Deep repository – clear demands from the greens

adminonFebruary 11, 2023February 19, 2023Leave a Comment

Nagra's decision to build a deep geological repository in the Nördlich Lägern region will place a heavy burden on the canton of Zurich and the local population. The GREENS have the highest expectations.

And that is to the safety of people and nature and make clear demands on the further planning process: nuclear phase-out, explicit termination criteria, external scientific review and permanent retrievability are the conditions.

For the Greens of the Canton of Zurich, one thing is clear: Switzerland must take responsibility for its own nuclear waste – for waste that the GREENS never wanted to. The Nuclear Energy Act stipulates that highly radioactive waste must be stored domestically, and this is correct. The Greens of the Canton of Zurich therefore take note of Nagra's proposal for a deep geological repository in the region of Nördlich Lägern.

No deep repository in operation worldwide

What is needed now is the continuous and critical observation of the further process. The Greens of the Canton of Zurich will be able to draw on their decades of experience and expertise in nuclear policy. We place the highest demands on the safety and technical feasibility of the deep repository, and we place the highest demands on the protection of the population and the environment from the massive emissions of surface operations. We stand in solidarity with the people in the directly affected Zurich communities of Stadel, Weiach, Zweidlen and Glattfelden. Worldwide, even after more than 50 years of nuclear power, there is still no deep geological repository in operation.

Highly dangerous mortgage

Nagra's current site proposal does not imply that the repository can actually be built. The decision must not lead to the premature assumption that radioactive waste will no longer be a problem. It remains a highly dangerous mortgage for countless generations to come.

Clear conditions

Clear GREEN conditions to the further process Against this background, the GREENS of Canton Zurich set clear conditions to the further planning process:

A binding nuclear phase-out plan is needed. Swiss nuclear power plants leave behind 60 tons of nuclear waste per year. You can't project a deep repository if you don't know how big the waste pile will be in the end.
The planning process for the deep repository must include explicitly formulated demolition scenarios in case the Nördlich Lägern site does not turn out to be the best solution or the repository is not technically feasible.
The canton of Zurich, as a siting canton, must form its own expert committee to independently review Nagra's research reports and the technical feasibility of the repository (reinforcement of AG SiKA/KES).
The permanent retrievability of the radioactive waste must always be planned, it must always be possible even after the closure of the repository.
The population and the environment in the affected region must be protected from harmful emissions from surface operations. Other loads such as the hot cell to repackage the radioactive material must be placed in another region, as far as safety permits.
If there is a loss of quality of life in the Northern Lägern region, the affected residents and communities must be compensated. Compensate for demonstrable losses in value.

Do you want Singapore Airlines’s Gold Membership so you can enjoy free lounge access and priority boarding? Find out how much doing so will really cost you and what you can do to get the status for less.

Getting an airline’s gold member status is a luxury that is highly coveted by frequent travellers. Its numerous benefits include free access to lounges all over the world, priority airport check-in and boarding, faster security and immigration process and even accelerated mile rewards. For those who travel more than just a few times a year, these benefits can be an invaluable asset that reduces both financial cost and mental stress. However, just how much does it really cost to achieve Singapore Airlines’ KrisFlyer Elite Gold Status? We explore this issue and some ways consumers can get it more cheaply.

True Cost of Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer Elite Gold Status

By our calculation, one would have to spend at least around S$17,000 to S$25,000 per year on Singapore Airlines economy flights to earn its gold membership status. Singapore Airlines requires one to earn 50,000 Elite miles in 12 months in order to qualify for its gold membership. While you can earn Elite miles from most Singapore Airlines, SilkAir and Star Alliance airlines, the rate of accumulation varies depending on the distance flown and the booking class of your tickets. In case of a flight from Singapore to Korea, for example, a round-trip economy class ticket could cost anywhere between S$950 to S$1,600. The most expensive ticket earn 100% of the miles flown, while the cheaper ticket earns only 50% of the distance travelled. By comparing the cost of ticket to Elite miles awarded across different flights, we found that one can earn about 2-3 miles per S$1 spent on a flight with Singapore Airlines.

Can You Get Gold Status for Less?

Based on our calculation above, it’s quite clear that it will be very difficult for most people to actually spend enough on flights in a year to get gold status. To satisfy such requirement, one would have to fly dozens of times in a year or at least fly only on business class. However, hope is not all lost for those who can’t spend S$20,000 on flights each year. There are several ways one can reduce this cost.

Fly with Other Star Alliance Airlines

Because Singapore Airlines tends to be quite expensive, it’s often much more efficient to fly with other Star Alliance airlines whenever possible to earn miles. For example, ANA and Asiana Airlines rewards 5-6 miles per S$1 spent on an economy ticket, while Thai Airways also beat out Singapore Airlines by almost 50% for flights between Bangkok and Singapore. If you are able to accumulate KrisFlyer miles through Star Alliance with other airlines, you could possibly earn 50,000 miles in a year by spending S$8,000 to S$16,000 per year.

