The environmental industry is in vogue: the environmental job exchange Environmental professionals.ch already recorded over 100,000 views in the first half of the year after its launch.

Ueli Bernhard, Managing Director of OdA Umwelt, Network of Environmental and Cleantech Professions, is delighted with the success of the project: "More and more people are looking for meaningful, sustainable work. At the same time, the environmental and cleantech sectors are suffering from a shortage of skilled workers. As a bridge builder between employers and employees in the environmental sector, our job exchange does justice to these developments."

Now the French-language version of the portal starts: On ecoprofessions-emplois.ch young people, career changers and specialists can find all relevant jobs in the environmental and cleantech sectors. Thanks to the semantic search, which an IT partner contributes to the project, the search results are more precise and accurate than with conventional job search engines. Behind this is an ontology that incorporates expert knowledge gathered over decades. It is constantly being further developed.

All environmental jobs covered
All relevant professions in the environmental and cleantech sectors are covered, from recyclist to nature and environmental specialist to drainage technologist. Currently, more than 400 job ads can be found on the platform. They are divided into the categories "recycling and waste management", "water supply and wastewater disposal", "environmental protection and environmental engineering", "nature and landscape conservation" and "energy efficiency and renewable energies".

Is my house facade suitable for a solar system? This question will soon be easily answered for any house facade in Switzerland. In a joint project, the Swiss Federal Office of Energy, the Federal Office of Topography swisstopo and the Federal Office of Meteorology and Climatology MeteoSwiss are developing an interactive application that will be based on sunfacade.ch is accessible.

At sonnenfassade.ch, for example, it takes just a few clicks to find out how much electricity and heat one's own facade could produce. The application links data on the size and orientation of the individual facade surface with satellite-based data on solar radiation. The potential that can actually be realized may differ from the calculated values. sonnenfassade.ch therefore does not replace expert advice.

All facades are recorded by 2019

Today, around 50 percent of the building stock is mapped on sonnenfassade.ch, especially in central and northeastern Switzerland. Further regions will be added every six months, so that the house facades of the whole of Switzerland are expected to be available by mid-2019. The application will also be supplemented monthly with the latest solar radiation data.

In February 2016, the SFOE launched the interactive application sonnendach.ch. This shows whether the roof of one's house is suitable for the use of solar energy.

sunfacade.ch and sunroof.ch are part of the advisory service offered by SwissEnergy, which shows the way to your own solar system step by step.

Text. SFOE

In 2017, ISO celebrates its 70th anniversary. The history of the International Organization for Standardization dates back to 1946: delegates from 25 countries met to discuss the future of standardization. One year later, on February 23, 1947, ISO was officially founded.

In the post-war period, the founders saw International Standards as the key to reconstruction. In 1947, the purpose of the fledgling organization was to drive the coordination and unification of international standards. Until then, national standards had been the norm. The founders opened the organization to any country that wanted to participate - with equal rights and equal responsibilities for all.

These principles are still valid today. In 2017, ISO has 163 members. Standardization is now well advanced and covers almost all aspects of technology and business.

The first standard

After the organization was established, 67 expert groups (technical committees) were set up in specific technical fields such as screw threads, marine technology, foodstuffs, textiles, paints and laboratory equipment with a mandate to develop international standards. This led in 1951 to the first ISO standard (then called "recommendations"), ISO / R1: 1951, the standard reference temperature for industrial length measurements.

Since then, the ISO portfolio has expanded to include more than 22,000 standards that support all the major technological, environmental and societal changes that have taken place in the world.

"For 70 years, ISO has made standards that have shaped our history and accompanied the world's greatest innovations. From standardizing materials, components and equipment for the aerospace industry to measuring environmental pollutants, from establishing a management system to ensure food safety in the supply chain to creating guidelines for human-robot interaction, the need for international standardization has always evolved with the needs of industry and society," says ISO President Dr. Zhang Xiaogang.

Community expansion

ISO has worked hard over the years to expand its stakeholder base with organizations and users in developing countries, for example.

