A recent study finds that a majority of Swiss see a future beyond car ownership. This new post-car world, set out by a team of geographers, architects, urbanists, economists, engineers, and political and social scientists, asked the public to imagine living in a society that would choose to live car free, not out of environmental constraints […]
3 million francs of gold and silver found in Swiss sewers
Call it “dirty money” if you wish, because there’s about CHF 3 million in gold and silver found each year in Swiss sewage. But no one is going to get rich, according to a just-published report by the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (Eawag). Recovering the estimated CHF 1.5 million in gold, […]
How bees add 350 million francs to the Swiss economy
While they are buzzing around Switzerland gathering and spreading pollen, bees are also contributing CHF 350 million to the economy, according to a recent report by Swiss agriculture agency, Agroscope. Without these industrious bees, Switzerland’s (and the world’s) agriculture would wither. Though in Switzerland only 14 percent of cropland directly depends upon bee pollination, that […]
Swiss retailers called on to remove palm oil from their products
Two Swiss NGOs have started a petition calling for Swiss retailers to reduce or remove palm oil from their products. Present in many processed foods, cosmetics and detergents, the ingredient has a bad reputation. The NGOs Bread for All and the Swiss Catholic Lenten Fund want to see a reduction in palm oil consumption. They […]
Geneva wants more vegetarian meals in school canteens
20 Minutes. The administration of the city of Geneva wants schools to serve more vegetarian meals. Administrative councillor Esther Alder told 20 Minutes “We are receiving more and more requests, particularly from children’s parents.” While the city cannot impose rules on school canteens it hopes that all of its 47 school restaurants start to offer […]
8 people missing after Swiss landslide
According to Swiss broadcaster RTS, 14 people are unaccounted for following a landslide in the Val Bondasca region in the Swiss canton of Graubünden on Wednesday. Rocks and earth poured down the valley. A video of the landslide can be seen here. RTS shows the aftermath in another video. According to local police, six of […]
Balls or burgers – insect products coming to Swiss supermarkets soon
Would you eat balls made from insects? Last year the Swiss supermarket Coop applied for authorisation to sell insect based products. Then on 14 August 2017 it announced a limited number of its stores and its delivery service Coop@home would start selling the products from 21 August 2017, phasing the products in across other stores between […]
Super high-speed train between Zurich and Milan unveiled
20 Minutes. Dubbed the “Superveloce”, the new high-speed journey is expected to start operating between now and 2020. Made possible by the opening of the new Gotthard train tunnel, the trip should take only 2 hours and 45 minutes. Since the world’s longest train tunnel was opened in December 2016, 2.3 million passengers have passed through […]
More than 3 planets needed if we all lived like Swiss residents
If every one the world’s 7.5 billion people lived like the residents of Switzerland we would need 3.1 planets to live sustainably according to calculations by the Global Footprint Network. In aggregate, humanity has been living on credit since 2 August 2017. This means we are depleting earthly resources available to future generations of humans and everything […]
46 percent of Switzerland’s plant and animal life at risk from human activity
A recent government report sets out a long list of fungi, plants and animals that are extinct or at risk from human activity. 3% of the 10,350 native species studied have already disappeared, 5% are on the verge of extinction, 11% are in danger, 17% are vulnerable, and 10% are potentially threatened. These percentages add up to 46%. The […]
