The Swiss Academy of Sciences estimates that around 60% of the 1,143 insects studied in Switzerland are threatened with extinction. Another long term study in Germany shows that insect biomass, or combined weight, has declined by 76% over the last 30 years. According to the Swiss Academy of Sciences, the main drivers of insect loss […]
Question of the week: if aging populations are good for the environment why don’t we promote them?
Ageing demography leads to population decline and reduced consumption, which eases the impact of humans on the environment. However, most analysis on the subject presents this as a problem, something to be actively reversed. If we really care about climate change and long term human survival, wouldn’t learning to embrace and adapt to ageing societies […]
Climate change negatively affecting Lake Geneva
Since 2012, the depths of Lake Geneva have not been properly replenished with oxygen because of a lack of cold weather. Normally, cold winter weather cools surface water. This denser cold water then falls creating a mixing action, which oxygenates the water. The colder the surface the more vigorous the mixing. According to the Commission […]
Harmful levels of pesticides found in Switzerland’s small streams
Two recently published studies by Eawag and the Ecotox Centre have once again shown that surface waters in agricultural catchment areas in Switzerland are heavily contaminated with a mixture of herbicides, fungicides, insecticides and other chemicals. In most of the samples, 30 or more different active ingredients were detected. Studies of stream biodiversity and bioassays […]
More than 90% of soil on Swiss organic farms contaminated with pesticides
Researchers at the University of Neuchâtel measured the concentrations of five neonicotinoid insecticides in 702 soil and plant samples from 169 cultivated fields and 62 Ecological Focus Areas (EFA) across Switzerland’s lowland areas – EFA are areas set aside to improve the environment or climate. Organic farms, EFAs and organic seeds are supposed to be […]
Swiss canton blocks 5G mobile rollout
The rollout of fifth generation (5G) mobile technology is causing a stir across Switzerland. Groups, such as the Association Romande Alerte and the Gigaherz Club, are protesting at the rollout of the new technology, claiming that it poses potential health risks. In addition, they argue that it isn’t needed because current networks are sufficient. Elected officials […]
Question of the week: is the politics of income equality undermining the fight against climate change?
In Switzerland, emissions taxes, such as the one on home heating fuel, do two things. They make it more expensive to pollute and they redistribute income – every resident in Switzerland gets an equal share of the tax collected in the form of a deduction from their health insurance premiums. The redistributive element of this […]
More than 80 centimetres of new snow in some parts of Switzerland
Earlier this week it felt like spring in Switzerland. However, by Wednesday it had turned very wintery in parts of the country and snow continued to fall throughout Thursday, particularly in the Alps. More than 80 centimetres fell in Switzerland’s central Alpine region, an area including the Simplon pass and centered on the Alpine resort […]
Question of the week: is retirement a key driver of climate change?
To make the numbers work, pay-as-you-go state pensions require a high ratio of workers, who pay into the system, to retirees, who get money out. This leads some governments with growing populations of pensioners to push for higher birth rates. However, according to a climate report by Lund University having one less child is the […]
Steep drop in thefts in Switzerland
Comparing 2018 to 2012, thefts in Switzerland fell by nearly half, according to the Federal Statistical Office. In 2012, there were a record 219,000 thefts recorded in Switzerland. By 2018, the figure had fallen to 112,000, a drop of 49%. Over the same period, all categories of theft with the exception of fraud were down. […]
