Category: environmentalism

  • The Pandemic Of Sisyphus

    The Pandemic Of Sisyphus

    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

    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

    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

    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

    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

    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…

  • Another Pandemic Weekend Without Plans

    Reading Time: 3 minutesNormally at this time of year, as the snow melts and the temperatures increase the opportunity for spring and summer sports returns. These sports are via ferrata, outdoor climbing, hiking and more. This year is different because although today is Friday no plans have been made for the next two days. There…

  • The Year-Old Pandemic

    Reading Time: 3 minutesThanks to the incompetence of leadership during this pandemic Switzerland went from a low of 21 cases per day in June 2021 to a high of 3600 or more over Christmas. This is really a shame. For a short period up to the 21st of June Switzerland really looked as if it…

  • How To Be A Realistic Optimist During a LockDown.

    Reading Time: 5 minutesDuring the first lockdown in March I believed in the rationality and logic of others to help bring a pandemic to a close within a reasonable amount of time. Now that we’re in the Post-Christmas and New Year lockdown I feel that the likelihood of a normal summer is low. That’s why…

  • On the Prospect of Re-confinement

    Reading Time: 3 minutesToday let’s comment on the prospect of Re-confinement. Plenty of people, when lockdown ended, decided that now was the time to start doing group activities, without masks, and without waiting for the transmission rate to get down to zero. As a prize they had a relatively normal summer, with good memories, stories…