Richard's blog

Category: environmentalism

  • European Walks and Bike Rides

    European Walks and Bike Rides

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    richard
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    Reading Time: 2 minutesToday during my walk I noticed a sticker on a sign for EuroVélo.com. I don’t know how new the project is but I had not paid attention to the URL before. I like the idea of a European Network of Cycling Routes. I don’t need to capitalise these words. I just did,…

  • The Léman Rose by Seven Centimetres Overnight

    The Léman Rose by Seven Centimetres Overnight

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    richard
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    Reading Time: 2 minutesWith the weather system that we have had over Europe a lot of rain has fallen. So much rain has fallen that it has swollen rivers and flooded plenty of regions. In Switzerland, because almost everything is on a hill flooding might be noticed in some parts of certain cities, but in…

  • Rain and Water Tables

    Rain and Water Tables

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    richard
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    Reading Time: 2 minutesThere is an article on Swiss Radio and Television that discusses the positive impact that the flooding has had on the water tables. For several years not only have we had warm weather but we have also gone with very little or no rain for months at a time. During some weeks…

  • Switzerland: From Arid to Flooded

    Switzerland: From Arid to Flooded

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    richard
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    Reading Time: 2 minutesSwitzerland and Europe are currently experiencing flooding. All the major Swiss lakes are close to breaking their banks. A few weeks ago, you could read about how Switzerland had been so dry that it had started to register on the aridity index. Now it’s flooded. Some people are bored by the rain,…

  • The Pandemic Of Sisyphus

    The Pandemic Of Sisyphus

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    richard
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    Reading Time: 2 minutesWe are in a pandemic where the only disease vector is proximity to others, so in theory this is one of the easiest pandemics to overcome, and end. In practice people are like cats, and getting them to self-isolate is like herding cats. Paradoxically if people were as hard to herd as…

  • Ignored by Sunflowers

    Ignored by Sunflowers

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    richard
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    Reading Time: 2 minutesThe title of this post is a joke, not a serious delusion of isolation. I saw that a few sunflowers had come out but that they were looking away, rather than towards me. They are looking at the morning sun and I was walking in the afternoon. They are still in the…

  • Justified Self-Isolation

    Justified Self-Isolation

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    richard
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    Reading Time: 2 minutesIt is important to know that you are in Justified Self-Isolation. Over the last three or four days I have felt like an idiot for self-isolating, but I now see that this is entirely justified. The R number for some canton went from 0.70 or so up to 1.4 or higher in…

  • An Entire Day Of Rain

    An Entire Day Of Rain

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    richard
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    Reading Time: 2 minutesDue to the lack of rain for a few years, and the lack of opportunities to socialise through sporting activities, I look forward to rain. Yesterday we were lucky. We got an entire day’s worth of rain. I didn’t leave the flat for the entire day and I still slept fine. Just…

  • Recycling Without A Mask

    Recycling Without A Mask

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    richard
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    Reading Time: 2 minutesYesterday I went to recycle. Two weeks ago when I went, everyone was wearing a mask. Yesterday when I went all the masks are gone. I was the only person wearing one. Within the last day or two the Swiss government has told people that they can walk around without a mask,…

  • Experimenting With Minergie

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    richard
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    Reading Time: 2 minutesMinergie is theoretically a fantastic, environmentally friendly way of making a building more energy-efficient, by reducing the need for air conditioning and heating. For three years now I have been playing with and experimenting with minergie. During the first and second heatwaves, I liked to open windows and get fresh air. I…