'I accept responsibility because we love each other. That is what is important. You can't have a marriage without love... I yield to marriage with the princess girl,' he vowed. Onlookers clapped and danced in celebration as the mayor kissed and embraced his new bride who was dressed in a white gown and veil. The ceremony is part of a 230-year tradition which symbolises the joining of humans with the divine, as she is thought to be a deity representing mother earth. It also commemorates the day when two Indigenous groups came to peace- with the marriage between a Chontal king, now represented by the mayor, and a princess girl of the Huave Indigenous group, now represented by the female alligator. The age-old ritual involves the reptile being taken house to house before the wedding so that residents can take their turn dancing with it. She is later on changed into her wedding dress, which Olivia Perez was in charge of during this ceremony. "For us, the crocodile is important because she is the princess who comes to bring us water, a good harvest, rains, so that God the Almighty Father sends us food, fish, corn, the harvest," she said. After the wedding, the mayor dances with his bride to traditional music. Local fishermen would also take part in the ritual and toss their nets on the ground in hopes that their marriage would bring “'good fishing, so that there is prosperity, equilibrium and ways to live in peace.” Images: Getty, Oaxaca Informa10 Twitter

Relationships

“We will lean on each other”: Singleton Roosters open up on their devastating loss

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that the following article may contain the name and image of a person who has died. Singleton Roosters AFC, a regional football club rocked by the Hunter Valley wedding bus tragedy, has released a heartbreaking statement on their devastating losses. 10 people passed away in the devastating crash, with seven of them members of, or close to, the club - Kane Symons, Rebecca Mullen, Tori Cowburn, Andrew and Lynan Scott, and Nadene and Kyah McBride. “The Singleton Roosters Australian Football Club has been devastated by the tragic bus incident in the Hunter Valley,” the club’s president Dylan Hixon said from their home ground at Rose Point Park. “Our community has experienced unfathomable heartache, distress, and sadness, after a number of people closely connected to the club were on board and either injured or killed.” He went on to share that their “first priority and focus is on supporting the families, friends, and those from our wider club community who have been affected by this unspeakable tragedy. “We thank every person and organisation that has offered support and condolences to our club and the families affected, not only within our town and AFL community but also for those associated with the wedding party.” And as the 4261 residents of the town mourned their loss, he called for “the privacy of our community to be respected”, noting that “our club has been formed out of great people and the relationships fostered within it, and we will lean on each other through this incredibly difficult time, with the memory of everyone that has been lost at the forefront of our thoughts.” The same statement was shared to the club’s social media, where supporters and well-meaning readers showered the post with their love and sympathies, with many opting to share heart emojis in the team’s colours in remembrance for those they’d lost. <iframe style="border: none; overflow: hidden;" src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fpermalink.php%3Fstory_fbid%3Dpfbid02Kx9jra6awxLn7uyP7Psj9S14AV8Ufd747JPk1SCpjmmqweBL1HfvQBWgLet5s8Lrl%26id%3D100057365271717&show_text=true&width=500" width="500" height="278" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> The club and its supporters had already taken steps towards helping the families impacted by the tragedy, having raised $121,159 with a now-closed GoFundMe. The assistance wasn’t to stop there though, with Singleton Roosters AFC now directing any potential donors to the <a href="https://donations.rawcs.com.au/78-2022-23">Hunter Valley (NSW) Bus Tragedy Fund</a>, where a further $611,00 - and counting - has been raised for “relief and support to survivors, victims, and their immediate families from the events of the fatal bus accident”. Images: Facebook

Caring

Long-married couples said not to know each other as well as newlyweds

You would think decades of marriage together would give older couples plenty of time to get to know each other but an interesting new study suggests otherwise, finding that couples who have been together for decades are worse at predicting what their partner likes than newlyweds. The study, published in the Journal of Consumer Psychology, tested young couples, aged from 19 to 32, who had been together for an average of two years and older couples, aged from 62 to 78, who had been together for at least 40 years. Each of the 116 participants was presented with a series of descriptions (of foods, movies, house designs and so on) and asked to rate his or her preference and predict how their partner would rate the item. They were also asked to estimate how many of their predictions were correct. And well, overall, we’re not great at knowing what our significant other likes, even though we think we are. Young couples got 42 per cent of their predictions right and older couples only predicted 36 per cent of their partners’ preferences, when both couple groups overconfidently estimated they would get 62 per cent of answers right. “This is surprising because, compared to younger couples, older couples had much more time and opportunities to learn about each other's preferences over the course of their relationship,” the team of psychologist wrote. They suggested that younger couples may be more motivated to understand their partners during the early stages of a relationship. “Another reason could be that older couples pay less attention to each other, because they view their relationship as already firmly committed or because they think they already know their partner well,” said one of the researchers, Dr Benjamin Scheibehenne of the University of Basel. Image credit: Shutterstock

