Cluster: Science

More effort needed to save world water supplies

This content was published on Nov 13, 2003 The Swiss government, which hailed the event a success, warned that more action was needed to protect the finite resource. Ironically, 2003 was one of Switzerland’s driest and hottest on record, serving as a wake-up call that even as “Europe’s water tower”, the country is not immune to drought. “The weather had a very positive…

Climate solutions

Swiss lukewarm about implementing water policy

This content was published on Nov 13, 2003 But ecologists argue that although the country has good water laws on paper, in reality they are not always put into practice. The WWF’s Water and Wetland Index – Critical issues in water policy across Europe, which was published on Thursday, surveyed 23 European countries’ water management policies. Switzerland was rated top in terms of…

Climate solutions

Young parliamentarians act to save Europe’s water

This content was published on Oct 13, 2003 Members of the European Youth Parliament said not enough was being done to combat pollution and protect water resources. Young parliamentarians from ten countries took part in sessions in cantons Graubünden and Ticino in eastern Switzerland. All of the 14-18 year olds hailed from areas drained by the Rhine, Rhone, Po and Danube rivers. “We…

Climate solutions

Global warming threatens alpine plants

This content was published on Sep 9, 2003 The effect of global warming on alpine vegetation was one of the main topics discussed at a recent climate conference in Grindelwald. Scientist Georg Grabherr from the University of Vienna, one of the key speakers at the conference, confirmed that if global warming continued, Europe could see vegetation shifting north- and eastwards. The conditions would…

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Fears over dumped munitions in Lake Thun

This content was published on Aug 28, 2003 One possible cause is some 3,000 tons of munitions, which were dumped into the lake by the Swiss army decades ago. For the past three years, the fish have been showing changes in their reproductive organs. Around 70 per cent of the fish are now showing abnormalities, and the scale and variation of the changes…

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Discovering the ancient waterways of Valais

This content was published on Aug 18, 2003 The canals are a unique attraction even though they no longer serve their original purpose – and one of the best known is the Bisse du Levron in the Val de Bagnes. At first glance, the Bisse du Levron is anything but impressive. It is not very wide – about a metre – nor is…

Climate solutions

Water levels plunge in summer heat

This content was published on Aug 14, 2003 Environmental experts are warning that if global warming continues it could have grave consequences for the country’s future water supplies. Water levels in many of Switzerland’s rivers and lakes are at an all-time low, according to Christian Koch, a spokesman for the Federal Office for Water and Geology. On Wednesday the Geneva authorities took the…

Climate solutions

Permafrost gives cable cars that sinking feeling

This content was published on Aug 6, 2003 The structures in question are anchored in permafrost – frozen ground that holds many of Switzerland’s mountains together. One solution is to put metal anchors near the foundations to keep the rock firm as the permafrost thaws. Another is to relocate cable car stations which are in places deemed to be at risk. But a…

Climate solutions

River Rhine cleans up its act

This content was published on Jul 22, 2003 Today’s journey begins in the German city of Duisburg, once an environmental black spot along the Rhine River, now a shining example of efforts made to clean up the polluted waterway. Duisburg lies at the heart of Germany’s industrial zone in the Ruhr Valley. The chemical, steel and coal factories packed along this stretch of…

Climate solutions

Permafrost moves in mysterious ways

This content was published on Jul 21, 2003 Researchers are shedding light on the complex processes which take place underground and the impact of climate change. This week they are revealing their latest findings at an international conference in Zurich, attended by more than 300 permafrost experts. The issue came to public attention last week, when the authorities were forced to close the…

Cluster: Science

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