Switzerland, pollution? No never, we are famous for our super clean air, mountains with their overdose of oxygen and everything environment friendly. However let us just lift the lid a little and look below. We have nuclear power plants to produce our electricity. Of course they are safe and clean and necessary to supply the energy we need for machines driven by electricity.

If I take a journey by train to Zürich it goes through the little village of Gösgen, about 10 minutes away and there you meet the first big chimney. I used to fly to London once a year when my dad was still alive and one of the first sights I saw from the plane after leaving Zürich Airport was a white cloud poking through the sky as the plane flew over Gösgen, as it was on the flight route.

Of course it is safe according to the authorities. A few years ago they had an open day and anyone could visit the plant and see how it works. One gentlemen asked if he could bring his geiger counter with him. This request was refused. I wonder why?

After the earthquake in Japan that damaged one of their nuclear power factories Switzerland got around to thinking. I believe it was the result of one of our referendums that it was decided to stop using nuclear power, and slowly the plants should be closed, although this will take at least 30 years when not more. And where do we get the energy from when they close down? A problem as nuclear power is do easy isn’t it (forget Chernobyl, most already have). There is also the fact that the French have a complete row of these energy producers on the Swiss borders, but at least we will not poison ourselves if anything goes wrong, we can blame it on France. In the meanwhile I enjoy taking a few photos of the chimney belching out its friendly steam as I pass by train.

One Word Sunday: Pollution