Lucerne art installation highlights coral bleaching
Coral bleaching is caused by global warming. It threatens ecosystems and livelihoods.
Keystone / Ove Hoegh-guldberg
A group of Swiss artists have placed some 480 white porcelain corals in a national monument in Lucerne to draw attention to coral bleaching caused by global warming.
This content was published on
1 minute
Keystone-SDA/jc
Português
pt
Instalação de arte em Lucerna alerta para o fim dos corais
“Corals cast out of porcelain decorate the water bottom at the Lion Monument. At night, thanks to a fluorescent glaze, they glow, illustrating nature’s call for help,” they sayExternal link.
The installation, inaugurated on Friday, is called “Whitening Out” and can be seen until September 20.
More than a hundred people have shaped, baked and glazed the clay corals. The water had to be emptied and then refilled to prepare the project.
Coral is our underwater forest, providing food and oxygen for the water and the ecosystem around the reef. Coral lives in symbiosis with algae, which feed it and give it colour. As the planet warms, the algae are leaving the coral, which loses its colour and starves to death.
The Lion Monument in Lucerne is a rock relief commemorating Swiss Guards who were massacred in 1792 during the French Revolution. It is one of the most famous monuments in Switzerland and was placed under national monument protection in 2006. It draws its name from a sculpture of a mortally wounded lion.
Train vs plane: would you take a direct train between London and Geneva?
Eurostar is planning to run direct trains from Britain to Germany and Switzerland from the early 2030s. Would you favour the train over the plane? If not, why not?
Swiss canton coordinates donations for landslide destroyed village
This content was published on
The Swiss canton of Valais to form committee to coordinate CHF 57.4 million donations for village destroyed by a landslide.
Body of Blatten landslide victim found and identified
This content was published on
The body of 64-year-old man, who has been missing since part of the Brich glacier collapsed on the Swiss village of Blatten has been found.
Swiss watch industry calls for ‘clear solution’ with US
This content was published on
Federation of the Watch Industry calls for clear solution to tariff threat and a swift agreement between Bern and Washington.
Swiss youngsters illegally obtain alcohol in a quarter of test purchases
This content was published on
In a quarter of all alcohol test purchases last year, young people in Switzerland were able to obtain beer, wine or spirits illegally.
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
Science and diplomacy hope to save Red Sea coral
This content was published on
Scientists have discovered that corals in the Red Sea are more resistant to climate change. Now Switzerland is leading a project to help save them.
Red Sea coral spotlights Swiss ‘Science Diplomacy’
This content was published on
Switzerland is working to bring countries around the Red Sea together to study heat-resistant corals found in its waters.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.