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Val Sinestra wins Swiss landscape prize

This content was published on Jul 22, 2011 The intact state of the landscape and the beauty of the valley were decisive factors in the decision. A new honour launched by the non-profit Swiss Foundation for Landscape Conservation (SL), the main voice for landscape conservation and planning in Switzerland, it is intended to highlight landscapes threatened by urbanisation. It is the first award…

Climate solutions

Sunshine and Flowers (for a while)

This content was published on Jul 22, 2011 Like a horse to the barn, I’d intended to race many kilometers and descend almost 3,000 vertical meters to a hotel in Campocologno, where I could finally bathe and would have a meal waiting (I’ve run out of food). I thought I could do it in about 12 hours of hiking, so I set my…

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July marked by a cold spell

This content was published on Jul 20, 2011 According to national television forecasters at SF Meteo, temperatures in July, which has been marked by heavy rainfall and storms, are around 0.5 degrees lower than normal. Snow caused the partial closure of the Nufenen Pass in the Alps until the afternoon and snow chains were required on vehicles on the Flüela Pass in canton…

Starvation and violence stalk Horn of Africa

This content was published on Jul 16, 2011 In refugee camps in Dadaab in Kenya – where nearly 400,000 people are crammed together with more arriving every day – the situation is critical, the local Swiss coordinator of Doctors without Borders tells swissinfo.ch. The UN warned earlier this week that it was struggling to keep up with an exodus of hungry Somali refugees…

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The financial share that chews the cud

This content was published on Jul 14, 2011 The “cow shares” are called Lotti, and the dividend payout is unusual to say the least. The shareholders receive meat. The shaggy, red-brown cattle with their long horns appear so friendly and the calves look particularly cute. Leutenegger says he fell in love with the Scottish Highland breed. It all started in the middle of…

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Thunderstorms keep rescue services busy

This content was published on Jul 13, 2011 Police said more than 60 people had to be evacuated by helicopter from a mountain railway in the Bernese Oberland. Local power cuts and mudslides affected railway connections in several parts of the country. Rescue services on Lake Lucerne were called to help boats back to the harbours. The cantonal authorities recorded several hundred cases…

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Poor report card for environmental efforts

This content was published on Jul 13, 2011 In its 2011 report on the state of the environment, the Federal Environment Office said while the consumption of heating fuels fell by 23 per cent between 1990 and 2009, the amount of motor fuels used rose by nearly 16 per cent and natural gas went up 68 per cent. Under the Kyoto Protocol, Switzerland…

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Gimme shelter!

This content was published on Jul 8, 2011 Lightning cracked, thunder followed, and my plan to bivouac outside without a tent didn’t feel quite as enticing as it had in the morning’s sunshine. Just then, right at the Grueben Pass border, a miracle happened: a tiny hut, so small it wasn’t even on the map, appeared through the driving rain. I’d hoped to…

Energy consumption reaches record levels

This content was published on Jun 28, 2011 The Federal Energy Office reported Swiss energy consumption rose to 911,550 terajoules (tj) last year, smashing the previous record of 895,250tj reported in 2008. The Energy Office said the use of green energy was “booming”, with increased use of wood heaters, up 7.7 per cent, district heating up 12.7 per cent, solar power up 13.5…

Climate solutions

New traces of wild bear found

This content was published on Jun 24, 2011 The cantonal authorities in Graubünden said several sheep were found dead or injured on an alp in the Engadine region. Based on previous sightings over the past few weeks, experts say it could be an animal from neighbouring Italy. However, it still has to be identified. Twelve months ago a brown bear, named M2, was…

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Val Sinestra wins Swiss landscape prize

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Sunshine and Flowers (for a while)

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July marked by a cold spell

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Starvation and violence stalk Horn of Africa

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The financial share that chews the cud

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Thunderstorms keep rescue services busy

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Poor report card for environmental efforts

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Gimme shelter!

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Energy consumption reaches record levels

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New traces of wild bear found

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