Cluster: Science

Teaching travellers the ways of the Alps

This content was published on Aug 7, 2009 It’s part of a project called Via GeoAlpina that was initiated by the International Union for Geological Sciences and Unesco for the International Year of Planet Earth, which finishes at the end of this year. The idea is to run the project alongside the Via Alpina, a journey crossing all the countries of the alpine…

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Rescue dogs make a splash

This content was published on Aug 7, 2009 Flailing and splashing, a panicky-looking woman cries out from the middle of the lake, and a Belgian Shepherd leaps from a nearby boat.

Lake Geneva gas project launched

This content was published on Aug 7, 2009 The company hopes to strike it rich and find the equivalent of 70 years’ worth of gas. Drilling is expected to start in November and the first results should be ready in 2011. After approval from the Swiss government and canton Vaud, the local Noville communal authorities gave the project the go-ahead in April after…

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Putting Switzerland on record

This content was published on Aug 3, 2009 Everyone loves a record; we have the biggest, highest, longest, oldest… But does that necessarily mean the best? And why should we care? No one would seriously maintain that a waterfall becomes less beautiful or impressive if it turns out to be a few metres less high than a rival. And yet it’s difficult not…

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Bill for hailstorm damage continues to climb

This content was published on Jul 31, 2009 The Intercantonal Reinsurance Union estimates that damage from the storm could reach SFr300 million ($275 million), up from SFr80-120 million estimated earlier this week. That figure includes claims for property, vehicles and agriculture. Farmers have filed more than 5,000 claims for destroyed corn, potatoes and other crops. “Because of holidays, all claims have not been…

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Aletsch Glacier

This content was published on Jul 28, 2009 The Aletsch Glacier, the largest glacier in the Alps, is 23.6 km long and covers more than 120 square kilometres in southern Switzerland. The glacier is located in the Jungfrau-Aletsch-Bietschhorn area, which was inscribed on the World Heritage list in 2001. (Film courtesy of Switzerland Tourism)

Forests continue conquest of countryside

This content was published on Jul 28, 2009 Around 31 per cent of the country’s surface area is blanketed by trees, and there has been an increase of nearly ten per cent in alpine areas since the mid 1990s. This dramatic change to the landscape is most evident in the southern canton of Ticino – more than 50 per cent of its surface…

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Households beat waste-recycling quota

This content was published on Jul 23, 2009 More than 270,000 tons of waste were collected according to a statement on Thursday by the Federal Environment Office. “The good result is all the more noteworthy since there was markedly higher consumption of beverages from PET bottles during the European football championships in Switzerland in June 2008,” the office said. Under the rules stipulated…

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No sign of missing children

This content was published on Jul 19, 2009 Switzerland suffered from a deluge of rain on Friday and Saturday, causing water levels to rise in some areas. A girl aged 11 years old and a six-month old boy were reported missing late on Friday evening. A four year old girl survived the accident. Officials believe that the three crossed a stream swollen by…

Wild-flower programme aims to bring back bees

This content was published on Jul 15, 2009 “The number of pollinating insects has declined significantly across Europe in recent years because of loss of feeding sites and breeding areas,” Jon Parr, head of Syngenta’s crop protection division, said in a statement. “Our aim is to help reverse this trend.” The programme, called Operation Pollinator, hopes to create an additional 10,000 hectares of…

Cluster: Science

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