Cluster: Science

More greenhouse-gas cuts on the cards

This content was published on Feb 16, 2005 Talks have yet to get off the ground, and officially, Kyoto’s heir is not even on the agenda at the next round of climate discussions. Finding a successor promises to be a drawn-out process as the Kyoto Protocol itself was the result of a compromise. The agreement put the onus of greenhouse-gas reduction on industrialised…

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Alpine ice melts as winter seasons heat up

This content was published on Jan 24, 2005 Experts also noted an increasing number of warm winter spells in the Alps over the past three decades. Seventy-five of the 110 glaciers in the Swiss Alps shrunk, while eight grew slightly over the 2003-2004 period, the Swiss Academy of Sciences said on Monday. Another seven remained virtually unchanged, while readings from 20 glaciers are…

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Disaster summit aims to tame nature’s fury

This content was published on Jan 17, 2005 The devastating Indian Ocean tsunami is top of the meeting’s agenda, as officials from 70 nations work to prevent similar catastrophes from happening again. The World Conference on Disaster Reduction, which runs until Saturday, is taking place in the Japanese city of Kobe, which was rocked by a killer earthquake in January 1995. “What we…

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Swiss generosity reaches a new level

This content was published on Jan 5, 2005 Half the money was donated during a day of national mourning and fundraising on Wednesday. On Wednesday alone, SFr62 million was raised by Swiss Solidarity – the fundraising arm of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation, swissinfo’s parent company. “It’s a huge show of solidarity. We never reckoned on achieving a sum like this,” said Roland Jeanneret,…

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Hope fades for 70 Swiss tsunami victims

This content was published on Dec 31, 2004 On Friday, the ministry raised the number of Swiss confirmed dead in the disaster from 12 to 13. Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey told a news conference most of the 70 presumed dead had been in Thailand. The search continues for a further 700 Swiss still unaccounted for – 490 in Thailand, 100 in Sri Lanka…

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“People are counting on international aid”

This content was published on Dec 30, 2004 Ueli Salzmann is heading up a small team of Swiss aid workers, who have been based in and around the country’s coastal areas since the tsunamis struck on Sunday. Salzmann was sent to Sri Lanka as a member of the Swiss Humanitarian Aid Unit, which is coordinated by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation…

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Glaciers disappearing faster than expected

This content was published on Nov 15, 2004 Satellite data analysed by Zurich University found that, overall, the melting of glaciers in Switzerland had accelerated over the past thirty years. These latest results surpass previous estimations of a loss of less than 30 per cent by the year 2025. The Zurich study shows that between 1985 and 2000, Swiss glaciers lost 18 per…

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Scientists sound alarm over biodiversity

This content was published on Oct 14, 2004 Scientists are now calling on the government to install a national strategy to help save the country’s wildlife. The report, entitled “Biodiversity in Switzerland”, was presented in Bern on Wednesday by the Swiss Biodiversity Forum – a body comprising researchers from around the country. It found that although Switzerland was home to one of the…

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Polar research comes in from the cold

This content was published on Oct 5, 2004 Polar experts hope the move, finalised on Monday, could pave the way for Switzerland to maintain a permanent presence at the South Pole. “It’s about time,” said Christian Schlüchter, a geologist who represents Switzerland at the SCAR. “Full membership is an important step, since Swiss scientists can now lead international research projects in Antarctica.” Admission…

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Endangered species at risk from market forces

This content was published on Sep 30, 2004 But the Swiss delegation has warned that significant progress is unlikely as long as the trade in threatened plants and animals remains so profitable. The signatory states to the United Nations Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) meet every two to three years to vote on new additions to the list of protected…

Cluster: Science

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