Episodes

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20070104
20070105
20070504Perth, the most isolated city in the world, has been forecast to become a future ghost metropolis by environmentalist Tim Flannery. The city is highly vulnerable to climate change, and although plans exist for prolonged drought conditions the local ecology remains extremely fragile.

[Rpt of Thu 9.00pm].

Perth, the most isolated city in the world, is highly vulnerable to climate change.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

20070511How is Australia going to manage its water supplies for its growing population?

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

20070518A look at the new green fuels and how the technology can best be utilised.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

2008011020080111 (R4)Tom Heap investigates the apparent increase in Britain's rodent population.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Tom Heap investigates the apparent increase in Britain's rodent population.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

2008013120080201 (R4)Tom Heap investigates Britain's commitment, or lack of it, to renewable energy.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Tom Heap investigates Britain's commitment, or lack of it, to renewable energy.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

A Burning Solution2009041320090416 (R4)Sales of wood burning stoves have rocketed over recent months. So much so that producers have struggled to meet demands. But could the latest 'must have' accessory for the style-concious householder be part of the solution in meeting our renewables targets?

Burning woodchip - or biomass - can provide both heat and electricity. It is environmentally friendly since the carbon has already been captured by the tree as it has grown and it is a renewable resource, so has wood's time come?

In this week's Costing The Earth we look at the range of biomass heating schemes in the UK - from small-scale wood-burning stoves that can effectively heat a home, to huge projects that are on the horizon: a massive biomass power station is planned at Port Talbot in South Wales. On the way we meet a bona fide environmental maverick in Barnsley where government renewable targets have been reached decades in advance.

We find out what the government is doing, if it really is green, and whether vast swathes of woodland would be chopped down to make an impact on our renewables target. And with the Port Talbot plant set to import a lot of the biomass from Canada, how sustainable is that project?

Costing The Earth investigates the range of biomass heating schemes in the UK.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Sales of wood burning stoves have rocketed over recent months. So much so that producers have struggled to meet demands. But could the latest 'must have' accessory for the style-concious householder be part of the solution in meeting our renewables targets?

Burning woodchip - or biomass - can provide both heat and electricity. It is environmentally friendly since the carbon has already been captured by the tree as it has grown and it is a renewable resource, so has wood's time come?

In this week's Costing The Earth we look at the range of biomass heating schemes in the UK - from small-scale wood-burning stoves that can effectively heat a home, to huge projects that are on the horizon: a massive biomass power station is planned at Port Talbot in South Wales. On the way we meet a bona fide environmental maverick in Barnsley where government renewable targets have been reached decades in advance.

We find out what the government is doing, if it really is green, and whether vast swathes of woodland would be chopped down to make an impact on our renewables target. And with the Port Talbot plant set to import a lot of the biomass from Canada, how sustainable is that project?

Costing The Earth investigates the range of biomass heating schemes in the UK.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

A Clean Break20080515Ecotourism is a tired concept, but so-called green holidays are becoming increasingly popular and the travel industry is using the idea to market a growing range of products of highly dubious environmental benefit. This programme challenges the notion that one's conscience can be salved by offsetting the carbon used on a flight to a turtle reserve. It also finds that it might well be better for the planet to fly to Benidorm than try camping in Wales.

How do you have a good time without destroying the planet?

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

A Clean Break20080516Ecotourism is a tired concept, but so-called green holidays are becoming increasingly popular and the travel industry is using the idea to market a growing range of products of highly dubious environmental benefit. This programme challenges the notion that one's conscience can be salved by offsetting the carbon used on a flight to a turtle reserve. It also finds that it might well be better for the planet to fly to Benidorm than try camping in Wales.

How do you have a good time without destroying the planet?

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

A Decade Of Fracking2014093020141001 (R4)After a decade of fracking, communities in Texas are still arguing about the pros and cons of the shale gas industry. With the industry ready to begin production in Lancashire, Tom Heap compares and contrasts the hopes and fears of Texans with those of the villagers of the Fylde coast.

Producer: Anne-Marie Bullock.

Tom Heap visits communities living with the shale gas industry, from Texas to Lancashire.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

After a decade of fracking, communities in Texas are still arguing about the pros and cons of the shale gas industry. With the industry ready to begin production in Lancashire, Tom Heap compares and contrasts the hopes and fears of Texans with those of the villagers of the Fylde coast.

Producer: Anne-Marie Bullock.

Tom Heap visits communities living with the shale gas industry, from Texas to Lancashire.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

A Greener Government?2022112920221130 (R4)Months of governmental chaos have seen contradictory policies on the environment come and go. Tom Heap asks where the Conservative Party now stands on the environment.

Should we expect more onshore wind or a continuing ban, will farmers be paid to help wildlife? And what are the underlying trends in the Conservative Party? Are most activists and MPs signed up to a Green Growth agenda or are climate change sceptics and fossil-fuel fans still a powerful force in the party that has governed the UK for most of the post-war era?

Producer: Sarah Swadling

What environmental policies should we now expect from the party of government?

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Months of governmental chaos have seen contradictory policies on the environment come and go. Tom Heap asks where the Conservative Party now stands on the environment.

Should we expect more onshore wind or a continuing ban, will farmers be paid to help wildlife? And what are the underlying trends in the Conservative Party? Are most activists and MPs signed up to a Green Growth agenda or are climate change sceptics and fossil-fuel fans still a powerful force in the party that has governed the UK for most of the post-war era?

Producer: Sarah Swadling

What environmental policies should we now expect from the party of government?

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

A Greener Home For All20180313Our homes and their construction have a huge impact on the environment. The construction industry is estimated to contribute to 40% of worldwide energy use and in the UK alone the building sector uses more than 400 million tons of material a year, many of which have an adverse impact on the environment. Added to this is the impact on local air quality and green spaces and the energy used in heating, lighting and even furnishing new homes.

The government has set a target of 300,000 new homes a year to help solve the growing housing crisis but this figure is nearly double the current rate of building. So is there anyway we can solve the housing crisis without nearly doubling our emissions? Tom Heap sets out to find out where, what and how we could build affordable and green homes for all.

The UK needs 300,000 new homes a year, Tom Heap asks if building big can also be green.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

A Greener Way To Go2014022520140226 (R4)Many of us are trying to lead a greener life, but how many of us will continue the trend to its logical conclusion... into death? On this week's Costing the Earth, Tom Heap takes to the ocean waves, the forest floor, and the lab, to try and suss out the 'greenest way to go'.

Over 70% of us here in the UK choose to be cremated, and the majority of the rest are buried - '6 feet under' - in traditional cemeteries. But for those who might worry about the fossil fuel cost of being burned, or the toxic embalming fluids commonly used in burial, there are other options on the table.

We take a blustery boat trip just off the Isle of Wight with one of the UK's only 'Marine Funeral Directors', to hear about the specially designed coffins that help you sink to your final resting place beneath the waves. And if you don't fancy sleeping with the fishes, how about sleeping beneath the shade of a mighty oak? Tom heads to the picturesque Downs of East Hampshire to hear how your final resting place could go hand in hand with an ambitious reforestation project. And he takes a glance into the future of the industry too, with two methods which could be out of a science fiction novel. How would you like your mortal remains to be chemically dissolved in high pressure alkali solution? Or perhaps freeze-dried and frozen, then shattered into an organic powder? And will these 'futuristic' new methods of getting our 'Ashes to Ashes', ever become available on our own shores?

Produced in Bristol by Emily Knight.

Do you try to lead a greener life? Tom Heap investigates how to have the greenest death.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Many of us are trying to lead a greener life, but how many of us will continue the trend to its logical conclusion... into death? On this week's Costing the Earth, Tom Heap takes to the ocean waves, the forest floor, and the lab, to try and suss out the 'greenest way to go'.

Over 70% of us here in the UK choose to be cremated, and the majority of the rest are buried - '6 feet under' - in traditional cemeteries. But for those who might worry about the fossil fuel cost of being burned, or the toxic embalming fluids commonly used in burial, there are other options on the table.

We take a blustery boat trip just off the Isle of Wight with one of the UK's only 'Marine Funeral Directors', to hear about the specially designed coffins that help you sink to your final resting place beneath the waves. And if you don't fancy sleeping with the fishes, how about sleeping beneath the shade of a mighty oak? Tom heads to the picturesque Downs of East Hampshire to hear how your final resting place could go hand in hand with an ambitious reforestation project. And he takes a glance into the future of the industry too, with two methods which could be out of a science fiction novel. How would you like your mortal remains to be chemically dissolved in high pressure alkali solution? Or perhaps freeze-dried and frozen, then shattered into an organic powder? And will these 'futuristic' new methods of getting our 'Ashes to Ashes', ever become available on our own shores?

Produced in Bristol by Emily Knight.

Do you try to lead a greener life? Tom Heap investigates how to have the greenest death.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

A Resilient World?2014040120140402 (R4)Following the publication of the latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Tom Heap and a group of climate experts debate how nations and populations around the world will have to adapt and prepare for the effects of climate change in the coming decades.

Recent extreme weather events may suggest that the effects of climate change are beginning to show, so what can be done to mitigate the impact?