Relationships

Social media use and poor wellbeing feed into each other in a vicious cycle

We often hear about the negative impacts of social media on our wellbeing, but we don’t usually think of it the other way round – whereby how we feel may impact how we use social media. In a <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00127-022-02363-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">recent study</a>, my colleagues and I investigated the relationship between social media use and wellbeing in more than 7,000 adults across four years, using survey responses from the longitudinal <a href="https://www.psych.auckland.ac.nz/en/about/new-zealand-attitudes-and-values-study.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">New Zealand Attitudes and Values Study</a>. We found social media use and wellbeing impact each other. Poorer wellbeing – specifically higher psychological distress and lower life satisfaction – predicted higher social media use one year later, and higher social media use predicted poorer wellbeing one year later. A vicious cycle Interestingly, wellbeing impacted social media use more than the other way round. Going from having “no distress” to being distressed “some of the time”, or “some of the time” to “most of the time”, was associated with an extra 27 minutes of daily social media use one year later. These findings were the same for men and women across all age groups. This suggests people who have poor wellbeing might be turning to social media more, perhaps as a coping mechanism – but this doesn’t seem to be helping. Unfortunately, and paradoxically, turning to social media may worsen the very feelings and symptoms someone is hoping to escape. Our study found higher social media use results in poorer wellbeing, which in turn increases social media use, exacerbating the existing negative feelings, and so on. This creates a vicious cycle in which people seem to get trapped. If you think this might describe your relationship with social media, there are some strategies you can use to try to get out of this vicious cycle. Reflect on how and why you use social media Social media aren’t inherently bad, but <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/jcmc/zmz013" target="_blank" rel="noopener">how and why</a> we use them is really important – even more than how much time we spend on social media. For example, using social media to interact with others or for entertainment has been linked to improved wellbeing, whereas engaging in comparisons on social media can be detrimental to wellbeing. So chat to your friends and watch funny dog videos to your heart’s content, but just watch out for those comparisons. What we look at online is important too. One <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2020.02.002" target="_blank" rel="noopener">experimental study</a> found just ten minutes of exposure to “fitspiration” images (such as slim/toned people posing in exercise clothing or engaging in fitness) led to significantly poorer mood and body image in women than exposure to travel images. And mindless scrolling can also be harmful. Research suggests this passive use of social media is more damaging to wellbeing <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/sipr.12033" target="_blank" rel="noopener">than active use</a> (such as talking or interacting with friends). <figure class="align-center zoomable"><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/489514/original/file-20221013-6097-aup4h7.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/489514/original/file-20221013-6097-aup4h7.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/489514/original/file-20221013-6097-aup4h7.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/489514/original/file-20221013-6097-aup4h7.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/489514/original/file-20221013-6097-aup4h7.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/489514/original/file-20221013-6097-aup4h7.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/489514/original/file-20221013-6097-aup4h7.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/489514/original/file-20221013-6097-aup4h7.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" alt="A person scrolls through a social media site on their phone" /></a><figcaption>Mindless scrolling can be damaging to your wellbeing. Shutterstock</figcaption></figure> So be mindful about how and why you use social media, and how it makes you feel! If most of your use falls under the “harmful” category, that’s a sign to change or cut down your use, or even take a break. One 2015 experiment with more than 1,000 participants found taking a break from Facebook for just one week <a href="https://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2016.0259" target="_blank" rel="noopener">increased life satisfaction</a>. Don’t let social media displace other activities Life is all about balance, so make sure you’re still doing important activities away from your phone that support your wellbeing. <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.609967" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Research</a> suggests time spent outdoors, on hobbies or crafts, and engaging in physical activity can help improve your wellbeing. So put your phone down and organise a picnic with friends, join a new class, or find an enjoyable way to move your body. Address your poor wellbeing According to our <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00127-022-02363-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">findings</a>, it may be useful to think of your own habitual social media use as a symptom of how you’re feeling. If your use suggests you aren’t in a good place, perhaps you need to identify and address what’s getting you down. The first, very crucial step is getting help. A great place to start is talking to a health professional such as your general practitioner or a therapist. You can also reach out to organisations like <a href="https://www.beyondblue.org.au/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Beyond Blue</a> and <a href="https://headspace.org.au/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Headspace</a> for evidence-based support.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/191590/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> Writen by Hannah Jarman. Republished with permission from <a href="https://theconversation.com/social-media-use-and-poor-wellbeing-feed-into-each-other-in-a-vicious-cycle-here-are-3-ways-to-avoid-getting-stuck-191590" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>. Image: Getty Images

Technology

740,000km of fishing line and 14 billion hooks: we reveal just how much fishing gear is lost at sea each year

Two per cent of all fishing gear used worldwide ends up polluting the oceans, our <a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abq0135" target="_blank" rel="noopener">new research</a> finds. To put that into perspective, the amount of longline fishing gear littering the ocean each year can circle the Earth more than 18 times. We interviewed 450 fishers from seven of the world’s biggest fishing countries including Peru, Indonesia, Morocco and the United States, to find out just how much gear enters the global ocean. We found at current loss rates, in 65 years there would be enough fishing nets littering the sea to cover the entire planet. This lost fishing equipment, known as ghost gear, can cause heavy social, economic and environmental damage. Hundreds of thousands of animals <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11160-018-9520-7" target="_blank" rel="noopener">are estimated to die</a> each year from unintentional capture in fishing nets. Derelict nets can continue to fish indiscriminately for decades. Our research findings help highlight where to focus efforts to stem the tide of fishing pollution. It can also help inform fisheries management and policy interventions from local to global scales. <h2>14 billion longline hooks litter the sea each year</h2> The data we collected came directly from fishers themselves. They experience this issue firsthand and are best poised to inform our understanding of fishing gear losses. We surveyed fishers using five major gear types: gillnets, longlines, purse seine nets, trawl nets, and pots and traps. We asked how much fishing gear they used and lost annually, and what gear and vessel characteristics could be making the problem worse. This included vessel and gear size, whether the gear contacts the seafloor, and the total amount of gear used by the vessel. We coupled these surveys with information on global fishing effort data from commercial fisheries. Fishers use different types of nets to catch different types of fish. Our research found the amount of nets littering the ocean each year include: <ul> <li>740,000 kilometres of longline mainlines</li> <li>nearly 3,000 square kilometres of gill nets</li> <li>218 square kilometres of trawl nets</li> <li>75,000 square kilometres of purse seine nets</li> </ul> In addition, fishers lose over 25 million pots and traps and nearly 14 billion longline hooks each year. These estimates cover only commercial fisheries, and don’t include <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-97758-4_15" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the amount</a> of fishing line and other gear lost by recreational fishers. We also estimate that between 1.7% and 4.6% of all land-based plastic waste travels into the sea. This amount likely exceeds lost fishing gear. However, fishing gear is designed to catch animals and so is generally understood as <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0308597X15002985" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the most environmentally damaging</a> type of plastic pollution in research to date. <h2>Harming fishers and marine life</h2> Nearly 700 species of marine life <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0025326X14008571?via%3Dihub" target="_blank" rel="noopener">are known to</a> interact with marine debris, many of which are near threatened. Australian and US <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0308597X15002985#bib6" target="_blank" rel="noopener">research in 2016</a> found fishing gear poses the biggest entanglement threats to marine fauna such as sea turtles, marine mammals, seabirds and whales. Other marine wildlife including sawfish, dugong, hammerhead sharks and crocodiles are also known to get <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1442-8903.2010.00525.x" target="_blank" rel="noopener">entangled in fishing gear</a>. Other <a href="https://conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/conl.12781" target="_blank" rel="noopener">key problematic items</a> include balloons and plastic bags. Lost fishing gear is not only an environmental risk, but it also has an economic impact for the fishers themselves. Every metre of lost net or line is a cost to the fisher – not only to replace the gear but also in its potential catch. Additionally, many fisheries have already gone through significant reforms to reduce their environmental impact and improve the sustainability of their operations. Some losses are attributable to how gear is operated. For instance, bottom trawl nets – which can get caught on reefs – are lost more often that nets that don’t make contact with the sea floor. The conditions of the ocean can also make a significant difference. For example, fishers commonly reported that bad weather and overcrowding contributes to gear losses. Conflicts between gears coming into contact can also result in gear losses, such as when towed nets cross drifting longlines or gillnets. Where fish are depleted, fishers must expend more effort, operate in worse conditions or locations, and are more likely to come in contact with others’ gear. All these features increase losses. <h2>What do we do about it?</h2> We actually found lower levels of fishing gear losses in our current study than in <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/faf.12407" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a previous review</a> of the historical literature on the topic. Technological improvements, such as better weather forecasts and improved marking and tracking of fishing gear may be reducing loss rates. Incentives can further reduce losses resulting in ghost gear. This could include buyback programs for end-of-life fishing gear, reduced cost loans for net replacement, and waste receptacles in ports to encourage fishers to return used fishing gear. Technological improvements and management interventions could also make a difference, such as requirements to mark and track gear, as well as regular gear maintenance and repairs. Developing effective fishing management systems can improve food security, leave us with a healthier environment, and create more profitable businesses for the fishers who operate in it. This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/740-000km-of-fishing-line-and-14-billion-hooks-we-reveal-just-how-much-fishing-gear-is-lost-at-sea-each-year-192024" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>. Image: CSIRO

Travel Trouble

Is it possible to listen to too much music each day?