Societal parameters such as improved satisfaction and greater safety for consumers provide key specifications for standards. The inclusion of social insights in standards development is therefore essential, as these real-world perspectives help to ensure that issues such as quality and safety are adequately addressed. The importance of consumer protection thus received support with the ISO Committee on Consumer Policy (ISO / COPOLCO) as early as 1978.

With regard to current developments, standards will remain important to regulate climate change, water scarcity across national borders, or to manage cybersecurity or human migration insofar as to optimize international action and integrated management.

Many evidenced points have recently been adopted by the United Nations as part of its 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, cf. 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

"The ISO community has many standards that can help organizations and businesses address their agenda," says the ISO president. "We are ready to provide effective tools to help diverse communities around the world address these challenges."

www.iso.org

Political measures to reduce energy consumption and CO2 emissions have a variety of effects on the economy and households. A study carried out in the National Research Program "Control of Energy Consumption" (NRP 71) provides for the first time detailed impact assessments of the energy policy strategies "steering" and "promotion" with regard to efficiency and social balance.

In order to pursue the consumption targets of the Energy Strategy 2050 and the CO2 legislation, policymakers have two basic strategies at their disposal: consumption control by means of taxation of energy and CO2 or support measures with market mechanisms (e.g. taxes and subsidies) or with mandatory requirements (e.g. efficiency regulations for electrical appliances or exhaust emission limits for passenger cars).

"The question of the appropriate choice and design of policy measures to reduce energy and CO2 emissions must take into account not only the total costs but also, to a significant extent, how the gains and burdens are distributed among different socio-economic groups," says Sebastian Rausch. The professor of energy economics at the Center for Economic Research at ETH Zurich conducted the study as part of NRP 71.

Hidden costs of promotion

The study concludes that, in macroeconomic terms, steering is significantly more efficient and up to five times less costly than subsidies. However, households perceive this differently, as energy prices increase more with steering measures and the redistribution of revenues back to households and businesses is hidden. "With subsidy measures, energy prices rise only slightly. But this only suggests seemingly lower costs," Rausch says. "Subsidy measures reduce energy consumption only where they are subsidized, and some things are subsidized that are realized anyway. Steering, on the other hand, acts everywhere and on every single energy-related decision made by households and businesses. Steering acting across the board therefore leads to significantly lower total costs than selective promotion. The higher total costs of the promotion strategy are hidden. Ultimately, however, households and companies have to pay for these additional costs," Rausch explains.

Treat everyone equally, or allow winners and losers?

The study shows that with both steering and subsidies, individual households are affected differently because of their respective energy use and income - there are "winners" and "losers" in both strategies. However, the strategies differ in three key ways:

1. steering leads to a significantly wider dispersion of effects on disposable income between households due to larger energy price changes.

2. most households are better off with steering than with promotion.

3. with the promotion strategy, almost all households lose, while with steering, one third of households are actually better off.

Who gains or loses from steering depends largely on the redistribution mechanism of the steering tax as well as on energy expenditures and household income: On average, lower-income households are protected from rising energy costs by a per capita redistribution of tax revenues, homeowners are worse off compared to renters, and households in rural areas lose out to households in cities and agglomerations.

Insights into households

The perspective of households is particularly significant because, as workers and consumers of energy and goods, they are affected by energy policy measures in several ways.

Rausch states, "The present findings help to increase the social acceptance of such market interventions. However, the aim of the study is not to evaluate specific policy measures, but rather to highlight the fundamental differences between promotion- and steering-based energy and climate policies."

A detailed description of the study and the results can be found in the working paper > Extended Abstract and Summary ProSTEP. (in English)

Source: SNF

Already since 1991, the best domestic solar projects and most committed personalities in the field of renewable energies have been awarded the Swiss Solar Prize. Today - 2017 - 26 years after the first Solar Prize was awarded, the SVP is taking the referendum against the Energy Strategy 2050 with false figures, and in the White House a climate change skeptic is sitting in the president's chair... It is therefore more important than ever to prove to the public how an economic energy turnaround can be achieved with solar energy and PlusEnergyBuildings. As of now, we are looking for new award-worthy personalities, innovative buildings and projects. Such projects can still be registered until April 15:

Participation is open to persons and institutions that are particularly committed to the promotion of renewable energies. In addition, energy-efficient buildings and systems (solar, wood and biomass energy) that were commissioned or will be commissioned between 1.1.2016 and 15.4.2017 are eligible to register.