Producer: Martin Poyntz-Roberts.

A panel of climate experts debates how we will have to adapt in the face of climate change

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Following the publication of the latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Tom Heap and a group of climate experts debate how nations and populations around the world will have to adapt and prepare for the effects of climate change in the coming decades.

Recent extreme weather events may suggest that the effects of climate change are beginning to show, so what can be done to mitigate the impact?

Producer: Martin Poyntz-Roberts.

A panel of climate experts debates how we will have to adapt in the face of climate change

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

A Short History Of Environmental Protest2020102020201021 (R4)It's fifty years since the first blossoming of environmental campaign groups. Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace and the organisation which was eventually to become the Green Party were all set up in the early 1970s - all within just a few years of each other. In part 1 of this two-part series, Tom Heap takes a look back over the last half century of environmental protest. He talks to some of the big names involved in green campaigning - from the early days up to the present and the rise of Extinction Rebellion. He asks what the movement has achieved and what challenges still lie ahead.

Producer: Emma Campbell

Tom Heap takes a look back at the evolution of environmental campaigning.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

It's fifty years since the first blossoming of environmental campaign groups. Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace and the organisation which was eventually to become the Green Party were all set up in the early 1970s - all within just a few years of each other. In part 1 of this two-part series, Tom Heap takes a look back over the last half century of environmental protest. He talks to some of the big names involved in green campaigning - from the early days up to the present and the rise of Extinction Rebellion. He asks what the movement has achieved and what challenges still lie ahead.

Producer: Emma Campbell

Tom Heap takes a look back at the evolution of environmental campaigning.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

A Toilet For The 21st Century2014021120140212 (R4)There are 2.5 billion people living on the planet without access to basic sanitation.

As a result hundreds of children die from diseases such as diarrhoea every day, and women and children risk personal safety when they perform the simplest of human functions.

In this week's Costing The Earth Dr Kat Arney looks at ways to allow everyone to have access to safe, clean, environmentally friendly toilets.

She visits a toilet festival in London to find out about toilet designs that can be applied to every environmental condition across the globe: toilets that require no water, toilets that can turn waste into an asset in the form of fertiliser and toilets filled with waste-eating worms in a quest to design a toilet for the 21st Century.

Presenter: Dr Kat Arney

Producer: Martin Poyntz-Roberts.

2.5 billion people on the planet have no sanitation so how do we give toilets to everyone?

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

There are 2.5 billion people living on the planet without access to basic sanitation.

As a result hundreds of children die from diseases such as diarrhoea every day, and women and children risk personal safety when they perform the simplest of human functions.

In this week's Costing The Earth Dr Kat Arney looks at ways to allow everyone to have access to safe, clean, environmentally friendly toilets.

She visits a toilet festival in London to find out about toilet designs that can be applied to every environmental condition across the globe: toilets that require no water, toilets that can turn waste into an asset in the form of fertiliser and toilets filled with waste-eating worms in a quest to design a toilet for the 21st Century.

Presenter: Dr Kat Arney

Producer: Martin Poyntz-Roberts.

2.5 billion people on the planet have no sanitation so how do we give toilets to everyone?

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

A Very Large Hole In The Sahara2011092120110922 (R4)Scientists are looking at novel ways to halt sea-level rise and reverse global warming, but not the way in which Miranda Krestovnikoff is attempting to do her bit on Exmouth Beach...

One idea proposed was to flood lowing lying parts of the planet - parts of the Sahara desert in order to accomodate rising sea level caused by global warming and the melting of ice-sheets and glaciers. An idea quickly dismissed by climate scientist Tim Lenton who joins Miranda on the beach as she attempts to empty the water from the ocean.

Futuristic visions of the sky filled with trillions of tiny mirrors and giant man-made clouds over the oceans to reflect the power of the sun are just two ideas scientists have come up with in their quest to make a giant sunscreen for the planet and to try and cool the climate.

And just next month a team of scientists from universities in the UK are carrying out an experiment to see if they can hoist a giant hosepipe one kilometre into the air. If successful they will attempt to upscale the experiment. The aim is to see if they can extend the pipe up to 20km should they ever need to spray aerosol particles into the air to recreate the effects of a volcanic eruption. Matt Watson leads the project and he explains how successful Mount Pinatubo was in lowering the earth's temperature for two years after it erupted.

Miranda Krestovnikoff investigates which futuristic geoengineering concepts could become a reality if we continue to fill the atmosphere with greenhouse gases and what impact messing about with the climate could potentially have on weather systems across the globe.

Miranda Krestovnikoff discovers ways that scientists could use to halt sea level rise.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Acoustic Ecology2016030120160302 (R4)Peter Gibbs asks whether sound could become a vital tool in conservation, helping us understand far more about how wildlife interacts and how it is affected by changes in the environment . Technological advances in recording mean that we can now record huge amounts of data in remote locations. By using algorithms scientists hope to break down complex interactions between animals and their environment and be able to predict change or protect species. This is the emerging science of soundscape ecology. Scientists are hoping to apply big data solutions learnt from fields such as genetics to re-imagine conservation and asking all of us to listen and imagine what a world without natural sounds such as birdsong might be like.

Producer: Helen Lennard.

Can the sound of the Amazon help to save it? Peter Gibbs reports.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Peter Gibbs asks whether sound could become a vital tool in conservation, helping us understand far more about how wildlife interacts and how it is affected by changes in the environment . Technological advances in recording mean that we can now record huge amounts of data in remote locations. By using algorithms scientists hope to break down complex interactions between animals and their environment and be able to predict change or protect species. This is the emerging science of soundscape ecology. Scientists are hoping to apply big data solutions learnt from fields such as genetics to re-imagine conservation and asking all of us to listen and imagine what a world without natural sounds such as birdsong might be like.

Producer: Helen Lennard.

Can the sound of the Amazon help to save it? Peter Gibbs reports.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Adapting Insects2012020720120208 (R4)In the battle to protect crops and eradicate disease, scientists are turning to ever more ingenious ways to defeat the old enemy - insects. Instead of just going for the kill, they're finding ways of changing behaviour, of recruiting the predator's enemies as our friends. They're using genetic modification and other breeding techniques to ensure that insects breed, but the young don't survive long enough to do any damage. So can we make insects do our bidding and create a world without pesticides? Professor Alice Roberts investigates for 'Costing the Earth'.

Producer: Steve Peacock.

Can we adapt disease-carrying insects to become friends not foes? Alice Roberts reports.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

After Chernobyl2016042620160427 (R4)When radioactive particles from the Chernobyl disaster landed in Germany's Black Forest one woman decided to change her country's relationship with nuclear energy forever.

Julian Rush meets Ursula Sladek, founder of EWS Energy and prime mover in Germany's abandonment of nuclear energy.

Following the story from the first detection of radioactive particles, through the persistent impact of radioactive caesium in the soil to the rapid development of renewable energy after the Fukushima disaster of 2011, Julian tells the story of the transformation that's known in Germany as the Energiewende. With Ursula's son, Sebastian he discusses the future for renewable energy in a nuclear-free nation and considers the influence Germany may have on the rest of Europe.

Produced by Alasdair Cross and Melanie Brown.

How the fallout from Chernobyl changed Germany forever. Julian Rush reports.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Alien Invaders2011033020110331 (R4)The threat to wildlife from invasive species is now one of the greatest across the world and it is growing. Killer shrimp are the latest non-native species to be found in a formerly quiet and respectable area of Cambridgeshire. In the UK we have endlessly debated the problem of the grey squirrel and Japanese knotweed but in Spain the invaders are being driven out permanently. Can their plan work and would eradication return native species to abundance or simply create new problems in our ecosystems?

Recent studies suggest the rise in invasive species stems from international trade. Global warming has also contributed to species migration and survival in the wild. The Spanish authorities have drawn up a list of 168 offending species including the raccoon and mink, zebra mussels, and one of the worse offenders the ruddy duck.

In New Zealand rats are driving the yellowhead bird to extinction and the chrytrid fungi is causing a worldwide decline in amphibians but can species really recover after competition is successfully eradicated? It seems that in some cases they can. The near extinct black vented shearwater is recovering on a Mexican island after the eradication of cats, goats and sheep. The wallaby is also recovering after red fox were taken out in Australia.

However, there are also a growing number of scientists who argue that to eradicate invasives is costly, cruel and ultimately unnecessary. In Puerto Rico invasive species have been the only plant and wildlife able to survive in eroded soils. Their encroachment has returned lifeless areas to thriving jungles, eventually providing a more encouraging environment for native species to return.

If we can't beat them then it may even be time to learn from these ecological survivors.

Producer Helen Lennard

Repeated on 31:03:2011 13:31:00.

Invasive species are a growing problem. Tom Heap asks if we can really live without them.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

All Aboard The Sir David Attenborough2021112320211124 (R4)The public wanted to name her Boaty McBoatface, but in the end she got a slightly more stately name. The UK's newest polar research vessel, the RRS Sir David Attenborough, has just set out on her maiden voyage to Antarctica, where she'll enable scientists to research climate change and its impacts on the polar regions.