I love listening to music. I love music so much I decided to study it in college. I’m earning a <a href="https://www.songsmysisterlikes.com/">doctorate in music history</a>, for which I have researched everything from early 20th-century French music to 1960s funk. I make and perform music as well. I have played drums in rock and pop bands and composed original music for jazz ensembles. I always have my headphones on, too. I listen to music while taking a walk. <a href="https://www.okayplayer.com/music/j-dilla-lofi-hip-hop-influence.html">I listen to lo-fi hip-hop</a> while answering emails. I listen to Brazilian <a href="https://library.brown.edu/create/fivecenturiesofchange/chapters/chapter-6/bossa-nov/">bossa nova</a> music while I cook and clean. I listen to the jazz vocalist <a href="https://bostonreview.net/articles/the-sounds-of-struggle/">Abbey Lincoln</a> while driving around town or <a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/6TLQjuOF9aBRrEVLWBXhvW?si=068ea66c436f4fa3">upbeat electronic</a> music while taking long road trips. I miss out on a lot around me by constantly listening to music, however. I might not hear the sound of birds outside my window or my cat’s mewling when she wants to be fed or to play. I might not hear the rustling of the wind or the chatter of my family enjoying one another’s company right outside my closed door. Apart from causing you to miss out on all the sounds that surround you, generally speaking, <a href="https://www.healthline.com/health/addicted-to-music#is-it-possible">listening to music does not harm your body</a>. It does not damage your liver, poison your lungs or fry your brain. It is not possible to listen to too much music. <h2>Watch the volume</h2> There are, however, exceptions. For instance, you can damage your ears if you listen to music too loud for long periods. The World Health Organization estimates that around <a href="https://www.who.int/pbd/deafness/activities/MLS_Brochure_English_lowres_for_web.pdf">50% of teenagers and young adults</a> listen to music on personal audio devices at unsafe levels. Fortunately, some smartphones have built-in features that measure <a href="https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/check-your-headphone-levels-iph0596a9152/ios">how much sound is coming from your headphones</a>. Such features measure the output of sound in a unit of measurement called decibels. <a href="https://soundear.com/decibel-scale/">Silence will produce no decibels at all</a>. A jet plane engine produces 120. Everyday conversations are around 60 decibels, while a balloon popping can be as powerful as 150. The WHO has concluded that people can withstand <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/hearing_loss/public_health_scientific_info.html">85 decibels consecutively for eight hours</a> without damaging their hearing. To give an example, I average about five hours of headphone listening a day at 70 decibels. <h2>Take precautions</h2> Anyone who plays music regularly or attends concerts and nightclubs needs to take extra caution as well. Several rock stars from the 1970s and 1980s have spoken out for years about their experience with hearing loss and <a href="https://www.aarp.org/health/conditions-treatments/info-2018/musicians-hearing-loss.html">tinnitus, a condition that causes ringing in the ears</a>. Their condition resulted from rehearsing and performing for long periods of time at loud volumes. <a href="https://decibelpro.app/blog/how-loud-is-a-rock-concert/">The average concert often exceeds 100 decibels</a>, and the WHO notes that such sound can begin to damage one’s ears after only 15 minutes. Standing closer to the amplifiers and musicians will make the decibel level increase. Most musicians rehearse and perform for more than 15 minutes. And most concerts last at least an hour, if not much longer. The solution, then, is to take precautions. Just the way airport workers who signal to pilots <a href="https://pksafety.com/blog/airport-worker-safety-equipment">wear specialized earmuffs</a> while they are on the tarmac to protect their hearing from damage caused by noisy jet planes, musicians and concertgoers can wear earplugs. I carry mine – which can cut out up to 21 decibels of noise – everywhere, attached to my keychain. I put my earplugs in while rehearsing or attending shows, or whenever I need to relax in a noisy environment. Other people rarely notice. “<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5363618/">Sound of Metal</a>,” a movie released in 2019, portrays a metal drummer’s experience with hearing loss. It is a sobering reminder of the importance of protecting your hearing. But that doesn’t mean experiencing a lot of live or recorded music is bad for you. It is hard to listen to too much music, provided the volumes are reasonable. Image credits: Getty Images This article originally appeared in <a href="https://theconversation.com/is-it-possible-to-listen-to-too-much-music-each-day-173566" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>.

