Richard's blog

Tag: environment

  • The Level Four Heatwave

    The Level Four Heatwave

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    richard
    in

    Reading Time: 2 minutesWe are heading into a Level Four heatwave for the next few days and now people will realise that replacing gardens with parking, and individual villas with apartment houses was a mistake. Now is when people will realise that tarmac gets hot during the day, and radiates heat at night. Now is…

  • Road Works that Forget About Pedestrians

    Road Works that Forget About Pedestrians

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    richard
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    Reading Time: 3 minutesFor two years they worked on a motorway bridge. For two years they cut down trees, added tons of soil, and then widened roads for cars. Never during that time did they consider that people might want to walk along the most direct route from A to B. More recently I have…

  • On Being Able to Walk to a Recycling Centre

    On Being Able to Walk to a Recycling Centre

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    richard
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    Reading Time: 3 minutesFor a few days I fled from the Caribana music festival because during this event it is impossible to sleep due to noise pollution. Switzerland, despite being so strict about other forms of noise pollution is lax about the noise pollution from music festivals. Most people plan holidays to flee it. I…

  • On the Benefit of Using Trains Instead of Cars

    On the Benefit of Using Trains Instead of Cars

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    richard
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    Reading Time: 3 minutesOn Sunday I took the car rather than the train. This allowed me to wake up slightly later, and to drive up to the meeting point within an hour. By train I would have had a half hour walk, followed by a two hour train ride. On the way back it was…

  • Tempted to Camp in Gruyère

    Tempted to Camp in Gruyère

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    richard
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    Reading Time: 2 minutesYesterday while I was looking for a Via Ferrata I came across this hike and I am tempted to do it. I will be in the area to do this hike on Saturday and if I camped overnight then I could do the second hike as a solo hike. The reason not…

  • Electricity Maps and HomeAssistant

    Electricity Maps and HomeAssistant

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    richard
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    Reading Time: < 1 minuteThe building I live in has solar panels on the roof and a heat pump. This allows it to be more energy efficient than other buildings. It also has thick insulation on the walls and more. Recently I have been playing with Homeassistant and electricity Maps. Electricity Maps is a real…

  • The Uncertain Train Journey

    The Uncertain Train Journey

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    richard
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    Reading Time: 1 minuteFor years I automatically took the car for everything I did, or almost. Over the last seven or eight years that habit has changed as I grew used to walking locally, and catching the train to activities. This shift in habits is due to two things. The first is that I met…

  • Spontaneous Publibike Ride

    Spontaneous Publibike Ride

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    richard
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    Reading Time: 3 minutesWe are all familiar with it. We get a phone call. "I will be in Nyon in 20 minutes, do you want to meet". We think, duck, that’s short notice. Do we take the bike? No, because we don’t want to leave it unattended. Do we take the car? No, because then…

  • Practical Thoughts on Publibike

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    richard
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    Reading Time: 4 minutesYesterday I finally tested Publibike after years of considering these bikes. There is a paradox. I think nothing of spending three francs, for a coke, rivella, hot chocolate or coffee but the idea of paying 3 CHF to use a bike for a six minute ride is disturbing. I didn’t pay for…

  • To drive or Travel by Train

    To drive or Travel by Train

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    richard
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    Reading Time: 2 minutesTomorrow I will be heading to Gruyère. I saw that if I take the train it will take two hours but if I take the car it will take one hour. I am currently toying with the idea of suggesting that I pick up some people in Nyon and others in Fourmi,…