Following a hundred years of polar exploration, this ship will write the next chapter in UK polar science.

In this episode, ocean physicist Helen Czerski gets aboard to poke around the new ship, and meets the crew members and scientists who will be taking her to the ends of the earth in search of the answers to some of the most pressing questions of our time. She finds out how the ship has been designed specially to encourage collaboration and bring together scientists from different fields. And she tries out the bunks and learns what life at sea will be like.

Find out why krill can fight climate change, how you cook at sea in a storm and what the massive hole in the middle of the ship is for!

Producer: Heather Simons

Helen Czerski hops aboard Britain's newest polar explorer, RRS Sir David Attenborough.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

The public wanted to name her Boaty McBoatface, but in the end she got a slightly more stately name. The UK's newest polar research vessel, the RRS Sir David Attenborough, has just set out on her maiden voyage to Antarctica, where she'll enable scientists to research climate change and its impacts on the polar regions.

Following a hundred years of polar exploration, this ship will write the next chapter in UK polar science.

In this episode, ocean physicist Helen Czerski gets aboard to poke around the new ship, and meets the crew members and scientists who will be taking her to the ends of the earth in search of the answers to some of the most pressing questions of our time. She finds out how the ship has been designed specially to encourage collaboration and bring together scientists from different fields. And she tries out the bunks and learns what life at sea will be like.

Find out why krill can fight climate change, how you cook at sea in a storm and what the massive hole in the middle of the ship is for!

Producer: Heather Simons

Helen Czerski hops aboard Britain's newest polar explorer, RRS Sir David Attenborough.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

All Wrapped Up And Nowhere To Go2008052920080530 (R4)Plastic bags and packaging are anathema to the environmentalist, but the issue is complex.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Plastic bags and packaging are anathema to the environmentalist, but the issue is complex.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

American Election2020111020201111 (R4)After four years of the Trump administration, and a hard-fought and much-disputed presidential race, what are the implications now for future American environmental policy? In this programme Tom Heap and a panel of commentators discuss what the election result may mean for everything from energy production to the Paris Agreement.

On the panel: Professor Jody Freeman, Harvard Law School; Bob Ward, Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment; Karly Matthews, American Conservation Coaltion; Mark Lynas, environmental campaigner and author.

Produced by Emma Campbell

What will the American election result mean for the environment? Tom Heap investigates.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

After four years of the Trump administration, and a hard-fought and much-disputed presidential race, what are the implications now for future American environmental policy? In this programme Tom Heap and a panel of commentators discuss what the election result may mean for everything from energy production to the Paris Agreement.

On the panel: Professor Jody Freeman, Harvard Law School; Bob Ward, Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment; Karly Matthews, American Conservation Coaltion; Mark Lynas, environmental campaigner and author.

Produced by Emma Campbell

What will the American election result mean for the environment? Tom Heap investigates.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

America's Climate Resistance2017110720171108 (R4)It's a year since President Trump was elected.

In that time he has appointed a climate sceptic as head of the Environmental Protection Agency, he has insisted that he will bring the coal industry back, and he still has not appointed a science advisor.

Roger Harrabin travels to the USA to meet those spearheading the resistance to President Trump's climate policies.

In California he meets Governor Jerry Brown. Jerry is determined that California pushes ahead towards a cleaner future. He visits the world's largest battery storage plant near San Diego, and travels to the San Gorgonio Pass, the site of one of the world's largest wind farms.

Heading east from California to Ohio, and coal country, Roger meets Bob Murray, head of the Murray Energy Corp. Bob is determined to see coal jobs protected, but even he believes that coal's heyday has passed, but he remains bullish.

Roger also meets form science advisor to President Obama, Dr John Holdren. John thinks that economics should ensure that the USA remains on a path to cleaner energy.

Producer Martin Poyntz-Roberts.

Roger Harrabin travels to the USA to meet America's climate resistance.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

It's a year since President Trump was elected.

In that time he has appointed a climate sceptic as head of the Environmental Protection Agency, he has insisted that he will bring the coal industry back, and he still has not appointed a science advisor.

Roger Harrabin travels to the USA to meet those spearheading the resistance to President Trump's climate policies.

In California he meets Governor Jerry Brown. Jerry is determined that California pushes ahead towards a cleaner future. He visits the world's largest battery storage plant near San Diego, and travels to the San Gorgonio Pass, the site of one of the world's largest wind farms.

Heading east from California to Ohio, and coal country, Roger meets Bob Murray, head of the Murray Energy Corp. Bob is determined to see coal jobs protected, but even he believes that coal's heyday has passed, but he remains bullish.

Roger also meets form science advisor to President Obama, Dr John Holdren. John thinks that economics should ensure that the USA remains on a path to cleaner energy.

Producer Martin Poyntz-Roberts.

Roger Harrabin travels to the USA to meet America's climate resistance.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

America's Energy Independence2016112220161123 (R4)New President elect of the USA Donald Trump is a climate change denier, and so what does his rise to power mean for the environment?

Among his early pledges he states: 'The Trump Administration will make America energy independent. We will end the war on coal, and rescind the coal mining lease moratorium, the excessive Interior Department stream rule, and conduct a top-down review of all anti-coal regulations issued by the Obama Administration.

He promises to rip up climate deals and get the USA mining and burning fossil fuels again, giving jobs back to areas that need them.

Costing The Earth will take each sector and try to predict what the next four years will hold for each energy generator. Is there any good news for the environment or will Trump's election usher in a return to dirty, polluting, fossil fuel-burning days that we were pulling away from?

Presenter: Tom Heap

Producer: Martin Poyntz-Roberts.

What does the election of Donald Trump as president of the USA mean for the environment?

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

New President elect of the USA Donald Trump is a climate change denier, and so what does his rise to power mean for the environment?

Among his early pledges he states: 'The Trump Administration will make America energy independent. We will end the war on coal, and rescind the coal mining lease moratorium, the excessive Interior Department stream rule, and conduct a top-down review of all anti-coal regulations issued by the Obama Administration.

He promises to rip up climate deals and get the USA mining and burning fossil fuels again, giving jobs back to areas that need them.

Costing The Earth will take each sector and try to predict what the next four years will hold for each energy generator. Is there any good news for the environment or will Trump's election usher in a return to dirty, polluting, fossil fuel-burning days that we were pulling away from?

Presenter: Tom Heap

Producer: Martin Poyntz-Roberts.

What does the election of Donald Trump as president of the USA mean for the environment?

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Amphibian Extinction2013043020130501 (R4)Frogs, toads and newts are becoming a less frequent sight in our ponds and gardens. Globally 40% of amphibians - almost 2000 species - are threatened with extinction according to the IUCN red list. Some scientists even say we're on the verge of the 6th mass extinction. Yet with things at such an alarming state Tom Heap asks what's being done to save these creatures and if it's too little too late?

Amphibians are a key part of the food chain but not only do they control less favoured bugs, they have also been described as 'hopping pharmacies' carrying important chemical compounds on their skin which have been used for medicines. If they disappear so does that link.

Tom hears about the different factors which are impacting on numbers - including habitat loss, climate change and diseases such as chytrid fungus and ranavirus. Andrew Blaustein at the University of Oregon is currently doing research to find out why some species are more vulnerable to chytrid than others but has also found parasites causing mutations in frogs nearby - including some with up to 15 limbs.

Meanwhile, of the UK's seven native amphibian species, one- the pool frog - has already died out. Tom travels to the secret location where they've been reintroduced from Sweden to find out how well they're doing and what can be learnt from this near-miss. Tom also gets his hands dirty on toad patrol, helping them cross busy roads as they come out of hibernation and return to their ponds for breeding. As he asks motorists to apply their brakes he also asks just how much this will do to halt their decline.

Producer: Anne-Marie Bullock.

Tom Heap asks what's being done to save the 40% of amphibian species at risk of extinction

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Frogs, toads and newts are becoming a less frequent sight in our ponds and gardens. Globally 40% of amphibians - almost 2000 species - are threatened with extinction according to the IUCN red list. Some scientists even say we're on the verge of the 6th mass extinction. Yet with things at such an alarming state Tom Heap asks what's being done to save these creatures and if it's too little too late?

Amphibians are a key part of the food chain but not only do they control less favoured bugs, they have also been described as 'hopping pharmacies' carrying important chemical compounds on their skin which have been used for medicines. If they disappear so does that link.

Tom hears about the different factors which are impacting on numbers - including habitat loss, climate change and diseases such as chytrid fungus and ranavirus. Andrew Blaustein at the University of Oregon is currently doing research to find out why some species are more vulnerable to chytrid than others but has also found parasites causing mutations in frogs nearby - including some with up to 15 limbs.

Meanwhile, of the UK's seven native amphibian species, one- the pool frog - has already died out. Tom travels to the secret location where they've been reintroduced from Sweden to find out how well they're doing and what can be learnt from this near-miss. Tom also gets his hands dirty on toad patrol, helping them cross busy roads as they come out of hibernation and return to their ponds for breeding. As he asks motorists to apply their brakes he also asks just how much this will do to halt their decline.

Producer: Anne-Marie Bullock.

