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Saving the planet the Swiss way

This content was published on Mar 30, 2008 At a time when activists have to go to great lengths to draw attention to their cause, embarking on a 12-year odyssey and raising a family along the way is still remarkable. That’s what Dario and Sabine Schwoerer, along with their two toddlers, are doing. They have been sailing, cycling and climbing for the past…

Climate solutions

Severe weather damage payouts increase

This content was published on Mar 29, 2008 Swiss Hail has announced that the 13,516 claims it approved last year amounted to SFr62.5 million ($62.9 million). Three-quarters of the claims related to hail damage of crops, flowers, berries and vines. The worst day of hail in 2007 was June 21, when 6,000 cases of damage were reported. Heavy rains in August also drove…

Climate solutions

First bird flu case in two years

This content was published on Mar 27, 2008 The European pochard was discovered on Lake Sempach near Lucerne carrying the deadly H5N1 strain of the virus, the Swiss veterinary office said on Thursday. Analysis of the virus showed that it bore a strong resemblance to cases of bird flu discovered elsewhere in Europe in 2007. However, the office said that there would be…

Climate solutions

Boosting public transport for Euro 2008

This content was published on Mar 26, 2008 The company said it would provide two million additional seats to cope with football fans travelling to stadiums and public-viewing zones across the country. Other railway companies will lay on 1,300 extra trains for the three-week period. About 1,500 additional office staff will be deployed as part of improved services at railway stations. Maintenance work…

Climate solutions

Aid agencies call for water for all

This content was published on Mar 22, 2008 They say that its sustainability can only be guaranteed in the long term if both developing and industrialised countries take more action. Water causes thousands of deaths around the world each day through pollution, or because it’s too expensive and because there is simply not enough of it. According to the NGO Helvetas, one person…

Climate solutions

NGO’s work continues despite Kenya troubles

This content was published on Mar 21, 2008 On a visit to Zurich, Peter Baumgartner, who runs a BioVision-financed newspaper for smallholders, said it was now even more vital to help this neglected but important part of Kenyan society. Around 1,500 people died and 600,000 people were displaced during the violence which followed disputed elections in Kenya in December. A power-sharing deal between…

Climate solutions

Strong snowfall hits Switzerland

This content was published on Mar 21, 2008 It snowed across the country from Geneva to Zurich, with 15 centimetres being reported in the lowlands and up to half a metre in some alpine valleys. The wind blew at more than 140 kilometres an hour in some parts of central Switzerland, with the Säntis mountain recording a high of 146 km/h. The Swiss…

Climate solutions

Blood and Gore endorse sustainable investment

This content was published on Mar 11, 2008 The 2007 Nobel Peace Prize-winner and environmental campaigner was in Geneva on Tuesday promoting a tie-up between a sustainable investment fund he heads and a private Swiss bank, Lombard Odier Darier Hentsch. “More money is allocated by markets around the world in one hour than by all the governments on this planet in the entire…

Climate solutions

Naples waste not welcome in Geneva

This content was published on Mar 11, 2008 The cantonal government said the impact on the environment was not clear and there were not sufficient guarantees about the origins of the waste. The decision comes after the director of the environment department, Robert Cramer, in January asked the public waste management company, Services industriels de Genève (SIG), to negotiate a contract with two…

Climate solutions

A life aquatic

This content was published on Mar 11, 2008 Michel Roggo is a specialist in underwater photography in Switzerland’s rivers and lakes. Taking these pictures sometimes requires patience: it can take anything up to three days before a fish cares to swim in front of the camera lens.

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