June temperature records were broken at 27 locations in Switzerland today according to Meteo Swiss. Many locations reached temperatures of over 35 degrees. Sion (35.8), Wynau (35.8), Zurich (35.5) and Basel (35.3) led the way. Geneva (33.4) and Lausanne (30.4) were slightly less scorching. High altitude locations were not all spared. The temperature in the […]
Archives for 2019
Government rejects vote to ban synthetic pesticides in Switzerland
In February 2019, an initiative to ban the use of synthetic pesticides in Switzerland collected enough signatures to run a referendum entitled: For a Switzerland free of synthetic pesticides. The initiative would ban the use of all synthetic pesticides in Swiss agriculture and the importation of food or animal feed used commercially that is produced […]
Swiss universities rise further in global ranking
A recent ranking placed two Swiss universities in the top 20. ETH Zurich (ETHZ), the Swiss university for science and technology based in Zurich rose from 7th to 6th place this year in the overall global ranking by QS. Ecole polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), ETHZ’s sister in French-speaking Switzerland near Lausanne, scooped 18th place, […]
Lake Geneva – tests show beaches with cleanest water
A map published recently by the Commission internationale pour la protection des eaux du Léman (CIPEL), a Swiss-French intergovernmental organisation, rates the water quality at most Lake Geneva beaches as excellent or of a medium to good quality. Only one, Pointe-à-la-Bise – Collonge-Bellerive was rated as having water that is sometimes polluted. The map above […]
40 percent of Swiss prepared to fly less to spare the environment
Surveyors asked 1,000 people in Switzerland aged from 16 to 74 about their flying habits across both French- and German-speaking Switzerland. 27% said they have already avoided flights over the last two years for environmental reasons. Switzerland’s residents are big air travelers, flying three times as often as the average european, according to WWF. When […]
Parliament votes against stripping serious criminals of Swiss nationality
Last week, a majority of the National Council, Switzerland’s parliament, voted against stripping serious criminals of Swiss nationality, according to Le Matin. A motion to take Swiss citizenship away from those who have committed serious crimes and who have more than one nationality, was put forward by Lorenzo Quadri, a member of the Lega party […]
Heatwave expected in Switzerland next week
According to Meteo Swiss next week will be hot in Switzerland. In an article published yesterday it said the likelihood of high temperatures next week seems to be confirmed. Temperatures on the plateau could rise to between 32 et 35°C. Anyone hoping to find sub zero temperatures will need to get above 4,500 metres high, […]
Swiss government approves further GM crop trials
Last week, the Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) gave a green light to trials of genetically modified (GM) barley in Switzerland. Permission was given to the University of Zurich to plant GM barley at a controlled site in the canton of Zurich. The barley has been modified to resist fungal diseases. The experiment aims […]
Switzerland 5th most skeptical of vaccine safety
A recently published survey by the Wellcome Trust, which surveyed people around the world on their vaccination beliefs, found that 22% of those surveyed in Switzerland strongly or somewhat disagreed that vaccines are safe. Only France (33%), Gabon (26%), Togo (25%) and Russia (24%) had higher percentages of people strongly or somewhat disagreeing that vaccines […]
FILM: GATEWAYS TO NEW YORK – the Swiss engineer behind New York’s bridges
21 June 2019. By Neptune GATEWAYS TO NEW YORK – Othman H. Amman and his Bridges **** (vo German and English) The beauty of documentaries is that, if well done, they reveal and illuminate facts and information of which we were often ignorant. Here is one perfect example, about the life and career of the […]