Tom Heap asks what's being done to save the 40% of amphibian species at risk of extinction

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

An Environmental Paw Print2022100420221005 (R4)For many dog owners, watching your pet race around after a crow or leap joyfully into a stream is a source of great pleasure...but these natural behaviours all have an impact on the environment. Estimates of the UK dog population vary from 10 million all the way up to 13 million and the number has been rising in recent years, so their environmental paw print is growing.

In this programme Tom Heap visits a nature reserve where dogs have been banned from some areas after being blamed for frightening wildlife, damaging rare habitats and adding excess nutrients to the soil via their excrement. He meets a farmer and dung beetle expert, who shows him how the drugs found in flea treatments and worming pills can leach out into nature. And what to do with all that poo - especially when it's wrapped in plastic bags?

Meanwhile, across the world free-roaming dogs are having wide reaching effects. Dr Abi Vanak from the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment says the 60-80 million free-roaming dogs in India are putting some native species at risk of extinction.

Producer: Heather Simons

Man's best friend or the planet's worst enemy? What is the environmental impact of dogs?

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

For many dog owners, watching your pet race around after a crow or leap joyfully into a stream is a source of great pleasure...but these natural behaviours all have an impact on the environment. Estimates of the UK dog population vary from 10 million all the way up to 13 million and the number has been rising in recent years, so their environmental paw print is growing.

In this programme Tom Heap visits a nature reserve where dogs have been banned from some areas after being blamed for frightening wildlife, damaging rare habitats and adding excess nutrients to the soil via their excrement. He meets a farmer and dung beetle expert, who shows him how the drugs found in flea treatments and worming pills can leach out into nature. And what to do with all that poo - especially when it's wrapped in plastic bags?

Meanwhile, across the world free-roaming dogs are having wide reaching effects. Dr Abi Vanak from the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment says the 60-80 million free-roaming dogs in India are putting some native species at risk of extinction.

Producer: Heather Simons

Man's best friend or the planet's worst enemy? What is the environmental impact of dogs?

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Antarctic Assault2018050120180502 (R4)The whales, penguins and other seabirds and marine mammals of the Southern Ocean depend upon a reliable supply of the tiny shrimp-like krill. New developments in fishing and freezing technology mean that we can now join in the feast, popping krill pills for their high Omega 3 content.

The writer and chef, Gerard Baker has been working on fishing boats and cruise ships in the Antarctic for twenty years. He's worried that there may not be enough krill to go around, particularly in the crucial regions where breeding penguins rely on an easily accessible source of food.

Producer: Alasdair Cross.

The penguins of the Antarctic rely on krill. What happens when we get a taste for it?

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Antarctic Treaty2009040620090409 (R4)Tom Heap reports on the Antarctic Treaty, a unique but little-known beacon of global co-operation which has kept the soldiers at bay and the scientists in harness on the continent for the last 50 years.

It has survived Cold War tension, the Falklands war and rapacious fishing to emerge as a textbook study of how diplomacy can avoid conflict. But can it rebuff the pressures of the next 50 years, with tourists, bio-prospectors and energy companies all scouring the planet for scarce resources?

Tom Heap reports on the Antarctic Treaty.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Tom Heap reports on the Antarctic Treaty, a unique but little-known beacon of global co-operation which has kept the soldiers at bay and the scientists in harness on the continent for the last 50 years.

It has survived Cold War tension, the Falklands war and rapacious fishing to emerge as a textbook study of how diplomacy can avoid conflict. But can it rebuff the pressures of the next 50 years, with tourists, bio-prospectors and energy companies all scouring the planet for scarce resources?

Tom Heap reports on the Antarctic Treaty.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Antipasto Agony2015102720151028 (R4)Bad news for lovers of tapenade and pesto. Olive trees are succumbing to a new disease. Tom Heap reports from Puglia on the ultimate foodie nightmare.

The heel of Italy is currently gripped by an outbreak of Xylella fastidiosa, a voracious tree disease that is systematically devastating olive groves in the main areas of production for olive oil.

95% of the world's olive trees are in the Mediterranean, and Italy is the world's second largest exporter of oil, behind Spain.

Rural communities risk being torn apart as the disease threatens the livelihoods of farming families that have grown olives in the region for centuries. The whole environment is set to change as trees die, leaving the landscape totally bare.

Tom meets the scientists about to wage war on the bacteria: Professor Giovanni Martelli and Dr Donato Boscia from the University of Bari. They are working to find a way of stopping the disease from spreading. If they are unsuccessful, olive production in the whole of the Mediterranean basin could be at risk.

Producer: Martin Poyntz-Roberts.

Bad news for lovers of tapenade and pesto - olive trees are succumbing to a new disease.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Apocalypse Then And Now2012092620121023 (R4)During the Vietnam War two million tons of American bombs were dropped on the tiny nation of Laos, more than the combined weight dropped on Japan and Germany during World War Two. The environmental impact was horrific, destroying forests, killing endangered wildlife and poisoning water supplies. For forty years the people of rural Laos have had to live with the constant fear of stepping on one of the thousands of unexploded bombs that litter the countryside.

Bomb clearance has been partial and sporadic but the sudden influx of mining companies coupled with the building of new roads and hydro-electric dams is speeding things up. Farmland which has been unusable for decades is being bought up, cleared of bombs and sold on to developers. In 'Costing the Earth' Tom Heap and Georgia Catt hear how the tough work of the bomb clearance teams is altering the environment of Laos. Local people may be glad to see the back of the American bombs but the roads and mines that replace them are changing the face of the country forever.

Producer: Alasdair Cross.

The environment of Laos remains scarred by American bombing. Tom Heap joins the clean-up.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Arctic Dreams2011020920110210 (R4)The melting of the Arctic is sparking a goldrush, bringing energy and mineral companies north in search of oil, gas and minerals. To the people of the north it's a confusing time. New business and industry can offer jobs and money but they threaten the pristine environment and seem certain to further dilute the native culture.

In this second programme on the future of the melting north Tom Heap visits Arctic Canada to find out more about the impact of development on flora, fauna and the native people.

He hears how the Inuit have taken up semi-western lifestyles only in the last fifty years. They were persuaded by the Canadian government to leave behind a life of small family groups following the seasonal movements of caribou, seal and whale in return for subsidised lives in new settlements scattered across the north. Their children were taken away from their parents to residential schools hundreds of miles away. The separation and inevitable abuse destroyed families and turned a proud, independent culture into one of dependence. Communities are still dealing with the fall-out, suffering the worst rates of suicide, alcoholism, violence and premature death in Canada.

In recent years the Inuit have gradually come to take more control over their own destiny. Today they have the power to say 'yes' or 'no' to miners and oil prospectors. A new generation of native leaders is determined that any money to be made from the natural resources will go toward turning around their communities.

Tom Heap meets local people to find out how they want development to proceed and hears from politicians and academics how the native people fit into the international picture. Will the Inuit really have a voice when the US, Russia and Canada begin squabbling over the region's resources?

Producer: Alasdair Cross.

How the melting Arctic is changing the lives of the people of the north.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Arctic Future2014110420141105 (R4)The melting sea ice of the Arctic creates opportunities and threats for the people and wildlife of the region. This week the leaders of the polar nations are in Iceland to map out a future for the region at the Arctic Circle conference.

Will oil and gas production ravage the north or bring jobs and money to impoverished local people? Will Russian designs on Arctic riches provoke conflict or link the region to the global economy? And what's in it for Britain? Can our expertise in polar science help us influence the development of the region?

Tom is joined by Jane Francis of the British Antarctic Survey, Malte Humpert of the Arctic Institute, Alexander Shestakov from the World Wildlife Fund and Duncan Depledge of the Royal United Services Institute.

Producer: Alasdair Cross.

The melting sea ice of the Arctic creates opportunities and threats. Tom Heap reports.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Art And The Environment2018112020181121 (R4)Climate change is hard to depict. Polar bears on melting ice caps are far away from everyday life and the data is often complex and confusing. So could art in its broadest sense help us to understand the implications of global warming and environmental degradation? Tom Heap takes a look at how the creative community is responding to what is arguably the biggest threat of our time and asks if art can succeed in eliciting a response where science has failed.

Music and visual arts which make climate data sets tangible, clothing which make pollutants visible and artists who make their creative response a form of protest. These are just a few of the ways in which artists are responding to environmental issues but it remains to be seen if these visions can impact our collective beliefs and behaviours.

Could art help us see, hear and feel the problems facing our planet? Tom Heap finds out.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Autopia To Utopia? Car-free Cities2020090820200909 (R4)Lockdown saw many more people jumping on bikes and walking - as much as a way to get out of the house as get around - but pollution levels dropped and nature could be heard without the background roar of traffic. Jheni Osman asks if this the way it could or should be? Has this given us a new way of thinking about how we get around and can city leaders bank on this to change the infrastructure to be 'car free'?

After 100 years of city design being built around the private car, this is a rare opportunity to bank on the behaviour change to reduce pollution, improve air quality and get more of us active. Temporary moves to give over more road space to public transport, bikes and pedestrians may give way to more permanent measures and has accelerated plans for 'Car Free Cities'. Jheni explores models that have been applied elsewhere, looks at changes coming in across Milan, Bristol and Birmingham and asks what's needed to make them work? Will we be zooming about on e-scooters and goods transported underground instead? Plans aren't without cost or controversy but is this a rare moment to make a radical change the new normal?

