There are rumors and gossip about every topic that concerns the public. The energy transition, forest dieback and global warming attract a lot of attention – and provide plenty of food for the rumor mill. We clear up the most common ambiguities:
We are not to blame for climate change.
But. Humans are responsible for global warming. That is scientifically proven and well documented. In the past few decades we have used massive amounts of fossil fuels such as gasoline, heating oil, natural gas and coal. The CO released as a result2 makes the earth more and more a greenhouse and makes the temperature on earth rise more and more. Above all, we people from developed countries such as Switzerland, Europe, Canada and the USA have caused the rapid climate change in recent years. With our consumption and our huge hunger for fossil fuels, we have massive amounts of CO2Emissions contributed. However, it is mainly people in poorer countries who suffer from the sometimes fatal effects of global warming.
Georg Klingler, climate expert at Greenpeace Switzerland
Those who take a bath use much more water than someone who takes a shower.
Absolutely not true: If you take a warm shower for more than ten minutes, depending on the situation, you use more energy than a bath. Depending on the size of the bathtub, you need between 200 and 250 liters of water and a lot of energy to heat it: more than a liter of heating oil per bath. With an ordinary shower head that lets through 20 to 30 liters of water per minute, a five-minute shower quickly uses up once as much water as a half-full bath. If you shower for ten minutes with an ordinary shower head, you use more water than a bath.
Energie-umwelt.ch platform, information platform for the energy and environment departments in the cantons of Bern, Friborg, Geneva, Jura, Neuchâtel, Vaud and Valais.
Electric cars are CO2 neutral.
No, because the production of electric cars and the production of the electricity needed to run the car generate emissions. However, electric cars are definitely cleaner than cars that run on gasoline or diesel. It is even more climate-friendly to use public transport and bicycles as well as to travel on foot.
Georg Klingler, climate expert at Greenpeace Switzerland
When I unplug my smartphone from the charger, it no longer uses any electricity.
Then the previously charged battery simply needs to be empty. This means that it doesn’t need electricity from the socket at the moment, but electricity nonetheless.
Georg Klingler, climate expert at Greenpeace Switzerland
If we only use sustainable energy (energy transition), electricity costs will hardly be affordable.
That’s not true. Electricity from photovoltaic systems and wind energy are now cheaper than nuclear electricity and electricity from fossil fuels. Hydropower has long been part of the cheapest electricity production. The conversion of the power supply to 100 percent renewable sources requires additional investments, but these will pay off after 20 years. Then we will have cheaper electricity than if we were to invest in new nuclear power plants or fossil fuel power plants. The overall restructuring of the energy system will result in lower electricity costs in the medium term.
Georg Klingler, climate expert at Greenpeace Switzerland
Cotton bags are more environmentally friendly than plastic bags.
No, because cotton production is very harmful to the environment. The cultivation of cotton requires an extremely large amount of water, fertilizer and pesticides. You would have to use a solid cloth bag over 130 times to be more ecological than a single-use plastic bag. But you should consider what happens to the plastic bag. If it gets into the environment, it is very problematic. Therefore, the most sensible thing is to reuse bags as often as possible, regardless of what material they are made of.
Zero waste expert Florian Kasser from Greenpeace Switzerland
Welding cucumbers in plastic is nonsense.
Basically, such a packaged cucumber is nonsense. Because a cucumber can be washed and / or peeled after buying it. However, it is often argued that packaged cucumbers prevent food waste. Such a plastic layer can be useful for vegetables that are carted through half of Europe in winter. A cucumber produced regionally and seasonally, however, certainly doesn’t have to be wrapped in plastic.
Zero waste expert Florian Kasser from Greenpeace Switzerland