Music

“An incredible moment”: Sisters share how they found each after 17-year search

Two sisters who were separated after they were given up for adoption have opened up about their emotional reunion more than 25 years later and the 17-year search they went through to find each other. Laurinda and Ashleigh were born in the Dominican Republic and given up for adoption when they were just two and six weeks respectively. Though Laurinda knew she had a younger sister, Ashleigh wasn’t as sure but knew that her mother had given birth to her at a young age and assumed she had more siblings she hadn’t met yet. Appearing on the podcast, <a href="https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/relationships/family-friends/i-think-youre-my-sister-siblings-find-each-other-after-25year-separation/news-story/a02923ba902801a135f5ab4cc919c41d" target="_blank" rel="noopener">I’ve Got News For You</a>, Ashleigh recalled how she finally had success in her quest to find blood relatives where online photo books and adoption websites turned up nothing when she came across the genealogy website MyHeritage. “I was doing my adopted family tree and I noticed that [MyHeritage] were doing a pro bono program called DNA Quest and they basically were sending out about 15 to 20,000 free DNA kits to help adoptees reconnect with their family members that they were looking for,” she told podcast host Andrew Bucklow. After submitting her story to the platform in return for a free MyHeritage DNA kit, Ashleigh found a genetic match: Laurinda. She then reached out to her mystery match via email. “Hi, my name is Ashleigh, I got a match from you on MyHeritage and according to it, you may be my aunt or my sister. I was adopted at the age of six weeks old from the Dominican Republic. This is my mother’s name. Could you please get back to me with any information and I look forward to hearing from you,” her email read. Laurinda, who was living six hours away from her sister, received the life-changing email notification while on her lunch break. <img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/08/laurinda-ashleigh1.jpg" alt="Ashleigh (left) and Laurinda (right) with their adoptive parents. Images: MyHeritage" width="1280" height="720" /> Ashleigh (left) and Laurinda (right) with their adoptive parents. Images: MyHeritage Having spent 17 years looking for Ashleigh, Laurinda had “fallen off the wagon” in recent years. “I replied [to the email] right away, I was like, ‘Oh, my gosh, you know, I think you’re my sister.’ It was an absolutely unbelievable thing. You know, I ran into work yelling, ‘my sister, my sister’, and it was an incredible moment,” Laurinda said. The pair then spoke over the phone before meeting for the first time two weeks later. “It was wild. We were planning on recording it but … [as] we pulled up to the driveway, Ashleigh must have sprinted down from the apartment,” Laurinda said. “Before I knew it, she was pulling the door open and, you know, we just embraced each other hugging and crying. It was just the most surreal, beautiful thing that I could have ever hoped for.” Ashleigh added: “I just bolted out of my building … I just ran out there and gave her the biggest hug and we just stood there for like 10 minutes [but] it seemed like forever.” The sisters discovered that they also have three brothers, including one who died before either could meet him, as well as a grandmother, another sister, and a half-brother. Though their biological mum died six months before the sisters’ reunion, Laurinda was fortunate enough to have met her and shared the photos they took together with Ashleigh. “You know, I kind of get to live vicariously through [Laurinda] and she said [mum] always told her that she would give up her life to find me and you know, we think she probably did,” Ashleigh said. Laurinda also introduced her sister to their biological dad virtually, but he passed away before Ashleigh could meet him in person. Now feeling as if they have “known each other” forever, Ashleigh said the goal for the two sisters is to reunite the rest of their siblings. “I haven’t had a chance to go and meet the rest of [the family] yet … but hopefully, hopefully, someday soon, we’ll get that cash together, and we’ll be able to go down and meet everybody and have everyone together again,” she said. Laurinda also shared that she had found out that her adoptive parents had the opportunity to also adopt Ashleigh but chose not to. “Since they had already adopted me, they kind of had first pick to be able to adopt [Ashleigh] since we were full siblings,” Laurinda said. “But at the time I was two years old, I’m sure very much of a handful, so unfortunately my parents didn’t take up that opportunity to be able to adopt her as well.” She said she was “a little bit upset” when she found that out from her parents at 15, but admitted it motivated her to find her sister. “There’s absolutely no resentment in any way, you know, everything happens for a reason,” Laurinda said. “We’re just honestly blessed to be able to have this opportunity to connect with each other and find each other after all these years.” Image: Supplied

Family & Pets

Just how much does each day on a cruise cost

Part of the great appeal of cruising is the idea that it will work out cheaper than other types of holidays due to paying for meals and accommodation upfront. But recent data from Cruise Lines International Association Australia (CLIA) seems to suggest that this might not necessarily be the case with some holidays. Thought the purchase of multiple add-ons like beverage packages, room service, on-shore excursions or other activities, cruises can actually work out much more expensive. <a href="http://www.finder.com.au/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CLIA broke down</a> what a typical cruise passenger spent each day in 2014: <img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="../media/23487/cruise-graph_499x315.jpg" alt="Cruise Graph" width="499" height="315" /> Figures include items you have to pay for up front, as well as extras that might not be part of your cruise package. But it works out the average cruise passenger was paying $384 a day, which depending on the type of holiday you’re used to might actually be more expensive. What’s your take on the figures? Have you recently taken a cruise and did you find it a major bargain, or did it work out more expensive? Share your thoughts in the comments. Image credit: Finder.com.au

Cruising

Woman lives on cruise ship six months each year

An incredibly lucky woman who basically lives half a year on a cruise ship for free has given insight into a week in her life. Christine Kesteloo, a former cruise and travel director for 12 years, said some of the biggest decisions she’s faced with are whether she should lay in the sun, do a wine tasting or teatime. Her husband, Piet, who is a staff chief engineer, has been sailing on and off for 30 years but she was the only one affected when the pandemic hit. Christine then joined her husband as a “wife on board” also known as WOB which is a “privilege often reserved for high-ranking officers”. She revealed that at one point Piet was her “husband on board” when she was working 12-hour days. When they’re not cruising, the pair call Vlissingen, Netherlands, their home. A week in Christine’s life: Internet To share her experiences with fans on <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@dutchworld_americangirl?referer_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.insider.com%2F&referer_video_id=7074268953295588651&refer=embed" target="_blank" rel="noopener">TikTok</a>, Christine pays $20 a week for unlimited internet. Tipping room service Christine already keeps her room clean, but when the room steward comes in, he changes the bed sheets and pillow covers. A $10 tip is given each week or up to $20 if he’s hopping off to enjoy lunch on land. Free laundry The room steward will pop into the room about 7.30 every morning to check if there is a washing bag ready to be taken. The items are written on a piece of paper before they’re returned at the end of the day. Free meals but pay for speciality restaurants and room service Christine revealed that anything you could dream of is available on board and that she is “well fed”. However, she and her husband go a step further and will pay for food when dining at a specialty restaurant which costs up to $20 and $50 a person. They also tip between $5 and $10. Room service is free to order but Christine and her husband tip between $2 and $5 each time. Overall, Christine and her husband are spending about $87 a week for living on board a cruise ship for free. Images: TikTok and Instagram

Cruising

"Each of us is a warrior": Prisoners released to join fight against Russia

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has announced that imprisoned Ukrainian citizens with “real combat experience” will be released to join the fight against Russia. Mr Zelensky made the “morally difficult” announcement during an address on Monday (local time), as peace talks between Ukraine and Russia continue. “Ukrainians with real combat experience will be released from custody and will be able to compensate for their guilt in their hottest spots,” he <a href="https://au.news.yahoo.com/ukrainian-prisoners-released-to-fight-russia-peace-talks-fail-231759682.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in a video posted to Telegram. “All sanctions against some individuals who participated in the Anti-Terrorist Operation will be lifted. The key thing now is defence.” The president urged Ukrainians to help protect their country and said Russian troops were fighting “against all living beings”. “When I went to the presidency, I said that each of us is the president. Because we are all responsible for our country,” Mr Zelensky said. “For our beautiful Ukraine. And now it has happened that each of us is a warrior. And I am sure that each of us will win.” <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CahvwH7Atdj/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CahvwH7Atdj/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Володимир Зеленський (@zelenskiy_official)</a> </div> </blockquote> Mr Zelensky also called on Russian soldiers to flee and save themselves. “Don’t trust your commanders, don’t trust your propagandists. Just save your lives,” he urged. He also used the address to encourage foreign volunteers wanting to join the fight to sign up for an “international brigade” at Ukrainian embassies. However, Prime Minister Scott Morrison discouraged Ukrainians in Australia from flying over to fight in the conflict. “At this time, the legality of such actions are uncertain under Australian law,” Mr Morrison said. Mr Zelensky’s address comes as the Russian invasion of Ukraine continues to meet unexpected resistance. The President signed a letter formally requesting immediate membership of the European Union, though it could take years for it to become an actuality. Meanwhile, videos have emerged on social media of residential areas in Kharkiv being shelled. Authorities said at least seven people had been killed and dozens were injured. Image: @zelensky_official (Instagram)