Presented by Jheni Osman

Produced by Anne-Marie Bullock for BBC Audio in Bristol.

Has the Covid crisis jump started us towards car-free cities?

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Lockdown saw many more people jumping on bikes and walking - as much as a way to get out of the house as get around - but pollution levels dropped and nature could be heard without the background roar of traffic. Jheni Osman asks if this the way it could or should be? Has this given us a new way of thinking about how we get around and can city leaders bank on this to change the infrastructure to be 'car free'?

After 100 years of city design being built around the private car, this is a rare opportunity to bank on the behaviour change to reduce pollution, improve air quality and get more of us active. Temporary moves to give over more road space to public transport, bikes and pedestrians may give way to more permanent measures and has accelerated plans for 'Car Free Cities'. Jheni explores models that have been applied elsewhere, looks at changes coming in across Milan, Bristol and Birmingham and asks what's needed to make them work? Will we be zooming about on e-scooters and goods transported underground instead? Plans aren't without cost or controversy but is this a rare moment to make a radical change the new normal?

Presented by Jheni Osman

Produced by Anne-Marie Bullock for BBC Audio in Bristol.

Has the Covid crisis jump started us towards car-free cities?

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Bambi Bites Back2012021420120215 (R4)Bambi has never had it so good. Changes in farming fashion now provide deer with delicious things to eat and warm places to sleep all winter long. The result is a big increase in numbers and a rapid geographical spread, taking our native and introduced species into the most urbanised parts of our islands.

In 'Costing the Earth' Tom Heap investigates the causes of the deer boom and some of the unexpected impacts. Deer take a heavy toll on young trees, enraging foresters and ruining the prospects for ground-nesting birds like nightingales. They're also meeting increasingly grisly ends, killed by on-coming cars or targeted by poachers armed with crossbows or air guns.

So should we wring our hands or celebrate the success of our largest land mammals? Should we cull and control or aim to make a profit from nature's bounty? Tom joins a team of specialists from Scottish Natural Heritage for a late night deer count through urban Scotland and meets a stalker who is offering wealthy Germans the chance to bag a lowland stag.

Producer: Alasdair Cross.

Deer numbers are rising fast. Tom Heap asks what this means for the rural landscape.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Battery Powered Britain2017091220170913 (R4)New developments in battery technology are changing the way we power Britain. More efficient, higher capacity batteries expand the range of electric vehicles and allow solar and wind power plants to provide smooth, 24 hour electricity.

Tom Heap is in Cornwall where power companies and local innovators are developing a new battery-powered economic model that could be rolled out to the rest of the UK.

From mining the lithium that makes the batteries to holiday parks producing clean power for the grid Cornwall is leading the way.

Producer: Alasdair Cross

Photo: Nicholas Davies.

New developments in battery technology are changing the way Britain is powered.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

New developments in battery technology are changing the way we power Britain. More efficient, higher capacity batteries expand the range of electric vehicles and allow solar and wind power plants to provide smooth, 24 hour electricity.

Tom Heap is in Cornwall where power companies and local innovators are developing a new battery-powered economic model that could be rolled out to the rest of the UK.

From mining the lithium that makes the batteries to holiday parks producing clean power for the grid Cornwall is leading the way.

Producer: Alasdair Cross

Photo: Nicholas Davies.

New developments in battery technology are changing the way Britain is powered.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Beasts Of The Border2016032920160330 (R4)As gates close against migrants entering Europe Tom Heap is in Croatia to examine the wildlife impact of the continent's new borders.

Red deer have been found dying on the razor wire and the vulnerable local population of lynx is now split between Slovenia and Croatia. With a shrunken gene pool the lynx could soon be lost from the region.

From the Austrian Alps, south through the Balkans to Greece the mountains provide a vital habitat for large carnivores like bear and wolf. As new fences rise across the region Europe's peak predators face a bleak future.

Producer: Alasdair Cross.

Tom Heap examines the wildlife impact of Europe's new borders.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

As gates close against migrants entering Europe Tom Heap is in Croatia to examine the wildlife impact of the continent's new borders.

Red deer have been found dying on the razor wire and the vulnerable local population of lynx is now split between Slovenia and Croatia. With a shrunken gene pool the lynx could soon be lost from the region.

From the Austrian Alps, south through the Balkans to Greece the mountains provide a vital habitat for large carnivores like bear and wolf. As new fences rise across the region Europe's peak predators face a bleak future.

Producer: Alasdair Cross.

Tom Heap examines the wildlife impact of Europe's new borders.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Beaver Town2021052520210526 (R4)Adrian has a big idea. His home of Braunton, a village in North Devon, has a problem with flooding. Over the last decade he has seen it get worse. The village flooded badly in 2012 just after a million pound flood defence scheme was completed, and there was more flooding in 2016. Braunton has since had those defences upgraded, but more work is needed further up the valley. Instead of more expensive schemes, Adrian has an alternative solution - bringing back beavers to do the work for them.

Beavers are nature's engineers, their dams prevent flooding by holding water upstream and slowing the flow in rivers, while simultaneously creating new wetland habitats for species of insects, amphibians, birds, fish and plants to flourish in. These industrious rodents were hunted to extinction in Britain about 400 years ago, and are now beginning to make a comeback. A record number of beavers will be released by the Wildlife Trusts this year, but so far pretty much all licensed beaver reintroductions have been on individual private estates or within fenced enclosures.

What Adrian is proposing would be the first community-led reintroduction of beavers on a landscape scale, and if successful in gaining permission, the project could provide a model for others. Working together with the Beaver Trust, Adrian now has nearly 50 local landowners on board and the project is gaining momentum. However there are many obstacles to overcome, not least that not everyone is in favour of beavers flooding their land. We visit Braunton as it begins its beaver journey and hear what can be learnt about managing the species from the River Otter Beaver Trial in South Devon, and from Scotland where there is a wild population in Tayside causing problems for farming. Can we move beyond keeping beavers in enclosures and learn to live alongside them?

Presented by Lindsey Chapman and produced by Sophie Anton

Can the people of Braunton pull off the UK's first community-led beaver reintroduction?

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Bees Fight Back2013050720130508 (R4)Much heat has been generated about about modern pesticides called neonicotinoids.

Their supporters - the companies which make them, the farmers who use them and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs - say they are vital to protect crops and boost yields in a hungry world. They say jobs would be threatened in a big way if they were outlawed and that there is no scientific proof that they are harming pollinating insects which are also vital to agriculture.

On the other side of the debate are environment campaigners, scientists, the European Food Safety Authority, the European Commission and a House of Commons select committee. They say there is so much evidence that neonicotinoids kill bees and other useful insects that their use in farms and gardens cannot be justified. Beekeepers are divided, some fearing that the alternative chemicals would cause even more damage, some saying that the other threats to bees - disease and loss of habitat - are far more serious. Some even challenge the whole notion that bees are suffering a serious decline.

For Costing the Earth, Tom Heap goes into the fields and hedgerows of England - and into the laboratory of the country's only Professor of Apiculture - to sort spin from science and facts from campaign catchphrases. He also hears from scientists and experts on the global health of pollinating insects and the crops that depend on them.

Produced by Steve Peacock.

Are modern 'neonicotinoid' pesticides behind the collapse of bee colonies?

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Much heat has been generated about about modern pesticides called neonicotinoids.

Their supporters - the companies which make them, the farmers who use them and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs - say they are vital to protect crops and boost yields in a hungry world. They say jobs would be threatened in a big way if they were outlawed and that there is no scientific proof that they are harming pollinating insects which are also vital to agriculture.

On the other side of the debate are environment campaigners, scientists, the European Food Safety Authority, the European Commission and a House of Commons select committee. They say there is so much evidence that neonicotinoids kill bees and other useful insects that their use in farms and gardens cannot be justified. Beekeepers are divided, some fearing that the alternative chemicals would cause even more damage, some saying that the other threats to bees - disease and loss of habitat - are far more serious. Some even challenge the whole notion that bees are suffering a serious decline.

For Costing the Earth, Tom Heap goes into the fields and hedgerows of England - and into the laboratory of the country's only Professor of Apiculture - to sort spin from science and facts from campaign catchphrases. He also hears from scientists and experts on the global health of pollinating insects and the crops that depend on them.

Produced by Steve Peacock.

Are modern 'neonicotinoid' pesticides behind the collapse of bee colonies?

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Berlin's Big Gamble2013012920130130 (R4)It's an environmental experiment on an unprecedented scale. Germany's political parties have agreed to close the country's nuclear power stations and slash its use of coal, oil and gas. But can the industrial powerhouse of Europe really continue to churn out the BMWs and Mercedes on a meagre diet of wind and solar energy?

In the first of a new series of 'Costing the Earth' Tom Heap travels to Berlin to meet the politicians of right and left who share a vision for a green Germany and the industrialists who fear that blind optimism has replaced logic at the heart of government.

