Swiss Review / April 2022 / No.2 4 Mailbag Hydropower has lost its clean image We focus too little on electricity consumption. Electricity wastage should come at a price. Inefficient machines, equipment and lighting should be subject to a penalty tax.We currently waste too much energy, because this energy is easily available and relatively inexpensive. How many electrical appliances does your household have? ANDRE Z IMMERMANN, TOKYO JAPAN Herewe arewith our backs against thewall (not of the dam, but of climate change!), wherewe see that each solution has its grey areas and its disadvantages. We will only be able to reach informed and agreed-upon solutions through dialogue. CL AUDE ROCHAT, CHALON S/S, FRANCE Climate change isn’t just causing a change inwhich season the ‘run-off’ happens. And that glaciers are melting into lakes. Whether or not the supply of water is natural or artificial doesn’tmatter, insofar that the amounts are substantially less... this not only affects the views, the species that are already endangered and others that would become so (like us for lack of water to drink and for agriculture to feed us), but the very futile wish of producing electricity in this manner! MARC PET I TPIERRE, USA It is not only a question of the dams in the mountains. We can usemodern technology relatively discreetly to harness energy anywhere water flows. France recently decided to tap into minor hydropower sources again – flour mills, sawmills, etc. Or take the Aabach as an example – this small river in the canton of Lucerne used to provide energy for an entire industrial area before flowing into Lake Greifen. JEAN THOMAS WEBER, ST. GENGOUX-LE-NAT IONAL, FRANCE In my opinion, it is not possible to tackle climate change without taking personal saving decisions and thinking outside the box for transport. Hydrogen engines can power all vehicles. But we keep thinking all-electric for cars, at the risk of a future shortage of spare batteries. Having lived in Valais for 35 years, I think that dams are essential, but that they have to be better connected to the protection of nature, with a sufficient flow in the rivers. L AMPO MARC, L AMPERTHEIM, FRANCE There is no other way to resolve the issue other than investing in nuclear energy again. This time, we clearly need to focus on getting our research right and recycling the radioactive waste. No one wants wind turbines built everywhere, because they devalue property, kill birds and spoil the landscape. RICH WALTERS, TODTMOOS, GERMANY We need to think more about what is easiest from a technological viewpoint. Water again is the answer – or hydrogen, to be precise. The hydrogen combustion engine is proven to be suited to large-scale facilities in permanent locations, aswell as trucks, trains and ships. The problem with this? The mains water needed for it is simply too cheap, which is not what theworld’s overblown energy sector wants. The powers that be search frantically for expensive, fixed-price sources of alternative energy instead. ARYE- ISAAC OPHIR, ISRAEL How Julius Maggi took kitchens by storm What a fantastic article! I have been the cook in our family since 1970 and I could not possibly exist without Maggi seasoning. Years ago we went through a period here in Brisbane when you couldn’t get Maggi. Talking to a Swiss friend, a chef, he suggested just using soy sauce. It’s just not the same. I was so glad when the famous bottle appeared once again on our supermarket shelves. BI LL BOHLEN, AUSTRAL IA Excellent article, short but very informative. Like others that you regularly publish, it enables us to add a bit of spice and diversity to the topics of conversation that often arise when we reveal our citizenship abroad: banks, riches, (expensive) watches, etc… Thank you! ARNAUD CARASSO, MOSCOW, RUSSIA Truly a success story from a commercial perspective. It is a shame the article didn’t mention that Maggi, flavoursome though it is, does not contain the healthiest of ingredients these days. Nowmore than ever, it is important that consumers are informed of what they are consuming. In my view, the initial scepticism shows that people back then knew that food coming from a bottle andmade in a factory could never be healthy. HEDWIG KRASEVAC, WESTERN AUSTRAL IA I drove my mother crazy when I was young, because I always showeredmy foodwith gallons of Maggi. I still keep a bottle today – and regularly use it. Does that make me a bad cook? BENNY MEIER, WALDGIRMES, GERMANY Your article reminds me of the thick blue cookbook that my grandmother always used. And I had no idea that there was no ‘Maggi-Kraut’ (lovage) in Maggi at all. RUTH PF ISTER, TRURO, CANADA
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