Legal

When each pandemic day feels the same, Phil the Weatherman in “Groundhog Day” can offer a lesson in embracing life mindfully

Many of us will recall the comic film “<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107048/">Groundhog Day</a>.” Originally released in 1993, it stars the incomparable Bill Murray as Phil Conners, an insufferable Pittsburgh weatherman. A minor local celebrity who believes himself destined for much better things, he resents his piddling assignment to report on the Groundhog Day celebration in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. <img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/381172/original/file-20210128-19-1q2x4lm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=26%2C3%2C2493%2C1560&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" alt="Punxsutawney Phil on Groundhog Day" /> Punxsutawney Phil after emerging from his burrow on Gobblers Knob in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. <a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/GroundhogDay/bd8d5370e7854bfea728a485b9c16bbf/photo?Query=groundhog&mediaType=photo&sortBy=&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=603&currentItemNo=11" class="source">AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar</a> The plan is to return to Pittsburgh after the festivities. But when a blizzard shuts down the highway, Phil finds himself trapped in Punxsutawney. He wakes up the next day, only to discover that it’s not the next day at all. It’s Groundhog Day all over again. For some reason he’s trapped in Feb. 2, forced to relive the same day over and over again. “What if there is no tomorrow?” he asks at one point, adding: “There wasn’t one today.” It is a question that will resonate with millions forced to stay indoors as the Omicron variant of the coronavirus spreads and people wake up every morning wondering if the day ahead will be any different from the 24 hours they have just endured. But I have a more positive spin. As a <a href="https://cas.la.psu.edu/people/jde13">scholar of communication and ethics</a>, I argue that the lesson at the heart of the movie is that because we can never count on tomorrow, life must be lived fully in the present, not just for oneself, but also for others. Ultimately, “Groundhog Day” gives us a lesson in mindfulness. <h2>Metaphor for mindlessness?</h2> Phil was trapped in Groundhog Day, perhaps for hundreds of years. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/21/movies/groundhog-day.html">The original script said 10,000 years, though the director reportedly said it was 10</a>. Either way, that’s a long time to wake up to the same song every morning. Finally, Phil awakens, and it’s Feb. 3, that is, the next day. I believe what brings about tomorrow for Phil is that he learns to practice mindfulness. Phil’s repetitive existence can stand for a metaphor for mindlessness, for how we all get stuck in cycles of reactivity, addiction and habit. Locked in our routines, life can lose its luster. It can quickly seem like nothing we do matters all that much. “What would you do if you were stuck in one place, and every day was exactly the same, and nothing that you did mattered?” Phil asks two local guys at the bowling alley. “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DazUImBLEhM">That about sums it up for me</a>,” one of them responds. <iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/DazUImBLEhM?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe> Contemporary practices of mindfulness can trace their roots back to <a href="https://plumvillage.org/books/the-heart-of-the-buddhas-teaching/">Buddhism</a>. For Buddhists, the concept of reincarnation or <a href="https://www.lionsroar.com/just-more-of-the-same/">rebirth</a> is important. Many Buddhists believe that all living beings go through many births until they achieve salvation. As a scholar, I believe the idea of rebirth is more complex than is often understood in popular culture. Pali is the ancient sacred language of Theravada Buddhism. Scholar of Buddhism <a href="https://www.stephenbatchelor.org/index.php/en/stephen">Stephen Batchelor</a> notes that the ancient Pali language word “punabbhava,” often translated as “rebirth,” literally means “<a href="https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300205183/after-buddhism">again-becoming</a>,” or what we might think of as “repetitive existence.” That’s Phil’s life, stuck in Groundhog Day. That’s what Phil is trying to escape, and what we are all trying to escape in COVID times – repetitive existence, a life stuck in one gear, frozen by habits and patterns that make every day feel the same, as though nothing matters. <h2>Taking a moment – to respond, mindfully</h2> If Phil’s stuckness is a metaphor for mindlessness, Phil’s awakening, I argue, is a metaphor for mindfulness. <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/204352/the-miracle-of-mindfulness-by-thich-nhat-hanh/">Mindfulness</a> is the practice of experiencing life as it is happening, squarely in the now, without immediately reacting to it or being carried away by it. Mindfulness is <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nwwKbM_vJc">a practice</a> of getting to know ourselves and our conditioning a little better. Conditioning is an automatic pattern of reacting to the world. By stepping out of autopilot, pausing, and noticing, many of us can find that we <a href="https://www.parallax.org/product/the-mindfulness-survival-kit-five-essential-practices/">are no longer captive </a> to our conditioning. Consequently, we gain the space to make choices about how we want to respond to life. That is what Phil does in the movie – he escapes repetitive existence by overcoming his initial conditioned, obnoxious, egotistical reactions to the world. At the beginning of the film, he calls himself the “talent” and berates the “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFgpsHrGvWY">hicks</a>” who live in the small town. He is too good for Groundhog Day. He wants to escape Punxsutawney as fast as possible. As the film continues, Phil accepts his situation and turns repetition into an opportunity for growth. He begins to find meaning in the place where he is trapped. He embraces life, fully, which also means that he notices his own suffering and the suffering of those around him. Phil addresses his own suffering by pursuing his passions and developing his skills. He learns to play the piano and becomes an accomplished ice sculptor. Initially, Phil felt nothing for those around him. People were objects to him, if he noticed them at all. By the end of the film, he feels compassion, which, according to the mindfulness teacher <a href="https://www.rhondavmagee.com/about-mindfulness-trainer/">Rhonda Magee</a>, means “<a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/565790/the-inner-work-of-racial-justice-by-rhonda-v-magee-foreword-by-jon-kabat-zinn/">the will to act to alleviate the suffering of others</a>.” Mindfulness is a practice that draws us into the world, into service. <a href="https://pennstate.pure.elsevier.com/en/publications/compassion-and-human-development-current-approaches-and-future-di">Compassion</a> is at the heart of a mindfulness practice. <h2>Mindfulness in pandemic times</h2> <a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/381175/original/file-20210128-21-kdi02x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/381175/original/file-20210128-21-kdi02x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" alt="Mediation in times of Covid." /></a> Compassion is at the heart of meditation. <a href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/woman-wearing-a-scary-face-mask-clasps-her-hands-in-news-photo/1228160036?adppopup=true" class="source">Mark Makela/Getty Images</a> Mindfulness does not mean turning away from <a href="https://www.ted.com/talks/rhonda_magee_the_inner_work_of_racial_justice?language=en">difficulty</a>. It is a practice of meeting difficulty with <a href="https://www.tenpercent.com/covid">compassion</a>. Though Phil finally accepts that there might not be a tomorrow, nevertheless he acts to ensure that if tomorrow comes for himself and those around him, it will be better than today. For example, Phil saves the lives of at least two people: a young boy who, before Phil’s intervention, falls out of a tree onto a hard sidewalk, and the town’s mayor, who, before Phil bursts in to give him the Heimlich, chokes on his lunch. Phil’s mindful awareness of what is happening in the moment allows him to act for tomorrow without losing track of today. Phil’s mindfulness, and his compassion, drive the film’s central love story between Phil and Rita. At the beginning of the film, he was capable of loving only himself. By the end of the film, Phil has learned to love mindfully. According to <a href="https://theconversation.com/thich-nhat-hanh-who-worked-for-decades-to-teach-mindfulness-approached-death-in-that-same-spirit-175495">Thich Nhat Hanh</a>, who died recently, <a href="https://www.shambhala.com/true-love-1594.html">loving mindfully</a> means that “you must love in such a way that the person you love feels free.” Phil has learned that love is not about manipulation or possession but about collaboration in making a shared life together. To the best of his ability, Phil dedicates himself to alleviating the suffering of others in a present that is real and for a future that might not come. He does this in small acts of compassion like fixing a flat tire and more momentous acts like saving a life. This mindful dedication to the future in the face of uncertainty is, I argue, what allows him to wake up to a new day. This is a <a href="https://theconversation.com/5-buddhist-teachings-that-can-help-you-deal-with-coronavirus-anxiety-134320">good lesson</a> for us all, stuck, as we are, in a perpetual pandemic Groundhog Day, and dreaming, as we are, of tomorrow.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/153605/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/jeremy-david-engels-222106">Jeremy David Engels</a>, Professor of Communication Arts and Sciences, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/penn-state-1258">Penn State</a> This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/when-each-pandemic-day-feels-the-same-phil-the-weatherman-in-groundhog-day-can-offer-a-lesson-in-embracing-life-mindfully-153605">original article</a>. Image: <a href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/bill-murray-and-andie-macdowell-in-a-scene-from-the-film-news-photo/163063765?adppopup=true" class="source">Columbia Pictures/Getty Images</a>