Tom visits Feldheim, a tiny village that produces enough wind power to run a city and talks to the activists who plan to take over the entire electricity grid of Berlin and run the capital on alternative energy. Their enthusiasm is infectious but could the reality be power cuts and the departure of the industrial giants to the US and the Far East?

The stakes are high. If the plan they've christened the Energiewende, or energy transformation, succeeds, then Germany will have created a low-carbon model for the UK and the rest of the industrialised world. If it fails Germany could lose its place as an economic superpower.

Can Germany produce all its power from green energy? Tom Heap investigates.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

It's an environmental experiment on an unprecedented scale. Germany's political parties have agreed to close the country's nuclear power stations and slash its use of coal, oil and gas. But can the industrial powerhouse of Europe really continue to churn out the BMWs and Mercedes on a meagre diet of wind and solar energy?

In the first of a new series of 'Costing the Earth' Tom Heap travels to Berlin to meet the politicians of right and left who share a vision for a green Germany and the industrialists who fear that blind optimism has replaced logic at the heart of government.

Tom visits Feldheim, a tiny village that produces enough wind power to run a city and talks to the activists who plan to take over the entire electricity grid of Berlin and run the capital on alternative energy. Their enthusiasm is infectious but could the reality be power cuts and the departure of the industrial giants to the US and the Far East?

The stakes are high. If the plan they've christened the Energiewende, or energy transformation, succeeds, then Germany will have created a low-carbon model for the UK and the rest of the industrialised world. If it fails Germany could lose its place as an economic superpower.

Can Germany produce all its power from green energy? Tom Heap investigates.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Better Living Through Chemistry?2009010520090108 (R4)Tom Heap investigates how being exposed to a cocktail of pesticides could potentially damage our health. A High Court ruling in November 2008 found in favour of a woman who claimed that prolonged exposure to pesticides sprayed in the fields surrounding her home had made her ill. In the light of this, the EU has proposed that several pesticides be banned, but how might crop yields and food prices be affected should a ban be implemented?

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Big Oil Big Trouble2016090620160907 (R4)The big oil companies are the pantomime villains of the global warming debate. They've been accused of everything from climate change denial to commercial incompetence in a rapidly changing world. Campaigners attack their boardroom practices and push pension funds and universities to withdraw their investments.

Tom Heap examines the reactions of the likes of Exxon, Shell, BP and Total to the mounting evidence of man-made climate change. How much did they know? How much did they lobby against meaningful action? He meets Lord Browne, the former head of BP who famously rebranded his company as 'Beyond Petroleum' to find out why the rest of the industry failed to join his campaign to cut emissions and invest in renewable energy.

Tom and Lord Browne also discuss the changing rhetoric since the signing of the 2015 Paris climate change agreement. With fresh commitments to alternative fuels could the oil companies finally turn themselves from the villain to the principal boy, using their engineering expertise to halt the planet's changing climate?

Producer: Alasdair Cross.

Can the big oil companies re-invent themselves as climate saviours? Tom Heap reports.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

The big oil companies are the pantomime villains of the global warming debate. They've been accused of everything from climate change denial to commercial incompetence in a rapidly changing world. Campaigners attack their boardroom practices and push pension funds and universities to withdraw their investments.

Tom Heap examines the reactions of the likes of Exxon, Shell, BP and Total to the mounting evidence of man-made climate change. How much did they know? How much did they lobby against meaningful action? He meets Lord Browne, the former head of BP who famously rebranded his company as 'Beyond Petroleum' to find out why the rest of the industry failed to join his campaign to cut emissions and invest in renewable energy.

Tom and Lord Browne also discuss the changing rhetoric since the signing of the 2015 Paris climate change agreement. With fresh commitments to alternative fuels could the oil companies finally turn themselves from the villain to the principal boy, using their engineering expertise to halt the planet's changing climate?

Producer: Alasdair Cross.

Can the big oil companies re-invent themselves as climate saviours? Tom Heap reports.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Biofuels20070517A look at the new green fuels and how the technology can best be utilised.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Black Gold In Paradise2017022120170222 (R4)Yasuni National Park in Ecuador is widely recognised as the most biodiverse place on earth. Around 10% of all known life forms can be found within a few hundred acres of this part of the Amazon rainforest. Yet the forest sits on top of thousands of barrels of crude oil and the Ecuadorian government has now given the go-ahead for drilling. Tom Heap finds out what is at stake and asks why the Ecuadorian government which has one of the greenest constitutions in the world has decided to exploit the reserves.

Producer: Helen Lennard.

Oil exploration has begun in the most biodiverse place on earth. Tom Heap investigates.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Yasuni National Park in Ecuador is widely recognised as the most biodiverse place on earth. Around 10% of all known life forms can be found within a few hundred acres of this part of the Amazon rainforest. Yet the forest sits on top of thousands of barrels of crude oil and the Ecuadorian government has now given the go-ahead for drilling. Tom Heap finds out what is at stake and asks why the Ecuadorian government which has one of the greenest constitutions in the world has decided to exploit the reserves.

Producer: Helen Lennard.

Oil exploration has begun in the most biodiverse place on earth. Tom Heap investigates.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Black Monday, Green Tuesday?2009011220090115 (R4)Tom Heap considers how the recession is likely to affect attitudes towards the environment. If the current financial and environmental problems are rooted in our taste for consumption, surely an economic slowdown is a painful but necessary step in the right direction towards a greener planet? Fewer cars on the roads, fewer flights in the air and an enforced prudence when it comes to personal spending will mean less energy use and less waste. But as the government advocates spending our way out of recession, some environmentalists fear that there will be a rush to develop a more environmentally-damaging infrastructure in order to keep the economy buoyant. Others say that we are on the threshold of a new green world where workers in traditionally polluting industries such as car manufacturing will be able to switch to new green jobs.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Blackpool: The New Dallas?2010090820100909 (R4)The Deepwater Horizon disaster proved the dangers of searching for our oil and gas in ever more challenging environments. Oil companies that had been keen to explore in deeper, colder and more isolated waters have been forced to take a step back and reconsider their options.

Their response has been to launch an extraordinary land grab, buying up the rights to explore vast tracts of the US and Europe in search of unconventional oil and gas. From Lancashire to Gdansk and New York to the Rockies enormous reserves of shale gas lurk temptingly close to the centres of population. Recent advances in extraction techniques have launched an industry in the US and persuaded the major oil companies to begin prospecting expeditions throughout Europe.

The advantages are obvious, removing our dependence on the Middle East, cutting back on the costs of transport and transmission. The disadvantages are less obvious but could be fatally insurmountable. In the US shale gas producers are blamed for poisoning water courses and even causing earthquakes.

Exploratory drilling is already happening within sight of the Blackpool Tower so the need to consider the pitfalls and potentially enormous prizes of land-based oil and gas in the UK is urgent.

Deepwater drilling for oil and gas is dangerous. Can we find our supplies closer to home?

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Bonn Climate Talks: Where Next?2017111420171115 (R4)Tom Heap is in Bonn for the United Nations annual climate change discussions.

It is the first year with Donald Trump in power as president of the United States of America and Tom will be exploring what impact his climate stance will have on the conference talks and any future agreements.

Tom's guests are Lou Leonard, senior vice president of climate and energy at WWF US. He leads their climate program in the US and he is in Bonn to represent the 'We Are Still In' movement, referring to President Trump's desire to withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement. Rachel Kyte is Chief Executive Officer of Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL), and Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Sustainable Energy for All. Oliver Maurice is Director of The International National Trusts Organisation: the organisation that oversees all of the national trust organisations around the world, and Mark Pershin. Mark fronts an organisation called 'Less Meat, Less Heat' and he tells Tom about something called the 'Climatarian' diet.

Tom will be taking stock of some of the topics disucssed in this series of Costing The Earth and asks how our attempts to combat climate change are proceeding and will proceed in the future. Will public responsibility and engagement with the problems that are now being faced galvanise more of the world's population into action?

Presenter: Tom Heap

Producer Martin Poyntz-Roberts.

Tom Heap reports from the UN Climate Change Conference in Bonn.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Tom Heap is in Bonn for the United Nations annual climate change discussions.

It is the first year with Donald Trump in power as president of the United States of America and Tom will be exploring what impact his climate stance will have on the conference talks and any future agreements.

Tom's guests are Lou Leonard, senior vice president of climate and energy at WWF US. He leads their climate program in the US and he is in Bonn to represent the 'We Are Still In' movement, referring to President Trump's desire to withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement. Rachel Kyte is Chief Executive Officer of Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL), and Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Sustainable Energy for All. Oliver Maurice is Director of The International National Trusts Organisation: the organisation that oversees all of the national trust organisations around the world, and Mark Pershin. Mark fronts an organisation called 'Less Meat, Less Heat' and he tells Tom about something called the 'Climatarian' diet.

Tom will be taking stock of some of the topics disucssed in this series of Costing The Earth and asks how our attempts to combat climate change are proceeding and will proceed in the future. Will public responsibility and engagement with the problems that are now being faced galvanise more of the world's population into action?

Presenter: Tom Heap

Producer Martin Poyntz-Roberts.

