Tag: Switzerland

The Swiss Alps Are Changing

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The Swiss Alps are suffering the effects of climate change. As permafrost zones (rocks and soil that used to be frozen permanently) melt, they have caused massive rock slides.

The famous mountains, The Eiger and Matterhorn, have been hit by rockslides. Villages are also impacted. In 2003, the town of Pontresina built a huge dam to protect itself from mud and rock slides.

Switzerland’s Alpine region is right now in the grip of a climate disaster, as warmer temperatures have seen glaciers shrink by 10 percent in the last five years.

Europe’s Melting Glaciers

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It is far too late to save the Alpine glaciers. And now, the dangers caused by tons of melting ice are rising sharply. Every year, climate change is destroying two of the currently 70 square kilometers of glaciers left in the Alps.

The permafrost in the Alps is thawing, and transforming what used to be sturdy slopes into loose screes. In addition, climate change is leading to significantly more extreme weather conditions every year, while heavy rainfall causes serious erosion. The result: avalanches and landslides like those in Bondo, Switzerland, or Valsertal in Austria.

In Switzerland, residential areas are shrinking as people are forced to leave their homes forever. The disappearance of glaciers as water reservoirs is already posing a major problem. Farmers in Engadine, who have been using meltwater for irrigation for centuries, are already facing water shortages. Last summer, they had to rely on helicopters to transport water to their herds in the Grison Alps. Above all, alpine villages depend on winter tourism to survive. Yet experts are forecasting that by mid-century, there will only be enough natural snow left to ski above 2,000 meters, which will spell out the end for about 70 percent of the ski resorts in the Eastern Alps. But instead of developing alternatives, lots of money is still being invested in ski tourism. Snow cannon are used to defy climate change, and artificial snow systems are under construction at ever higher altitudes. As usual, it’s the environment that is set to lose as the unique alpine landscape is further destroyed by soil compaction and erosion. Some municipalities are now working on new models of alpine tourism for the future. As global temperatures continue to rise, the cooler mountain regions will become increasingly attractive for tourists, especially in the summer.

Energy Hunger, Energy Guzzlers and Energy Providers, Part 2

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHmp7_r1PG8&feature=youtu.be
Mobility is one of the world’s biggest drivers of energy consumption.
The switch to renewable energies will affect people’s everyday lives. How will we get from A to B when fossil fuel reserves run out in the future? How will we fly around the globe without oil and gas?

Mobility is one of the world’s biggest drivers of energy consumption. The transportation of people and goods by road, rail and air accounts for around 34 percent of total energy consumption. The electrification of mobility has already begun and, as the example of Norway shows, it could be one solution – but not for trucks and industrial vehicles. Is fuel cell technology a viable alternative here? Japan firmly believes it is.

Could electrification also revolutionize air transport? Siemens and Airbus want to make aviation history here and are working on a regional aircraft with a hybrid electric drive – but it won’t work for long-haul flights. But scientists from ETH Zurich and the German Aerospace Center are working on a spectacular solution to the long-haul problem: synthetic kerosene from sunlight.

An alternative to heavy oil is also being sought for shipping. Neither electric propulsion nor fuel cells will work for gigantic cruise liners and above all for the container ships that account for a large part of world trade. Methanol, which can be produced sustainably, could be the answer and a large prototype vessel is currently undergoing trials.

In addition to mobility, digitalization is one of the great power guzzlers of the 21st Century. Streaming services, cloud computing and the Internet of Things are all increasing our energy requirements. Experts anticipate consumption will increase by around 40% over the next 12 years. Microsoft’s server farms alone will consume as much electricity as a medium-sized European country. Where’s that power going to come from? We have to cut back our consumption.

This will also apply to our future lives. The world’s first self-sufficient apartment building is located in Switzerland and shows how you can become energy independent. The future will be in networked houses that exchange electricity among themselves.