I've got the feeling that I have been unduly-----or perhaps duly---- harsh on Switzerland in my last few posts, and I don't want everyone who reads this blog to think that we hate it here and that we feel everything about Switzerland sucks, because we don't. Yes, I have some strong feelings regarding the Swiss culture and it's strengths and weaknesses, and it's seeming strengths that might actually be weaknesses, and I will continue to express my honest opinions and analyses in future posts, but there are actually many things about Swiss living and culture that are very good. So, let's talk about the environment!
For starters, the average Swiss person has a much smaller negative impact on the environment than in most other modern countries. The Swiss have really put some thought and action into protecting the environment and minimizing their impact, from the big to the small. For example, there are recycling containers for cardboard, cans, plastic and glass bottles, magazines, newspapers, batteries, light bulbs, junk mail, and paper of all sorts everywhere, in plazas, on street corners, in grocery stores, you name it. They don't have garbage bills here, because there is only one type of government-sanctioned garbage bag, that comes in three sizes, and the cost of garbage service is factored into the cost of the bag. For the size that we normally use, it costs $1.70 per bag. The garbage men will not pick up your garbage unless it is in one of these bags. Because we recycle much more, we produce much less garbage. Most people live in apartments here, and water and sewer is included in rent and only billed to the building, so no separate bills there. The power bill is only mailed out quarterly, not monthly, and only includes lights and stove/oven. Consider the savings in paper from these differences on a countrywide basis alone. Heating is separate and included in rent, so our power bills are very small, usually only about $50-$75 a quarter. This means that the managers of the apartment building are in charge of heating, and regulate it on a building-wide basis, so there are fewer abuses. This is not an issue because almost all buildings in Switzerland utilize radiant heat built into the floors or ceilings. It is extremely efficient and cost-effective, with no cooler and warmer 'zones', and we are never cold. In fact , we usually leave the kitchen window open to keep it from getting too warm, and oftentimes other windows as well. Switzerland gets 40% of its electricity needs from 5 nuclear generating plants, and the rest comes from hydro and geothermal resources. No coal or natural gas-powered plants in Switzerland. In addition to most living spaces in Europe being smaller than the United States, their appliances are also smaller, and therefore all use less power. Fewer people have dishwashers as well, and many share washers and dryers with the rest of the people in their apartment building, so less resources are utilized there as well.
We only get paid once a month, which realizes another huge savings in paper and human resources, and as a side benefit, it forces you to budget your money more closely. You have to have enough money to last for the next four weeks! The medical insurance cards here also contain a lot of personal data and patient history, which one can imagine cuts down a lot on paper work and patient record keeping.
Of course, with the cost of gasoline as a result of government taxes and restrictions(It's around $6.50 a gallon here), car culture has evolved very differently here. Cars are much smaller on average, much less powerful (Let's be honest, how much power do you need?), per capita there are far fewer of them, and almost no one owns a truck. Think about the lower environmental impact right there. I can use Timi and myself as a perfect example. We now walk to work, walk to the gym, often walk to the grocery store, the various shopping areas, and when we take a flight somewhere, we take the train to the airport. We now have only one car, and we use it a fraction as much as we did in the States. If we end up moving further out of town, then we will be using the bus on a regular basis. Many people don't even own cars here. The trains go everywhere, not only in Switzerland but over all of Europe, and they are clean, comfortable, quiet, smooth, and unsettlingly, mystifyingly punctual. They have special train cars for people with bikes, and speaking of bikes, the Swiss loooooove their bikes. Switzerland has the most bike-friendly cities in the world, and once you leave the cities and towns, there are bike paths beside every road, highway, and freeway in the country. Seriously. They ride bikes everywhere, at all times of the day and night, and in all types of weather. I will repeat this----all. types. of weather. You say 'It's snowing, there's three inches of ice on the road, and it's 5 degrees?' No problem, just dress a little warmer! Furthermore, trains and buses are all electric, and you can catch one going just about anywhere every five to ten minutes or so.
Cargo is transported by both train and large truck, but the trucks' trailers have canvas-covered walls so as to cut down on weight. This saves on fuel, and causes less damage to the roads. Now, this next part is important. The Swiss also really, really love tunnels. They build tunnels everywhere, under things, through things, around things, wherever they can. They just don't seem to be able to get enough of tunnels. Long tunnels, short tunnels, wide tunnels, narrow tunnels. They build tunnels sometimes where it really seems as if tunnels aren't needed, but they just felt like building a tunnel, so why not? Part of the reason for this, I think, is the weather. Tunnels are out of the weather, and possible avalanches, so no problems there. Another reason is aesthetics. Building roads over the Alps can damage their natural beauty. A third reason would be pollution. Cars, and particularly big, noisy, gas fume-belching cargo trucks would create a lot of pollution, both noise and air wise, and tunnels cut way down on this. So, therefore, the Swiss have developed a love affair with tunnels. To be honest, it is actually very cool to drive in tunnels. I have always kind of liked tunnels, and the Swiss make some very nice ones, so it's all good.
That's all for now. I'll talk about more good Swiss stuff in my next post. See ya!
No comments:
Post a Comment