Tom Heap reports from the UN Climate Change Conference in Bonn.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Bottle Bank Wars2012013120120201 (R4)Since goldrush days San Francisco has been a magnet for those on the make. But the latest moneymakers aren't interested in striking gold, they're in search of cans and bottles. The city's efforts to boost recycling rates have been so successful that the value of rubbish has spiralled, leading to battles between official, unofficial and downright criminal garbage collectors.

San Francisco now recycles 78% of it's trash: paper, bottles, cans, plastics and even food gets recycled or composted. This is partly due to the California Bottle Bill of 1987 that introduced legislation to ensure a deposit was repaid on bottles and cans that were sold in the state. The amount recyclers get depends on the package they return.

The city has also made it extremely easy for residents to recycle. They now have three bins. A brown bin for food waste, a black bin for general waste and a blue bin for recycling.

It's these now iconic blue bins that scavengers target, pillaging the bottles and cans before Recology, the city's official garbage collectors, can get to them. They then take the booty to recycling centers and collect a few bucks.

The fear is that now small time pilfering by a handful of scavengers is becoming more organised with criminal gangs getting in on the act.

Tom Heap hits the streets of San Francisco to meet those making cash from trash.

Producer: Martin Poyntz-Roberts.

In San Francisco, recycling is so profitable that they're fighting over the trash.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Bring Me Sunshine2008020720080208 (R4)Miriam O'Reilly looks at Britain's use of solar power.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Miriam O'Reilly looks at Britain's use of solar power.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Bristol: Green Capital?2015022420150225 (R4)Bristol has been named as Europe's Green Capital for 2015. Tom Heap finds out if local people will see real improvements in their city.

Trapeze artists and a high wire act on a bicycle, spanning two former warehouses, heralded the start of Bristol's Year as European Green Capital for 2015. The award is a few years old now and goes to a city with outstanding green credentials and ambitions.

So how is Bristol shaping up for it's year in the big green spotlight?

A year ago Costing The Earth asked what the award meant, and how it would impact and improve the lives of Bristolians along with those living around the city.

Now the award is here, so Tom Heap investigates whether there is substance beyond the stunts, gimmicks and planned festivals: are there radical plans afoot to put the environment in the forefront of Bristolians' minds?

Solar Panels are appearing on roofs of council buildings across the city, projects and grants encouraging residents to insulate their homes are in full swing. Wildlife corridors are springing up, provision and distribution of sustainable food is gathering pace. There's an education programme featuring Shaun The Sheep for school children, piloting in Bristol and available nationwide from September but the city cannot ignore it's major problem: the traffic.

Bristol has some of the worst congestion in the UK, and with that congestion comes poor air quality, and this ultimately costs lives.

~Costing The Earth asks if Bristol's traffic conundrums are solveable and if, after being green capital for a year, the number of deaths in the city caused as a direct result of air pollution, will fall.

Presenter: Tom Heap

Producer: Martin Poyntz-Roberts.

Bristol is Europe's Green Capital for 2015. Tom Heap finds out what that means.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Britain Disconnected2016020920160210 (R4)Extreme weather this winter has cut off large areas of Britain from the outside world. Does our Victorian infrastructure need an urgent update?

With parts of Cumbria cut-off since early December, bridges down in Yorkshire, hundreds of ferry cancellations and the West Coast train line out of action until March it's increasingly clear that Britain can't cope with the strong winds and floods that are becoming the new norm.

Should we embark on a new transport revolution, pouring concrete and laying steel to future-proof our roads and railways or should we accept a disconnected Britain?

Presenter: Tom Heap

Producer: Sarah Swadling.

Is extreme weather pulling Britain apart? Tom Heap reports.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Extreme weather this winter has cut off large areas of Britain from the outside world. Does our Victorian infrastructure need an urgent update?

With parts of Cumbria cut-off since early December, bridges down in Yorkshire, hundreds of ferry cancellations and the West Coast train line out of action until March it's increasingly clear that Britain can't cope with the strong winds and floods that are becoming the new norm.

Should we embark on a new transport revolution, pouring concrete and laying steel to future-proof our roads and railways or should we accept a disconnected Britain?

Presenter: Tom Heap

Producer: Sarah Swadling.

Is extreme weather pulling Britain apart? Tom Heap reports.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Britain From 2060: The Land2012081420120815 (R4)According to the latest predictions on global warming Britain from the 2060s could begin to look rather like Madeira. In the first of a two-part investigation into the impact of climate change Tom Heap visits the island 350 miles from the coast of Morocco to find out how we might be living in the second half of the 21st century.

With a climate dominated by the Atlantic, a wet, mountainous north and a warm, dry, over-populated south Madeira already resembles Britain in miniature. The settlers who arrived from Portugal in the 15th century developed a complex farming system that found a niche for dozens of crops, from olives and oranges to wheat and sweet potatoes. Could British farmers prepare for a less predictable climate by studying the delicate agricultural arts of the Madeirans?

Irrigation systems bring water from the wet north of Madeira to the parched south where 90 percent of the population live and most of the tourists visit. Should Britain accept the inevitable and invest in the water pipes that could keep the South-East of England hydrated with Scottish and Northumbrian water?

Tom will also be studying the island's wildlife. Can Britain expect semi-tropical insects and reptiles to invade the south as our mountain hares and ptarmigan die out in the north? Or does Madeira's broad range of species offer hope of something subtly different but just as fascinating from the 2060s?

Producer: Alasdair Cross.

What will Britain's landscape look like in 2060? Tom Heap on our changing climate.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Britain In 2060: The Seas2012082120120822 (R4)Rising sea temperatures are already bringing new species to our shores. Sunfish, sea turtles and basking sharks are common sights. But what can we expect to see in the fishing nets by 2060?

The key to the species that visit these shores is the plankton on which they feed. Species of plankton more usually found in areas of the southern Atlantic ocean are now turning up on our shores, and so are the fish and mammals that feed on them.

So will tropical species replace the cod and haddock in Britain's fish and chip shops? Will great white sharks patrol our beaches? Tom Heap takes to the water to predict the state of our seas in fifty years.

Will we all be eating Boarfish and chips? Red Mullet Goujons? Tom Heap asks whether the waters around the UK are set to become home to exotic whales and dolphins such as these pictured below.

Producer: Martin Poyntz-Roberts.

All photos courtesy of the Sea Watch Foundation library.

What fish can we expect in our seas in 2060? Tom Heap investigates climate change Britain.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Britain In Flames2012041720120418 (R4)Last spring huge swathes of the British countryside, from Dorset to the West Highlands erupted in flames. In the wake of a dry winter and drought orders across the south there's a real risk of another year of serious wildfires.

In 'Costing the Earth' Tom Heap investigates the causes of forest and moorland fire and the innovative ideas that could help us predict them, and fight them.

At Crowthorne Forest in Berkshire, site of the most destructive of 2011's fires he meets the young families evacuated from their homes who are now planting saplings that should prove to be more fire-resistant than their charred predecessors. In Northumbria he joins the local fire and rescue service for an exercise designed to test their speed and efficiency in the face of fire. And in the forests of South Wales he finds out why the region is the arson capital of the UK.

Producer: Alasdair Cross.

Is the UK ready for a new season of wildfires? Tom Heap investigates.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Britain Rules The Waves2015091520150916 (R4)Britain still owns islands large and small across the globe, from Pitcairn to South Georgia and Bermuda to Ascension. Could we use the waters around these territories to protect vast swathes of the oceans from overfishing and development? Tom Heap meets the islanders and the conservationists eager to see if Britain really can lead the way.

He takes to the water to see how Gibraltar is using its spawning grounds to restore the health of the Mediterranean and finds out what the enormous new no-fishing zone around Pitcairn could mean for the Pacific.

Producer: Alasdair Cross.

Can Britain save the oceans by protecting its overseas territories? Tom Heap reports.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Britain still owns islands large and small across the globe, from Pitcairn to South Georgia and Bermuda to Ascension. Could we use the waters around these territories to protect vast swathes of the oceans from overfishing and development? Tom Heap meets the islanders and the conservationists eager to see if Britain really can lead the way.

He takes to the water to see how Gibraltar is using its spawning grounds to restore the health of the Mediterranean and finds out what the enormous new no-fishing zone around Pitcairn could mean for the Pacific.

Producer: Alasdair Cross.

Can Britain save the oceans by protecting its overseas territories? Tom Heap reports.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Britain Under Water2014021820140219 (R4)It's time to fight back against nature. For two months great swathes of Britain have been paralysed by torrential rain, storms and flooding. Tom Heap has had enough. In a special edition of 'Costing the Earth' he'll be eschewing the moaning and buck-passing in favour of a search for a long-term solution to Britain's vulnerability.

With the help of an expert panel including Richard Betts from the Met Office, Phil Dyke from the National Trust, farmer Guy Smith and civil engineer Ola Holmstrom Tom will discuss the challenges in an era of climate change and the best solutions that science can offer.

Producer: Alasdair Cross.