Movies

The mother and daughter duo healing each other with art

Gumbaynggirr woman Melissa Greenwood and her mum, Lauren Jarrett, know a thing or two about going through difficult times. They both hail from the Gumbaynggirr, Dunghutti and Bundjalung tribes of the east coast of New South Wales, where Lauren is a survivor of the Stolen Generations. In 1966, she was stolen from her family at Bowraville on the NSW mid-north coast and placed in the Cowper Orphanage, near Grafton. Lauren was just nine years old at the time. "It was like the end of the world. You have no idea what's going on, you're not really told anything. It's devastating," she told the <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-01-06/melissa-greenwood-and-mum-heals-stolen-generation-hurt-with-art/100718998">ABC</a>. "You're just taken away from your loved ones, put in a car with strangers. "In those days they had nuns with those long habits and big crosses, and headpieces; and I had no idea where I was or who they were. I had never seen a nun before. "It was overwhelming … anything to do with your culture was banned." When she was 18, Lauren was released from the orphanage and went looking for her family, who were thrilled with her long-awaited return. Now 63, Lauren went on to have two daughters and a son and raised them all as a single mother. Lauren’s daughter Melissa said, "We grew up below the poverty line and struggling with her trauma, and then inter-generational trauma that was passed down. It was really difficult." Together, their struggles as Indigenous women pushed them to strive for more. In 2020, the pair started an art business which they called <a href="https://miimiandjiinda.com/collections/prints">Miimi & Jiinda</a>, meaning mother and sister. After just a few short months, their business is thriving and has completely turned their lives around. "It's really a beautiful thing," Melissa says. "It's just stemmed from me really wanting to see my mum happy and to give her a bit of confidence and get her out in the world and see her beauty. "We just started to paint and weave together and create together and then it just really took off." For both women, creating art together has helped them heal from past inter-generational trauma, and provided an outlet for them to share their connection to their culture. Melissa says she “paints from the heart” and uses her creations to help tell their stories as strong Aboriginal women. "Mum raised us to be very culturally strong and culturally proud," she says. "A lot of the artworks I do are inspired by my connection to my ancestors, to my culture and to my people. "It's just that loving heart energy, that Gumbaynggirr energy." Image credits: Instagram @barefootwandering.photography

Art

Reducing air travel by small amounts each year could level off the climate impact