Use Asiana Airlines’ Loyalty Program Instead

By leveraging the Star Alliance network even further, you could actually achieve Star Alliance Gold Membership (which is the essentially same as Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer Elite Gold status) while spending much less money. In particular, Asiana Airlines in Korea has the least forbearing requirements to qualify for its Diamond membership program (equivalent to Star Alliance Gold): instead of earning 50,000 miles in 12 months, you only need to earn 40,000 miles over 24 months! If you are able to concentrate your miles into Asiana’s loyalty programme via Star Alliance, you could potentially enjoy all the perks of Gold status by spending only S$4,000 to S$8,000 on flights each year.

Accelerated Gold Status with American Express KrisFlyer Ascend Credit Card

Though this might be less effective than the previous 2 tips, getting American Express KrisFlyer Ascend Credit Card can still provide you with a faster way of qualifying for Singapore Airlines’s Gold status. For those who hold this card, American Express provides an automatic upgrade to Gold Membership to those who spen S$15,000 on Singaporeair.com within the first 12 months of getting the card. While this is still a lot of money, it is nevertheless thousands of dollars less than what you would otherwise have to spend on flights to get that coveted status.

Alternatives to Gold Status

Sometimes, you don’t have to spend so much money to get the Gold Membership status so that you can enjoy free lounge access. While only a few cards will provide priority boarding or expedited immigration clearance at airports, most miles credit cards in Singapore come with accelerated mile rewards (typically at least 1.2 miles per S$1 spent) and complimentary lounge access through Priority Pass. Since they typically cost only about S$200 of annual fee to use and don’t impose much of a spending requirement, using these credit cards can be a very economical alternative to pouring thousands of dollars into flights just so you can get the elite status with an airline.

The ifo index of business expectations in the residential construction sector has fallen to its lowest level since the survey began. In the eurozone, on the other hand, the trend toward more housing could stabilize the housing market despite rising interest rates.

German residential construction companies are struggling with a continuing wave of cancellations. According to a survey published today by the Munich-based Ifo Institute, last month more than one in ten companies (11.6 percent) reported that builders had withdrawn orders. There had already been a similar picture in July. The reason, according to ifo, is the sharp rise in construction costs with high material and energy prices, higher interest rates and reduced government subsidies.

Accordingly, pessimism has spread in the housing sector, many companies fear worse business. "Companies still have bulging order books, but looking at future developments, fear is taking hold," said ifo housing construction expert Felix Leiss. The ifo index of business expectations in residential construction fell to minus 48.3 percent. According to the institute, this is the lowest level since the monthly surveys began in 1991.

bottlenecks and price increases

The German Construction Industry Federation (HDB) was also still assuming at the end of August that sales in the industry would range between stagnation and a decline of two percent in the current year. According to the HDB, the price increases had been given a further boost by the war in Ukraine. An end to the bottlenecks and price increases is not yet foreseeable at present.

"For construction companies, the problem with unexpectedly sharp price increases is that these cannot be passed on to clients in the case of long-running projects, or only in exceptional cases – unless a price escalator has been agreed," the report continued.

Supply bottlenecks have eased somewhat compared to July, but more than a third (36.4 percent) of the companies surveyed still complained about material shortages. According to ifo, very many construction companies are planning further price increases.

Construction companies continue to enjoy good capacity utilization

The ifo Institute asks residential construction companies how the industry will fare in the next six months. And since, as Felix Leiss told tagesschau.de, a very large number of companies were expecting cooling. The Ifo Institute has been asking the question about cancellations every month for several years now: On average, these were just under two percent. According to Leiss, an increase to eleven percent is enormous.

Many cancellations were already seen during the Corona phase. However, the focus was on so-called commercial building construction. Currently, the situation is the other way round: more cancellations are being seen in residential construction. The reason for this is also the expiry and reduction of subsidies.

One is coming out of a situation in which things were going very well for very many years, according to Leiss. And there are still plenty of orders, it said, with construction companies continuing to enjoy good workloads. So they are not in a bad way, but there are clear signs of a slowdown.

Trend toward more housing could stabilize housing market in Europe

In the eurozone, the trend toward more housing could stabilize the housing market, according to the European Central Bank (ECB) – despite rising mortgage rates. The preference for more spacious housing units should also support investment in the housing market, write the authors of an article pre-published from the ECB's Economic Report, Niccolò Battistini, Johannes Gareis and Moreno Roma. "Changes in housing preferences triggered by the pandemic could counteract the higher mortgage rates and explain some of the resilience of the housing market observed in the euro area."

The authors point out that mortgage rates rose 0.63 percentage points in the first half of the year in the wake of the interest rate turnaround, the fastest increase in such a period since the introduction of the euro. They present a model according to which, if mortgage rates were to rise by a full percentage point, house prices could fall by nine percent within two years.

But with these projections pointing to impending sharp downward revisions in the housing market, it's important to keep in mind that other influencing factors must also be taken into account – such as changes in buyer behavior as a result of the pandemic: "Such factors could increase uncertainty with respect to the housing market outlook," the trade article states.

No deep repository in operation worldwide

Highly dangerous mortgage

Clear conditions

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