Norman Foster Solar Award for the most beautiful PlusEnergyBuildings

To promote solar architecture and competition for the use of the huge energy potential in the building sector, solar prizes will again be awarded this year for the best PlusEnergyBuildings (PEB) in Switzerland and Europe, including the Norman Foster Solar Award for the most beautiful PEB. PEBs generate more energy than they and their occupants consume in total on an annual average. Thanks to optimal construction and solar-utilized roofs and facades, they cover their entire annual energy needs for hot water, heating and electricity, and supply a solar power surplus to the public grid.

In the 2016 Solar Prize, residential and commercial PEBs were awarded up to 349% of self-energy. This figure illustrates the enormous energy potential that can be exploited with the latest technology in the building sector.

There is also attention beyond the Swiss borders: Those who qualify for the Swiss Solar Prize are also nominated for the European Solar Prize.

The Swiss Solar Prize 2017 will be awarded in the following categories:

1. persons/institutions: Natural/legal persons, companies, firms, public institutions, municipalities/cantons.

2. buildings: new buildings, renovations and PlusEnergieBauten®: Norman Foster Solar Award & PEB Solar Award

3. plants: thermal solar collectors, photovoltaic plants, biomass and environmental heat plants.

Registration deadline and registration form

Registration is free of charge. Registration forms, detailed conditions of participation and the Solar Prize regulations can be found on www.solaragentur.ch. All documents can also be ordered by telephone at 044 252 40 04. The registration deadline is April 15, 2017 (date of postmark).

Presentation of the Swiss Solar Awards

The winners will be presented in the publication "Swiss Solar Prize 2017". The award ceremony will take place in Geneva in the fall of 2017. 

(Source: Solar Agency))

Starting in 2018, diesel cars that do not meet the strict Euro 6 emissions standard will be banned from driving in Stuttgart in the event of a particulate matter alarm. From 2020, the old diesel vehicles will even be banned completely from the city center.

This is part of a catalog of measures by the city government, a coalition of the Green Party and the CSU, to improve air quality in the city.

Green Minister President Winfried Kretschmann is also calling for the introduction of a blue badge at the federal level. The badge, which is given to vehicles that meet the Euro 6 standard, is considered controversial in Germany and was put on hold by the Environment Ministry last year.

In 2016, nitrogen dioxide levels in Germany were above the permitted limit of 40 milligrams per cubic meter on average for the year at the majority of measuring stations.

The Euro 6 standard was introduced in 2014. According to it, nitrogen oxide emissions from new cars should only be 80 mg NOx per kilometer - but in reality they average around 600 mg NOx per kilometer. (Figures: VCS)

Selenium is an indispensable trace element that we take in through food, for example cereals. The selenium content of food depends strongly on the selenium concentration in the soil. Studies showed that selenium concentration is lower when pH and oxygen availability are high and the proportion of clay and organic carbon in the soil is low. In Europe, selenium-poor soils are found mainly in Germany, Denmark, Scotland, Finland and some Balkan countries. This is known on the basis of regionally limited investigations.

Precipitation is central

The global distribution of selenium, on the other hand, was previously largely unknown. However, thanks to the analysis of a large amount of data collected for other purposes (data-mining), Eawag and five other institutes, including ETH Zurich, have now succeeded in reconstructing the global distribution. The researchers compiled information from 16 data sets collected from 1994-2016 and evaluated a total of 33,241 soil samples. They analyzed selenium concentrations in the top 30 centimeters of the soil layer and 26 other environmental variables. It was shown that above all the interactions between climate and soil play a role in the distribution of selenium.

