Swiss Rail has dropped plans to install Wi-Fi in its trains, according to the newspaper Le Matin. After a survey revealed that customers would only use on-board Wi-Fi it was free, the company decided there was no justifiable way to cover the cost, according the the newspaper. Swiss Rail is not prepared to bear the […]
Weeding with water instead of herbicide – is this the future?
Designed in northern Italy by the company Caffini, the water powered Grass Killer, was spotted weeding grape vines in Valais Switzerland, by the newspaper 20 Minutes. Swiss grape growers have been testing the invention for the last three years. According to Caffini, the Grass Killer hits weeds with water sprayed at a pressure of 1,000 […]
No risk from glyphosate in food, according to Swiss government
Glyphosate is the world’s most heavily used herbicide. Its largest use is in agriculture, which increased sharply after crops were genetically modified to make them resistant to the chemical. In March 2015, the IARC classified glyphosate as probably carcinogenic to humans (Group 2A). It said there was limited evidence of carcinogenicity in humans for non-Hodgkin […]
Swiss organic farming continues to grow but with big cantonal differences
Switzerland continues to shift towards organic farming. Between 2000 and 2017, the percentage of farm land dedicated to organic produce nearly doubled from 7.7% to 14.5%. After four years of decline from 2007 to 2010, Swiss organic farming took off again and has grown every year since, rising 6.6% in 2017. In 2017, the Swiss […]
Swiss government data shows sharp rise in another tick borne disease
A report published recently the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) shows a sharp increase tularemia cases, a disease spread primarily by ticks. From 2010 to 2016, an average of 31 cases of infection were recorded annually. In 2017, the number jumped to 129, a four-fold increase. 129 cases is 1.5 per 100,000. Most were […]
The Swiss cantons making the most wine
In 2017, Swiss residents downed 249 million litres of wine, around 37 litres per resident over the age of 191. This equates to roughly one bottle of wine per week. Statistics from 2015 show that 13.8% of the nation don’t consume alcohol. If this is factored in average weekly wine consumption by those who do […]
Patrouille des Glaciers – record breaking times in 2018
The biennial high-altitude race from Zermatt to Verbier, completed on touring skis, wrapped up on Sunday 21 April 2018. Irrésistibles, les militaires italiens explosent le record de la Patrouille des glaciers: Robert Antonioli, Matteo Eydallin et Michel Boscacci ont assumé leur statut de favoris et ont rallié Zermatt à Verbier en 5h35’27. La patrouille italienne […]
Basel airport – night time take-offs to be cut in half
For those who fly regularly, living close to an airport might be convenient, but it’s also noisy. To reduce noise, Basel-Mulhouse airport has decided to reduce the number of flights taking off between 11pm and midnight by half, according to a press release. Unlike Geneva airport, which is located entirely on Swiss soil but still […]
High temperature record broken in Swiss Alps
Friday 21 April 2018 saw the mercury climb to 28.9 degrees in Sion, the capital city of the Swiss canton of Valais, according to Meteo Swiss, Switzerland’s metrological service. 28.9 degrees is a record for this date in the Alpine city. The last record for this date was set on 21 April 1968. On Friday, […]
62% of electricity consumed in Switzerland attributed to renewable sources
Last week the Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE) announced that 62% of the electricity consumed in Switzerland had been linked to renewable sources. It is difficult to know where the electricity from your plug came from. It is sometimes a bit like taking water from the sea and claiming it came from a particular […]