Just before the pandemic, aircraft engines were burning <a href="https://www.iata.org/en/iata-repository/pressroom/fact-sheets/industry-statistics/">one billion litres</a> of fuel a day. But then the number of daily civil aviation flights fell from <a href="https://www.iata.org/en/iata-repository/pressroom/fact-sheets/industry-statistics/">110,000</a> to less than 50,000 during 2020, on average. With the easing of travel restrictions, air traffic is increasing back towards its pre-pandemic peak. Most world leaders and delegates will have flown to Glasgow to attend COP26 – the 26th annual UN climate change summit – in person. But as they haggle over emissions targets to limit global warming to 1.5°C, and not <a href="https://theconversation.com/cop26-what-would-the-world-be-like-at-3-c-of-warming-and-how-would-it-be-different-from-1-5-c-171030">3°C or more</a>, aviation is unlikely to be included in them, given the lack of low-carbon alternatives to long-haul flights. But it should be. <a href="https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/ac286e">In new research</a>, my colleagues and I calculated that if the aviation sector continues to grow on its present trajectory, its jet fuel consumption will have added 0.1˚C to global warming by 2050 – half of it to date, the other half in the next three decades. Aviation is responsible for 4% of the 1.2°C rise in the global mean temperature we have already experienced since the industrial revolution. Without action to reduce flights, the sector will account for 17% of the remaining 0.3°C left in the 1.5°C temperature target, and 6% of the 0.8°C left to stay within 2°C. Airlines effectively add more to global warming <a href="http://globalcarbonatlas.org/en/CO2-emissions">than most countries.</a> <h2>Warming footprints</h2> At the current rate, the world will have warmed by 2°C <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1/downloads/report/IPCC_AR6_WGI_SPM_final.pdf">within three decades</a>. To quantify how different activities contribute to warming, scientists measure carbon emissions. This is because how much the Earth warms is proportional to cumulative carbon emissions in the atmosphere. This is a very good approximation in many cases, but it is inaccurate for emissions caused by aeroplanes travelling at altitudes of up to 12 kilometres. As well as CO₂, aircraft engines emit nitrogen oxides, water vapour, sulphur and soot, causing <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-018-04068-0">contrail cirrus clouds</a> and other complicated chemical reactions in the atmosphere. The sum of these so-called non-CO₂ effects adds more warming on top of the CO₂ emissions. So the total warming footprint of aviation is between two and three times higher than a conventional carbon footprint. <img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/430221/original/file-20211104-21-xa7pet.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" alt="An aeroplane's trail viewed from between two tall buildings" /> Condensation trails produced by aircraft engines contribute to global warming. <a href="https://pixabay.com/photos/architecture-skyscraper-skyline-3984725/" class="source">MichaelGaida/Pixabay</a>, <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" class="license">CC BY</a> While a large share of a flight’s CO₂ emissions remain in the atmosphere for many thousands of years, the non-CO₂ effects diminish over time, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2020.117834">vanishing within about ten years</a>. So any growth in aviation, measured in global jet fuel consumption, has an amplified impact as both CO₂ and non-CO₂ effects add up. But a decline in aviation can partly reverse some warming, as the non-CO₂ effects disappear over time until only the CO₂ effects remain. Think of the non-CO₂ effects like a bathtub – it fills up when the taps are turned further and further, despite a slow outflow down the plughole. But the same bathtub will eventually empty if the taps are gradually turned down. The non-CO₂ effects of flights on the atmosphere will slowly disappear if fewer and fewer flights are taken, so that aviation’s contribution to warming eventually levels off. In that situation, the increase from continued CO₂ emissions would balance the fall in non-CO₂ effects, and although aviation would still contribute to climate change, the total warming from both would remain constant over time. How much would aviation need to shrink to level off its influence on global warming? Our calculations show that flying does not need to stop immediately to prevent aviation’s contribution to global warming expanding. Flying has already caused 0.04°C of warming to date. But with a yearly decrease of 2.5% in jet fuel consumption, currently only achievable with cuts in air traffic, this warming will level off at a constant level over the coming decades. <h2>When do we really need to fly?</h2> COVID-19 had a huge impact on the aviation sector. Air traffic is still approximately 10-20% below pre-pandemic levels, but is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ac286e">rebounding quickly</a>. Politicians should shift subsidies from flying to more sustainable modes of transport, such as train journeys. And there is much more that can be done. <img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/430217/original/file-20211104-25-1v0sxdb.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" alt="An aeroplane parked at an airport" /> Forced changes in flying habits due to the pandemic have led some to permanently cut back on flights. <a href="https://pixabay.com/photos/airplane-aircraft-airport-travel-4885803/" class="source">Dmncwndrlch/Pixabay</a>, <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" class="license">CC BY</a> Lockdowns and the shift to remote working made many people rethink the necessity of flying. People resolving to fly less can contribute considerably to reducing the number of unnecessary flights. Combining in-person and virtual attendance in hybrid meetings wherever possible is a great way to support that shift. Reducing the space that business classes take on aeroplanes is another way to cut the number of flights, as it allows more passengers to travel on one flight. Not allowing airport expansions could also have a big impact. The UK’s Climate Change Committee, an expert body which advises the UK government, has recommended <a href="https://www.theccc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Sector-summary-Aviation.pdf">not expanding airports</a> to align the sector with climate targets. Yet the expansion of Heathrow airport is currently <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/explainers-51646562">planned to go ahead</a>. Sustainable aviation fuels, and hydrogen or electric planes, are being developed, but none of these technologies are currently available at the necessary scale. At the moment, there is little chance of the aviation industry meeting any climate targets if it aims for a return to its pre-pandemic rate of growth. <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/milan-klower-879339">Milan Klöwer</a>, Postdoctoral Researcher in Weather and Climate Modelling, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-oxford-1260">University of Oxford</a> This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/reducing-air-travel-by-small-amounts-each-year-could-level-off-the-climate-impact-171184">original article</a>. Image: Free-Photos/Pixabay

International Travel

Unvaccinated couple die of COVID within seconds of each other

An unvaccinated American couple died of complications from COVID-19 “within seconds” of each other. William and Carol Stewart, of New Hampshire, died in hospital on December 30 while holding hands. They had not been vaccinated against the virus. Mrs Stewart, who was 69, had been on life support for two weeks, while Mr Stewart, 73, had suffered from lung and renal failures. The couple’s daughter, Melissa Noke, said that her parents were the “true definition of soulmates” and had known each other since they were children, telling local TV station WMUR, “They’ve known each other since they were four, been together 45 years, married 44 years.” On the day they died, hospital staff wheeled the couple into the same room so they could be together. Nike said, “Placed both beds side-by-side, placing my mother’s hand into my father’s hand. “As soon as they touched hands, my father took his last breath, and then my mother 10 seconds later.” Ms Noke said that she hoped sharing her parents’ story would encourage others to get vaccinated. At the time of writing, only 62.3% of the US population was fully vaccinated, with that figure increasing to 67.4% for New Hampshire. The couple’s nephew Tim Stewart has started a GoFundMe to help cover medical and living expenses. On the fundraising page, he explained, “Carol and Bill do not have life insurance and I am hoping to help my family by alleviating them with some the financial stress and so they can focus healing through this difficult time.” Updating the page with news of their passing, Stewart wrote, “It is with the heaviest of hearts to share that last night at 9:12 pm Bill and Carol peacefully passed away hand in hand with their loved ones bedside. They fought a long and hard battle with covid, both intubated and on life support. I truly believe that the power of prayers and all the kind words that have been shared over the past few weeks is what kept them fighting.” Image: Douglas & Johnson Funeral Home

Caring

Working holidaymakers bring in $3bn each year – so, how will Australia ensure they come back?