The greatest influence on the selenium concentration in the soil is precipitation and the ratio between precipitation and evaporation (drought index). Precipitation washes out the soil and causes a loss of selenium. At the same time, precipitation can have a positive effect on selenium content. This is because wet soils have a lower oxygen content and a lower ph value, so that the negatively charged selenium remains better bound to soil particles. Areas with low to moderate rainfall and high clay content are most likely to have high selenium content. Dry, alkaline soils with little clay are more likely to contain little selenium.

Based on these findings, the researchers modeled the average selenium concentration of soils for the periods 1980-1999 and 2080-2099. Parts of Australia, China, India and Africa will see an increase in selenium content due to climate change, they said. Overall, however, selenium content in soils will decrease, the researchers conclude: Compared to 1980-1999, by the end of this century (2080-2099), 66 % of agricultural land will have an average selenium loss of about 9 %. Affected areas are mainly croplands in Europe and India, China, southern South America, South Africa and the southwestern United States (see map).

These losses can also be significant for our health. Because already today, up to one billion people are affected by insufficient selenium intake. The authors see their study as an early warning for humanitarian organizations and the agricultural industry. To counteract selenium deficiency, selenium-containing fertilizer could be used. Finland has been doing this since 1984, and selenium could also be used as an additive in animal feed.

Health significance of selenium

Selenium (Se) is essential for human health and is absorbed through food. Due to its antioxidant effect, it intercepts free radicals and thus plays an important role for the immune system. It also serves the body as a building block for numerous proteins. Today, up to one billion people are affected by a selenium deficiency. This can result, for example, in a disease of the heart muscle. But too much selenium can also be harmful and lead to vomiting, liver damage or a disturbance of taste.

Text: Eawag

New technologies will have a significant impact on global demand for raw materials in the coming years and cause it to decline in the long term. Demand for crude oil, coal and iron ore is expected to peak as early as 2035. The reasons for this are the increasing automation and networking of processes in private households and industry, the trend toward electromobility, and the growing share of renewable energies in power generation. These are core findings of a new study by the McKinsey Global Institute (MGI) entitled "Beyond the supercycle: How technology is reshaping resources", which was released on Thursday.

The study shows that private households in particular will benefit from new technologies. Through the efficient and controlled use of electricity, heating and lighting, consumers worldwide can reduce their energy consumption costs by up to 20 percent.

At the same time, energy productivity in industry and the economy could increase by up to 70 percent. The consequences for the global economy are positive: According to the MGI, savings of up to $1.6 trillion are possible by 2035, depending on the type and scope of the new technologies used.

Expansion of renewable energies reduces demand for oil

The demand for petroleum will decrease mainly due to the development of more energy-efficient engines, the trend toward electromobility and autonomous driving, and the increasing use of car-sharing services, according to MGI. At the same time, technological improvements will lower the cost of wind and solar energy and make their use increasingly competitive. As a result, the share of renewable energy worldwide will rise from 4 percent today to about 36 percent by 2035, and demand for and use of fossil fuels will decline accordingly. For decades to come, only the demand for copper will continue to rise due to its use in electronic devices and in the construction industry.

McKinsey has published a Interactive graphic which explains the interrelationships in detail.

The jackdaw is a cavity nester and likes to nest in old woodpecker cavities. But it has also colonized the holes in churches, castles and other man-made structures, earning it the nickname "tower jackdaw." But whether it's an urban jackdaw or a country jackdaw, the gregarious corvid breeds in small colonies and feeds on insects and other invertebrates it finds in short-grass meadows and pastures surrounding the nesting site.

Food scraps as a source of food

As a common but sparse breeding bird, the jackdaw is listed as "vulnerable" on the Red List and is considered a priority species for the "Species Promotion Program", which is carried out by the Swiss Ornithological Institute Sempach and BirdLife Switzerland, and supported by the Federal Office for the Environment. This is because there are hardly any suitable breeding sites near the places where the jackdaw finds food for its young.

However, as a typical raven bird, the jackdaw is very clever and has discovered settlements for itself, where it has learned to use human food scraps to stuff the hungry beaks of its young.

Natural food leads to lower mortality rate

But is a diet based on food scraps instead of large insects at all healthy for the jackdaw? This is exactly the question that interested the researchers of the ornithological station Sempach, when they offered the jackdaws in the city of Murten additional natural, protein-rich food.

