On 11 March 2012, Swiss voted to accept a law restricting the construction of secondary residences, homes that are only used occasionally by owners living somewhere else. Under the law no more than 20% of a municipality’s housing can be second homes. Those with percentages above 20% run into building restrictions. The initiative was nick […]
Swiss clocks move forward one hour this Sunday
Early on Sunday 26 March 2017 Swiss clocks move forward one hour. Officially time changes at 2am. This means you will miss one hour of sleep and it will be darker when you get up. On the up side, it will be lighter for longer in the evenings. The rest of Europe will adjust its clocks […]
Switzerland’s spectacular dams and their uncertain future
Switzerland’s 604 hydroelectric plants aren’t just powerhouses for clean energy. Some dams are also dramatic destinations. But their source of fuel is literally drying up. By Bill Harby Switzerland’s glaciers are shrinking. In 2015, of 99 Swiss glaciers measured, 92 were retreating, 3 were stationary and 4 were advancing. Global warming doesn’t just threaten Switzerland’s […]
Swiss report recommends eating more foods typically high in saturated fats
On 16 March 2017, the results of a survey on Swiss eating habits were released. The survey, dubbed MenuCH, quizzed 2,000 Swiss residents between the ages of 18 and 75 on what they eat. The report shows that Swiss meat consumption is at unhealthy levels. Average weekly consumption of 780g far exceeds the recommended level […]
Switzerland 4th happiest country
The world’s happiest country, according the latest World Happiness Report, is Norway, with Denmark, Iceland and Switzerland almost on par. The report’s authors say that these four countries are clustered so tightly that the differences among them are not statistically significant. Norway (7.537), Denmark (7.522), Iceland (7.504), and Switzerland (7.494) are almost equal, with Switzerland’s […]
Swiss road victims down overall but higher for cyclists
20 Minutes. In 2016, the number dying on Swiss roads dropped 15% compared with 2015. 216 people died, 37 less than the year before (-15%). While there were fewer car, motorcycle and pedestrian accident victims, the number of seriously injured cyclists climbed. Since records began in 1940, only 1945, when 211 died, has seen fewer […]
Green politician wants to ban all petrol and diesel cars from Swiss roads by 2025
20 Minutes. National Councillor Balthasar Glättli tabled a motion that would require all cars in Switzerland to be electric by 2025. He sees this as a way to meet emission levels set out in the Paris Agreement on climate change which aims to limit the global temperature rise to 2 degrees by 2030. His plan […]
Thought provoking art meets the animal kingdom at Geneva’s Natural History Museum
To celebrate its 50th birthday, Geneva’s Natural History Museum invited two artists to transform parts of the building. French artist and engineer Alexandre Dang graced the windows with his dancing solar art, and Nicolas Righetti, a photographer from Geneva, created a photographic installation called “Guided Visits!” (Visites Guidées!). Dang’s provocative work comprising 2,000 solar-powered dancing figurines […]
Earthquake shakes Switzerland
An earthquake, measuring 4.6 on the richter scale, shook Linthal in the canton of Glarus at 21:12 on 6 March 2017, according to the Swiss Seismological Service. The quake occurred at a depth of 5 km. In addition, the Swiss Seismological Service tweeted that the quake occurred at Ortstock in the canton of Schwyz and measured 4.7. […]
One Swiss resort suffers lowest snowfall in recorded history
This season, a resort on the southern side of the Alps received the least snow in recorded history, according to Meteo Swiss. Between December 2016 and February 2017, the resort of Bosco-Gurin in Ticino received snow cover of only 14 cm. This is the lowest depth since the region started recording snow depth in 1961. […]