Working holidaymakers will be one of the first international visitor markets to return to Australia in 2022. But as global travel slowly resumes and many young people start thinking about working overseas again, global competition for this market will be intense. Australia will need to out-compete other destinations to bring working holidaymakers back, particularly those from Europe. There were more than <a href="https://www.tourism.australia.com/content/dam/digital/global/documents/whm-snapshot-dec-2019.pdf">300,000 working holidaymakers</a> in Australia per year before the pandemic. The absence of these workers resulted in a loss of more than A$3.2 billion in visitor spending in 2020. It has also created critical labour shortfalls, particularly in regional Australia. With borders reopening, the Australian government needs to rethink its working holiday program. It needs not only to make it easier for young travellers to come back, but also have a better understanding of their goals and expectations of a fulfilling working holiday experience. <h2>Working holidaymakers stay longer and spend more</h2> The working holiday visa program was established in 1975 as a cultural exchange initiative. Working holidaymaker visas are available for young people (mostly aged 18 to 30) and typically last for one year, though there can be opportunities to extend this. Australia now has reciprocal agreements with 45 countries. The program has remained open throughout the pandemic to people from eligible countries. Yet, visa applications declined by an <a href="https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/research-and-stats/files/working-holiday-report-december-2020.pdf">astonishing 99.5%</a> in 2020. People were free to apply for working holiday visas, but the closed borders prevented them from actually coming. Working holidaymakers spend more and stay longer than any other international visitor. On average, they spend <a href="https://www.tourism.australia.com/content/dam/digital/global/documents/whm-snapshot-dec-2019.pdf">A$10,400 per trip and stay 149 nights</a>. In comparison, other international visitors to Australia <a href="https://www.tourism.australia.com/en/markets-and-stats/tourism-statistics/international-market-performance.html">spend A$5,211 per trip and stay 32 nights</a>, on average. One-third of working holidaymakers come from the UK, Germany and France. However, there is a growing demand in Asia. In 2019, almost <a href="https://www.tourism.australia.com/content/dam/digital/global/documents/whm-snapshot-dec-2019.pdf">29% of working holidaymakers</a> were from Japan, South Korea and China. Combining study with a working holiday is particularly attractive for young people from Asia. As such, reactivating this market after the pandemic is critical to rebuilding Australia’s international education sector. According to Tourism Australia, the most popular jobs for working holidaymakers are waiter, farmhand, construction worker and childcare worker. New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland were the most affected by the absence of these visitors – the three states accounted for <a href="https://www.tourism.australia.com/content/dam/digital/global/documents/whm-snapshot-dec-2019.pdf">83% of working holiday jobs</a> in 2019. But this doesn’t mean working holidaymakers stay in capital cities. In fact, they disperse more widely around the country than other international visitors. These travellers have been sorely missed in regional Australia, which have suffered from <a href="https://www.theaustralian.com.au/weekend-australian-magazine/australian-hospitality-workers-where-the-bloody-hell-are-you/news-story/d54a1b64bee1c216831590c0fc40557c">crippling labour shortages</a> during the pandemic. Cairns, Port Douglas and other areas in northern Queensland have been the most severely affected. This year, the Queensland government launched the A$7.5 million “<a href="https://www.workinparadise.initiatives.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0008/1579319/wip-employers-factsheet.pdf">Work in Paradise</a>” scheme, offering a A$1,500 incentive to lure young Australians to work in tourism and hospitality jobs in regional Queensland. Extending this program to overseas workers could be instrumental in bringing foreign working holidaymakers back to Queensland as borders reopen. <h2>How Australia can bring them back</h2> As a first step to restarting this market, the Australian government has removed the visa application charge for those working holidaymakers who were previously granted a visa but were unable to come to Australia because of the pandemic. They have also relaxed some visa requirements, such as allowing working holidaymakers to work for one employer for up to 12 months (up from six months previously). This is aimed at encouraging holidaymakers to take jobs in the tourism and hospitality industry. Australia and the UK have also <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/dec/17/australia-free-trade-deal-with-uk-to-remove-taxes-on-virtually-all-exports-to-britain">just signed a free trade agreement</a> that will extend the reciprocal working holidaymaker agreement between the countries. This includes increasing the age eligibility from 30 to 35 years and visa duration for up to three years, and having no job-specified work requirements. But luring working holidaymakers back will require more than just loosening the rules. We need to delve deeper into what motivates these young people to take a working holiday trip, particularly to Australia. In the past, these travellers have worked in low-skilled, low-paid jobs. This experience has also been seen as a “gap year” between high school and university. But those in Generation Z have different life aspirations than previous generations. Many are increasingly focused on kick-starting their careers, and taking a year off to travel abroad may be less attractive. So, for destinations like Australia, it’s important to offer opportunities for young people to use their working holiday to gain critical skills and experience for their careers, not just make money to travel. The Gold Coast-based <a href="https://globalworkandtravel.com/">Global Work and Travel Company</a>, for example, now offers overseas internships so young people can advance their professional skills while gaining international travel experience. <img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/437674/original/file-20211214-25-1959om3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" alt="" /> Internships are one way to give young travellers different work experiences. Shutterstock Some backpacker accommodations have also closed or shifted to other purposes during the pandemic. So, one thing local leaders can do is ensure there is adequate low-cost accommodation to support returning travellers. The government also needs to make it affordable and easy to travel to Australia. Subsidising airfares to get them here, making it easier to find job vacancies, and providing low-cost or free transport out to the regions would help. Employers also need to ensure holidaymakers are <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Education_and_Employment/temporary_work_visa/Report">well-treated and have an enjoyable work experience</a>. This requires stronger mechanisms to ensure employers are complying with the legal requirements around fair pay and adequate workplace conditions for those on temporary visas. Improving the working holiday experience can have long-term benefits for the country. Research shows that many visitors <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211973619300972">develop</a> a deep emotional attachment and affinity for Australia during an extending working holiday stay and return multiple times throughout their lives. They can develop an understanding of Australian society and our economic and business practices during their experience. As such, they can help build future trade and investment opportunities between Australia and other countries. So, making working holiday travel easy, fun and safe is not only vital to getting Australia’s tourism industry back on track – it’s critical for the country’s long-term engagement with the world. We need to make this a priority in 2022. <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/sarah-gardiner-214088">Sarah Gardiner</a>, Deputy Director, Griffith Institute For Tourism, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/griffith-university-828">Griffith University</a> This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/working-holidaymakers-bring-in-3bn-each-year-so-how-will-australia-ensure-they-come-back-172771">original article</a>. Image: Shutterstock

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10 million animals die on our roads each year. Here’s what works (and what doesn’t) to cut the toll

"Each bauble represents a life lost": Haunting Christmas tree sends powerful message

Why we feel like Christmas comes around more quickly each year

Do racehorses even know they’re ‘racing’ each other? It’s unlikely

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"We love each other": Mayor marries reptile in stunning ceremony

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Long-married couples said not to know each other as well as newlyweds

Social media use and poor wellbeing feed into each other in a vicious cycle

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Woman lives on cruise ship six months each year

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When each pandemic day feels the same, Phil the Weatherman in “Groundhog Day” can offer a lesson in embracing life mindfully

The mother and daughter duo healing each other with art

Reducing air travel by small amounts each year could level off the climate impact

Unvaccinated couple die of COVID within seconds of each other

Working holidaymakers bring in $3bn each year – so, how will Australia ensure they come back?

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"Each of us is a warrior": Prisoners released to join fight against Russia