New data show that tourism accounts for 25% of the total traffic on Swiss roads, reported SRF. The Federal Council report shows that leisure and tourism account for 53% of passenger road traffic, with the other 47% made up of commuting to and from work. Regular leisure traffic by residents of Switzerland accounted for 27% […]
Swiss voters shift right according to new poll
If elections were held in Switzerland today, parties on the right would move ahead at the expense of those on the left, especially parties focused on the environment, according to a recent poll run by Sotomo. The biggest gainer would be the Swiss People’s Party (UDC/SVP), which gained 2.0 percentage points in the poll, reaching […]
Swiss homeowners shun heat pumps in favour of gas and oil heating
Electric heat pumps have a lower carbon footprint than gas and oil heating systems. They are more energy efficient, and, when gas, coal and oil electricity generation are eventually phased out of the grid, they will be close to emission free. However, the number of heat pumps being installed in Switzerland is falling, and the […]
Swiss to vote on plan to upgrade motorways this weekend
On 24 November 2024, the Swiss will vote on four questions. The first is a federal government plan to invest in expanding Switzerland’s motorway network. The government’s plan aims to alleviate six motorway bottlenecks. The Federal Council points out that traffic on the nation’s highways has more than doubled since 1990 and the estimated CHF […]
Switzerland remains the European leader in rail travel
This week, ahead of a vote to decide whether to expand the nations roads, LITRA, an organisation championing public transport in Switzerland, published its annual report on train travel across Europe. The figures show how far ahead of the rest of Europe Switzerland is on both the average number of journeys and distance travelled by […]
Federal Council rejects “nutrition initiative”
It is well known that plants-based diets are easier on the environment. By one measure producing animal protein requires up to 17 times as much land as vegetable protein. With this in mind, a group has come up with a plan aimed at forcing agricultural and dietary change. This week, the Federal Council rejected to proposal, reported […]
Expert calls for new approach to solar power in Switzerland
Renewable energy, such as electricity produced from the sun, comes with challenges. Sunshine does not follow our pattern of electricity consumption. Storing excess production helps. However, sometimes batteries hit full capacity. When this happens any excess must be dumped. Christoph Bucher and his team at Bern University of Applied Sciences advocate adding a system that […]
Zurich wants to charge more to park large cars
This week, the leaders of the municipality of Zurich voted in favour of charging large car owners more for resident parking permits, reported SRF. The prices of resident parking permits are set to be calculated based on vehicle weight. A similar charging model has already been introduced in the city of Biel/Bienne. In Zurich, owners […]
Switzerland exploring new form of burial
In Switzerland, 90% of people opt to have their remains cremated. The other 10% opt for burial. However, traditional burial contaminates soil and takes up valuable space. While cremation consumes significant energy and pollutes the air. Four women who created the organisation Werde Erde hope to make compost burial an option, reported SRF. When someone […]
How changing clocks back leads to more wildlife accidents
On 27 October 2024, daylight savings time ends when at 3am clocks are turned back one hour. However, this small change increases the number of collisions with wild animals on Swiss roads, reported SRF. In 2023, around 20,000 animals were hit on Swiss roads. Swiss motorists are most likely to hit a deer. In 2023, […]
