A bunch of brainy students at the Federal Institute of Technology in Zürich (Einstein was a student there) designed a prototype of a passenger pod that might one day carry commuters through a vacuum tube in magnetically levitating cars at more than 1,000 km/h. At this speed a trip between Zürich and Geneva could take 15 […]
Swiss rail tests its first automatic train
The Swiss train system is not throwing its engineers off the train (yet), but is experimenting with how to make their job simpler, while improving efficiency without compromising safety. Aircraft have long used a proven autopilot system that helps them fly efficiently, mostly hands-off, conserving fuel while minimizing travel time. Now CFF/BSS/FFS is testing similar […]
Swiss Fact: Switzerland’s longest glacier has shrunk 1.3 kilometres
The longest, largest glacier in Europe is the Aletsch, in Switzerland’s canton Valais. The glacier is currently about 23 km. long and blankets about 81.7 sq. km. It’s estimated maximum depth is nearly 1 km. For now. Because, alas, like most of the planet’s glaciers, the Aletsch, which is part of a UNESCO World Heritage […]
German-speaking Swiss more likely to avoid flying for environmental reasons
Flying is the most polluting way to travel and Swiss residents are frequent flyers. 56% of those surveyed by gfs-zürich on behalf of the Swiss Energy Foundation have flown once or more for non-work reasons in the last two years. According to the Swiss Energy Foundation, the average non-work related distance flown per Swiss resident […]
Glyphosate – Swiss government rejects ban plan. Plus how to avoid it.
Last week, the Federal Council, Switzerland’s executive, rejected the Green party’s plan to ban the use of the controversial herbicide glyphosate, a compound classified as “probably carcinogenic to humans” by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), part of the World Health Organisation. According to 20 Minutes, the Federal Council thinks glyphosate residues in Switzerland are […]
Swiss dietary changes that could halve environmental damage and improve health
A new study in Switzerland shows the impact dietary choices have on the environment. Compared to current eating habits, three different diets all roughly halve the environmental damage wrought by food production. Put together by Agroscope, a Swiss government research centre, the analysis looks at scenarios that would reduce environmental damage while maintaining the current […]
Earthquakes – Swiss study shines new light on the risks in the Alps
A study by scientists at ETH Zurich, published on ScienceDirect on 15 November 2017, provides a powerful new way of looking at the risk of large earthquakes in the Alps, Apennines, Zagros and Himalaya mountain ranges. Most know that mountain ranges are built by tectonic plates pushing against each other. However, some forget how seismically […]
Swiss Rail to test smoke-free train stations and platforms
Swiss Rail has announced it will experiment with smoking restrictions at various train stations in response to customer complaints about second-hand smoke and cigarette butts on platforms impacting on comfort. The tests will be run during 2018 in 5 or 6 stations. A document obtained by the newspaper NZZ listed the stations involved in the […]
Saving 4 tonnes of ‘junk’ from landfill: Swiss repair cafés
Switzerland’s Repair Cafés, part of a global movement started in the Netherlands, are turning the old saying: one person’s junk is another’s treasure, into: your junk is your treasure. On October 27th, about 1,500 items – everything from stuffed bears and toy tractors to vacuum cleaners and digital cameras – were saved from Swiss junk piles, […]
Why men in Switzerland die before women
It’s Movember, the season of unlikely moustaches, grown to highlight men’s health. Causes of disease and death are not always clear, however, gender differences in lifestyle and disease offer some clues to lower male life expectancy. Switzerland’s Federal Statistical Office (FSO) puts male life expectancy at 81.5 years, 3.8 years behind women, who live 85.2 […]
