Category: environmentalism

  • On Silent Walking and Having My Own Mastodon Instance

    On Silent Walking and Having My Own Mastodon Instance

    Reading Time: 3 minutesIn an ideal world Silent Walking would make sense. In an ideal world the environment where you walk would be quiet and free from distractions. How many of us live somewhere that is far from cars, road works, construction, farming and other noises? During my walks I hear the sound of a…

  • iOS and Environmentalism

    iOS and Environmentalism

    Reading Time: 2 minutesIf you use the weather app on iOS 17 the weather app provides you with information about average temperature and average precipitation. It tells you how different the temperature and rainfall are, compared to average. Today, for example, I see that the temperature is 4°c warmer than the average. It tells me…

  • The First WHO/Europe Indoor Air Conference

    The First WHO/Europe Indoor Air Conference

    Reading Time: 2 minutesYesterday we could watch the conference live stream of the first indoor air quality conference. It was available in French, German, Russian and English. The link is to the English language version. This is an interesting conference to have because, as two or more speakers highlighted, we spend up to 80 percent…

  • The Luxury of Walking Paths Away From Cars

    The Luxury of Walking Paths Away From Cars

    Reading Time: 3 minutesI love to walk and cycle every day. I love to walk from home and not touch the car. This morning I refuelled the car and it cost 90 CHF for 44 litres or so. Every single time I refuel the car I get a shock. Petrol is expensive, and yet people…

  • The Environmental Impact of Construction Noise

    The Environmental Impact of Construction Noise

    Reading Time: 3 minutesWhen people speak about construction they always think of the carbon footprint of construction but I’d like to take a look at the noise footprint of destruction of old buildings and construction of new buildings. I live close to a quarry. If I open the windows I can hear the noise of…

  • The Skipped Walk Due to Air Pollution

    The Skipped Walk Due to Air Pollution

    Reading Time: 2 minutesToday is an unusual day. Originally I had planed to walk over one thousand meters up the Jura, before realising that I had too little sleep, so I decided to sleep a little more, do laundry, write a blog post and then eat lunch. Lazy After lunch I didn’t feel like going…

  • Air Conditioning and Heat Tolerance

    Air Conditioning and Heat Tolerance

    Reading Time: 3 minutesYears ago, when working in an air conditioned office I came up with the theory that air conditioning, rather than helping us, during heatwaves, actually has the opposite effect. I came to this idea when I stepped out of my air conditioned office into a warm summer’s day wearing a fleece, and…

  • An Afternoon Walk in the Heat

    An Afternoon Walk in the Heat

    Reading Time: 3 minutesYesterday I went for a walk with a Garmin Etrex 32 that was sometimes in my hands and at other times in my pocket. I could have been hands three with a GPS watch but it’s good to play with a variety of devices. I chose the Etrex because it was paired…

  • Slowed by the Wind

    Slowed by the Wind

    Reading Time: 2 minutesYesterday I walked into the wind for two to three kilometres. The wind was so strong that the Apple watch gave me "high noise level" warnings more than once. The wind was around 30-40km/h. It was so strong that I stopped listening to an Audiobook because I couldn’t hear it. I then…

  • Garmin Instinct Solar Low Battery

    Garmin Instinct Solar Low Battery

    Reading Time: 2 minutesYesterday just as I was telling the Garmin Instinct to start tracking I noticed that I had 20 or less percent of battery left so I considered turning around, to swap to another device. I didn’t, and I just went for a 12km walk. During the walk I was more focused on…