Science

Environment policy passes through Copenhagen

This content was published on Apr 3, 2006 The Swiss would like to see the institution focus on noise protection, non-ionising radiation from mobile phones and gene technology. On a map of European industrial pollution, Switzerland has been a blank spot until now. Not because Swiss industry is clean as a whistle, but because the European Union’s databases contain very little information about…

Climate solutions

Avalanche threat cuts off mountain villages

This content was published on Mar 9, 2006 Avalanches have blocked roads and rail lines in other parts of the Swiss Alps, and heavy rain in low-lying areas has flooded cellars. The situation is not expected to improve, with up to 70 centimetres of fresh snow expected to fall within the next 24 hours. Charly Wuilloud, spokesman for canton Valais, said that 20…

Climate solutions

Natural sanctuary welcomes humans

This content was published on Feb 26, 2006 Haller has run the park in eastern Switzerland for ten years and knows the 172-square-kilometre wilderness like the back of his hand. In 1914, Switzerland led the way in creating the first national park in the Alps. It is situated near the village of Zernez, canton Graubünden. But Swiss pioneering efforts in this field have…

Climate solutions

Swiss find frozen Siberia is heating up

This content was published on Feb 20, 2006 Ice-core samples analysed at the Swiss-based Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) show that the temperature of the Belukha glacier has increased by 2.5 degrees Celsius in the past 150 years. That is three times the northern hemisphere average of 0.9 degrees – an unforeseen result, according to expedition leader Margit Schwikowski, head of the PSI’s analytical…

Climate solutions

Crusader vows to continue tourism fight

This content was published on Jan 10, 2006 Best known for campaigns to stop the Canadian seal hunt and to save wild horses in Australia, Weber has also been active in efforts to preserve Swiss tourism heritage. The train journey to Montreux, where Weber lives and works, passes beneath the Lavaux vineyards, built on steep, terraced slopes above the shores of Lake Geneva.…

Climate solutions

Swiss restore water lifeline

This content was published on Dec 27, 2005 In numerous towns and villages along the devastated coastline of the northern Sumatran province of Aceh, wells have been cleaned, new water sources found, and water purification systems restored. Water specialists from the Swiss Humanitarian Aid Unit (SHA) were among the first foreign teams to arrive in the disaster zone. Spokesman Jean-Philippe Jutzi described what…

Post-tsunami Asia takes shape

This content was published on Dec 25, 2005 Progress is slow with hundreds of thousands of survivors still living in temporary shelters, largely because bureaucracy and ethnic divisions are hampering rebuilding efforts. Assessing the effort so far, the Swiss foreign minister, Micheline Calmy-Rey, earlier this month pronounced herself very happy with the Swiss achievements. She said the country had handled the crisis very…

Climate solutions

Using animal instincts to forecast weather

This content was published on Dec 11, 2005 The unique predictions made by the weathermen are Switzerland’s version of the legendary long-range forecasts of the Farmers’ Almanac in the United States. It is a cold, clear December morning in the village of Rothenthurm in central Switzerland and a thin crust of snow covers the ground. Martin Horat enters the cowshed of a neighbour’s…

Climate solutions

Furry invasion threat to local wildlife

This content was published on Dec 3, 2005 The raccoons, raccoon dogs and grey squirrels munching their way across Europe could destroy local species sharing similar environments. Many of the foreign species carry diseases to which Swiss animals have no immunity. The Swiss environment agency believes the American grey squirrel poses the biggest threat. The introduction of the species in Britain caused the…

Climate solutions

Parliament votes to clear munitions from lakes

This content was published on Nov 29, 2005 However, the government would prefer to allow a research programme now underway to run its course, on the grounds that the toxicity of the munitions has not been proven. On Tuesday the House of Representatives approved a motion proposed by Ursula Haller, a parliamentarian from the rightwing Swiss People’s Party, by 102 votes to 56…

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Environment policy passes through Copenhagen

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Avalanche threat cuts off mountain villages

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Natural sanctuary welcomes humans

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Swiss find frozen Siberia is heating up

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Crusader vows to continue tourism fight

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Swiss restore water lifeline

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Post-tsunami Asia takes shape

More

Using animal instincts to forecast weather

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Furry invasion threat to local wildlife

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Parliament votes to clear munitions from lakes

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