Our new heroes

June 12, 2006 on 11:20 am | In Miscellaneous |

No, this posting isn’t about the Swiss national soccer team, although I hope they are definitely going to be heroes by tomorrow. No, this entry is about a different type of hero based upon an insight while following the news throughout the last couple years.

Generally, in any society jobs with high prestige are those that cover some sort of vital necessity and require a certain degree of smartness. Think of medical doctors. Think of lawyers. Think of cops, professors and teachers. (yes, in Switzerland they all have a pretty high prestige, but the MDs rank at the top unmatched) However, I predict that we will soon observe a new profession rise in prestige, namely the one of the geologist.

With the impact of global warming, we increasingly need to do risk analysis in Switzerland concerning mud slides, rockfalls, and debris avalanches. Currently one of our most vital traffic ways, the Gotthard, is closed and people are busy setting everything up to blast away the remaining rock that endangers the interstate. Who’s doing the calculating for the blast? Geologists, of course. No matter what party of life you’re looking at in Switzerland - to be able to live our normal lives, geologists become increasingly important.