The jackdaw pairs that received this additional healthy food laid larger eggs, which had a higher hatching rate, compared to the pairs that ate only "fast food". In a second experiment, some young jackdaws from Murten were offered the healthy food until they hatched. They had a lower mortality rate in contrast to their neighbors who grew up without additional protein intake.

Promote healthy eating

To help the jackdaw in Switzerland, Lukas Jenni, co-author of the study and scientific director of the Sempach ornithological station, therefore advises: "Promoting the jackdaw with boxes and other nesting aids is particularly useful in zones with extensive agriculture, where it finds enough natural and protein-rich food for its young."

Source: Swiss Ornithological Institute Sempach

Two-thirds of the Swiss describe themselves as environmentally conscious. This is shown by the survey conducted by homegate.ch The proportion in French-speaking Switzerland was as high as 81%. Of the nearly 2,000 respondents, 90% stated that they seek information on topics such as the environment, sustainability and ecological living. With 28% regularly seeking information, the people of Ticino take the top spot, followed by the French-speaking Swiss with 27%. The most important sources of information are the media (44%) and acquaintances, friends and relatives (38%). Scientific studies are rarely consulted.

The Swiss are loyal to their housing situation

Just under 40% of the survey participants own their own home, a further 56% are renters and 4% did not make any precise statement. At 48%, the proportion of property owners in Ticino is significantly higher than the Swiss average. The proportion of homeowners in Ticino is also above the Swiss average of 41% at 54%. The vast majority of respondents do not move frequently and have lived in their current apartment or house for more than 10 years. Only just 6% have moved in the last 6 months.

Topic environment does not matter in the choice of real estate

For the majority (52%), the topic of the environment played no role at all in the choice of property. The Ticino residents have dealt with the topic most intensively. This is probably also because the proportion of homeowners in this part of the country is above average. Among all respondents, 59% have dealt with the topic at least marginally.

If the issue of the environment played a role, it was primarily the residential location (no need for a car possible), good insulation and the desire for a new building that influenced the choice of property.

Little interest in the type of electricity purchased

When it comes to energy, the picture is somewhat bleak. Just under a quarter of the survey participants do not know what kind of electricity package they obtain. Of the other 75%, the majority obtain either a basic offer (36%) or a mix of different sources (34%). Interestingly, the proportion of those using the basic offer without renewable sources is highest in the French-speaking part of Switzerland, at 45%, although the French-speaking Swiss see themselves as very environmentally friendly. Whether this is due to the lack of supply or the lack of information was not surveyed here. According to the survey, 45% of respondents would be willing to pay more for energy in order to make a contribution to the environment. Another 45% would perhaps do so.

Most often, people try not to leave the lights on unnecessarily, turn off the faucet when not in use, and take showers instead of baths. However, only one in three uses a water-saving shower head. With this kind of energy saving, the comfort zone does not yet have to be left for the most part. Most save energy for environmental and financial reasons.

Showcase example of waste separation

First and foremost, the topic of waste separation is taken very seriously in Switzerland. Over 90% dispose of cardboard, paper, glass, PET and batteries separately. For green waste, the figure is still 69%. Furniture and appliances that are still usable are also passed on rather than disposed of. At 18%, however, only a few prefer to buy their furniture used rather than new.

Paying more to contribute to the environment

When it comes to food, the willingness to make a contribution to the environment through higher prices is highest at 52%, followed by energy. When it comes to travel, however, the Swiss do not want to do without and are reluctant to compromise. Not even a quarter are willing to spend more money on more environmentally conscious travel. The picture is similar when it comes to housing (32%).

Overall, it can be said that older people who are not employed or are employed part-time tend to consider themselves more environmentally aware and are more concerned about the issue. In addition, the topic was a factor in the choice of real estate, especially among older and more highly educated people. However, young people are also more likely to want to do something for the environment in the area of housing in the future.

Source: Homegate

86 % of the newly installed power plant capacity for electricity production in Europe in 2016 is renewable: wind accounted for 51 % of the total addition, solar power for 27 %. In 2016, 10.4 % of electricity in Europe came from wind power, in Switzerland only just under 0.2 %.

An average of 12 new wind turbines went into operation every day in the EU in 2016. Thanks to the strong expansion, wind energy is now the second most important electricity production technology in the EU behind gas-fired power plants, but still ahead of coal-fired power plants. Especially in winter, wind energy plays an important role in renewable energy supply, then it complements solar and hydro power, which produce less in the winter months, as a team player.

11 countries with over 10 % wind power
The share of wind power in the electricity mix in Denmark, the EU leader, was 36.8 % in 2016, followed by Ireland with 27 % and Portugal with 24.7 %. A total of 11 countries cover more than 10 % of their electricity demand with wind energy. In addition to those mentioned above, these are Cyprus, Spain, Germany, Romania, the UK, Sweden, Lithuania and Austria.

Switzerland gains 25 % in installed capacity
The installed capacity in Switzerland also increased by 25 % thanks to the repowering of four turbines on Mont Crosin and the construction of three new turbines on Griespass, but this is starting from a very modest level: only just under 0.2 % of Switzerland's electricity demand comes from wind energy. And this is despite the fact that the potential in this country would also be great: 10 % of the electricity supply could be covered by wind power in 2050. At the end of 2016, Austria had already exceeded this target with 10.4 %. In Switzerland, this would require around 120 wind farms with 5 to 10 wind turbines. At the end of 2016, 37 wind turbines were in operation.

Report on the development of wind energy in the EU (English): "Wind in power: 2016 European statistics"
Source: Suisse Eole

The complete mixing of two cichlid species apparently made possible a great many new combinations of gene variants that can otherwise hardly exist in a single population. "This is similar to how a new combination of Lego bricks for a tractor and an airplane can create quite a few different companions," says first author Dr. Joana Meier.

In fact, the newly formed species come in countless color combinations and are adapted to different habitats, such as sandy bottoms, rock formations or the open water, ranging from the sunlit shallows to the permanent darkness of the great depths. Depending on the species, they scrape algae from rocks, eat plankton, break open snail shells, search for insect larvae or hunt for other fish, their eggs or scales. Experts speak of "adaptive radiation," the rapid emergence of a variety of new species accompanied by adaptations to different ecological niches.

Mixing 150'000 years ago

The intermingling of the two species occurred about 150,000 years ago when, during a rainy period, former tributaries of the Congo River crossed over to the Nile River basin with what later became Lake Victoria. In all larger lakes of the region, this hybrid population then formed a variety of species by adaptive radiation.

Researchers have not yet reconstructed what exactly happened in the primordial Lake Victoria. But it is clear: After a dry phase, it filled up again about 15,000 years ago. Descendants of the hybrid population with its very high genetic diversity migrated into the lake. There, in the - evolutionarily speaking - short time of a few thousand years, they formed a wealth of ecological specializations and split into around 500 new cichlid species that are found exclusively in Lake Victoria. The fact that the cichlids in Lake Victoria had very special facilities and adapted particularly well to the new ecological niches is proven by over 40 other fish species: they colonized the lake at the same time, but have hardly changed since then.

Complex food web created in record time

For their findings, the researchers sequenced more than three million positions in the genome of 100 cichlid species - until recently an impossible task. As a result, the group led by Ole Seehausen (Head of Eawag's Fish Ecology and Evolution department and Professor of Aquatic Ecology & Evolution at the University of Bern) was able to prove for the first time his theory that, under certain circumstances, mixing of species can lead to explosive speciation and adaptive radiation. In Lake Victoria, this process has created a complex food web in a few thousand years, as the new species have in turn shaped their environment.

In the last 50 years or so, land use and sewage have led to increasing fertilization (eutrophication) of the lake. The consequences of this are turbid water and a lack of oxygen in the deeper areas. Thus, different species merged into a few hybrid populations as the bright courtship colors by which females could recognize their conspecifics lost their effect. Deep-water habitats even became completely uninhabitable. Part of the species diversity and ecological diversity was thus lost again.

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Source: Eawag