The fight back against the flood waters starts here. Tom Heap reports.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

It's time to fight back against nature. For two months great swathes of Britain have been paralysed by torrential rain, storms and flooding. Tom Heap has had enough. In a special edition of 'Costing the Earth' he'll be eschewing the moaning and buck-passing in favour of a search for a long-term solution to Britain's vulnerability.

With the help of an expert panel including Richard Betts from the Met Office, Phil Dyke from the National Trust, farmer Guy Smith and civil engineer Ola Holmstrom Tom will discuss the challenges in an era of climate change and the best solutions that science can offer.

Producer: Alasdair Cross.

The fight back against the flood waters starts here. Tom Heap reports.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Britain's Changing Flowers2021091420210915 (R4)Naturalist and broadcaster Mike Dilger takes to the road to map the impact that global warming is having on Britain's plants and flowers. From the highest peaks of the Highlands to the lowest points of the East Anglian Brecklands our flowers are adapting to the changing seasons, but how many will survive and thrive into the future?

Producer: Alasdair Cross

Mike Dilger travels the length of Britain to see how climate change is altering plantlife.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Naturalist and broadcaster Mike Dilger takes to the road to map the impact that global warming is having on Britain's plants and flowers. From the highest peaks of the Highlands to the lowest points of the East Anglian Brecklands our flowers are adapting to the changing seasons, but how many will survive and thrive into the future?

Producer: Alasdair Cross

Mike Dilger travels the length of Britain to see how climate change is altering plantlife.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Britain's Dark Waters2022031520220316 (R4)Perfluoroalkyl substances - or PFAS - are a group of thousands of man-made chemicals which have been widely used in everything from frying pans to firefighting foam. Anything which is non-stick, water-resistant or stain-repellent is likely to have been produced using PFAS. In the USA they have been linked to mass poisoning of water supplies, as the Hollywood film 'Dark Waters' documented. In this programme, Leana Hosea sets out to discover whether they are having an impact here. She teams up with environmental journalist Rachel Salvidge to investigate. They take water samples from drinking water around the country and have them analysed for the presence of PFAS. In Jersey Leana meets residents who believe their ill health is down to contamination of their drinking water, and whose blood has been shown to contain PFAS. She hears what the links are with health concerns, and finds out why firefighters are an at-risk group.

Producer: Emma Campbell

PFAS chemicals are linked to mass poisoning in the US. Are they having an impact here?

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Perfluoroalkyl substances - or PFAS - are a group of thousands of man-made chemicals which have been widely used in everything from frying pans to firefighting foam. Anything which is non-stick, water-resistant or stain-repellent is likely to have been produced using PFAS. In the USA they have been linked to mass poisoning of water supplies, as the Hollywood film 'Dark Waters' documented. In this programme, Leana Hosea sets out to discover whether they are having an impact here. She teams up with environmental journalist Rachel Salvidge to investigate. They take water samples from drinking water around the country and have them analysed for the presence of PFAS. In Jersey Leana meets residents who believe their ill health is down to contamination of their drinking water, and whose blood has been shown to contain PFAS. She hears what the links are with health concerns, and finds out why firefighters are an at-risk group.

Producer: Emma Campbell

PFAS chemicals are linked to mass poisoning in the US. Are they having an impact here?

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Britain's Environment: The Debate2015050520150506 (R4)How will the next government tackle Britain's environmental problems?

The politics of the environment and our food supply are vital for the future of the planet.

Tom Heap hosts a debate asking if this election campaign has raised the issues that need addressing.

What specific commitments have the political parties made on nature? Where are the big ideas to tackle climate change? How can we secure our food supplies without wrecking the planet?

Tom Heap will put these challenging issues to a panel that features philosopher, Roger Scruton, former Executive Director of Friends of the Earth, Tony Juniper, Chief Executive of the Soil Association, Helen Browning, Director of Forum for the Future, Jonathon Porritt and Heather Hancock, lead author of the independent review of the BBC's coverage of rural affairs.

Presenter: Tom Heap

Producer: Martin Poyntz-Roberts.

How will the next government tackle Britain's environmental problems? Tom Heap reports.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

How will the next government tackle Britain's environmental problems?

The politics of the environment and our food supply are vital for the future of the planet.

Tom Heap hosts a debate asking if this election campaign has raised the issues that need addressing.

What specific commitments have the political parties made on nature? Where are the big ideas to tackle climate change? How can we secure our food supplies without wrecking the planet?

Tom Heap will put these challenging issues to a panel that features philosopher, Roger Scruton, former Executive Director of Friends of the Earth, Tony Juniper, Chief Executive of the Soil Association, Helen Browning, Director of Forum for the Future, Jonathon Porritt and Heather Hancock, lead author of the independent review of the BBC's coverage of rural affairs.

Presenter: Tom Heap

Producer: Martin Poyntz-Roberts.

How will the next government tackle Britain's environmental problems? Tom Heap reports.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Britain's Green Capital 20152014032520140326 (R4)In 2015 Bristol will be European Green Capital. We discover exactly what the title means to the city and what makes Bristol so environmentally friendly.

The 'Green Capital' award is new. It's been going for the last five years and next year Bristol will become the sixth. Miranda Krestovnikoff discovers why Bristol was successful in it's bid and what makes the city stand out from the rest of the country for it's environmental credentials.

Miranda visits last year's winning city, Nantes to find out what makes a city European Green capital and what the legacy is for future generations living in Nantes. She discovers how the Green Capital award is spreading the environmental message across Europe and what Bristol can learn from previous winners.

In this week's Costing The Earth Miranda Krestovnikoff talks to the team behind the bid to find out what big plans they have in store for Bristol as they prepare to become European Green Capital for 2015 and meets Bristol's flamboyant and eco-thinking mayor, George Ferguson, as he sets out the green agenda for the years to come.

Presenter: Miranda Krestovnikoff

Producer: Martin Poyntz-Roberts.

In 2015 Bristol will be European Green Capital. We discover exactly what that means.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

In 2015 Bristol will be European Green Capital. We discover exactly what the title means to the city and what makes Bristol so environmentally friendly.

The 'Green Capital' award is new. It's been going for the last five years and next year Bristol will become the sixth. Miranda Krestovnikoff discovers why Bristol was successful in it's bid and what makes the city stand out from the rest of the country for it's environmental credentials.

Miranda visits last year's winning city, Nantes to find out what makes a city European Green capital and what the legacy is for future generations living in Nantes. She discovers how the Green Capital award is spreading the environmental message across Europe and what Bristol can learn from previous winners.

In this week's Costing The Earth Miranda Krestovnikoff talks to the team behind the bid to find out what big plans they have in store for Bristol as they prepare to become European Green Capital for 2015 and meets Bristol's flamboyant and eco-thinking mayor, George Ferguson, as he sets out the green agenda for the years to come.

Presenter: Miranda Krestovnikoff

Producer: Martin Poyntz-Roberts.

In 2015 Bristol will be European Green Capital. We discover exactly what that means.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Britain's Nuclear Future20110323Britain is running out of power. Ten new nuclear reactors were supposed to provide the solution. In this week's 'Costing the Earth' Tom Heap asks if the events in Japan have dealt a fatal blow to the future of the industry.

Tom will be examining the changes in safety regimes that may be provoked by the ongoing disaster. He'll also be asking if the economic case for nuclear has changed and looking ahead to the future supply of uranium.

Producer: Alasdair Cross.

What next for the British nuclear industry? Tom Heap reports on the future of fission.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Britain's Overseas Wildlife2014052020140521 (R4)Britain's Overseas Territories from the Caribbean to the Falkland Islands contain a treasure trove of wildlife. A new report from the RSPB reveals that 94% of unique UK species live beyond our shores. But many of those astonishing creatures are at great threat from tourist development and invasive species.

To discover whether we are doing enough to protect our secret garden of species Tom Heap visits the Turks and Caicos Islands, 150 miles to the east of Cuba.

Britain's Overseas Territories are a treasure trove of wildlife. Tom Heap reports.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Britain's Overseas Territories from the Caribbean to the Falkland Islands contain a treasure trove of wildlife. A new report from the RSPB reveals that 94% of unique UK species live beyond our shores. But many of those astonishing creatures are at great threat from tourist development and invasive species.

To discover whether we are doing enough to protect our secret garden of species Tom Heap visits the Turks and Caicos Islands, 150 miles to the east of Cuba.

Britain's Overseas Territories are a treasure trove of wildlife. Tom Heap reports.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Britain's Wilderness2012082820120829 (R4)The first attempt in England to turn a landscape back into a wilderness is 10 years old this year.

In this week's Costing The Earth, Miranda Krestovnikoff visits Ennerdale Valley, on the Western edge of the Lake District, to find out how the scheme is progressing.

Rewilding, as the scheme has become known, allows natural processes to take place, in order to return the habitat to as natural an environment as possible. The landscape has been managed in such a way that natural flora and fauna have been encouraged back to the valley. Miranda meets those involved in returning the valley to a wilderness.

In order for the project to be be a success, the major land owners in the valley: the National Trust, the Forestry Commission, Natural England and United Utilities have all been working together.

Miranda discovers how successful the rewilding project has been and whether or not schemes of this type are worth attempting elsewhere in the UK: a country that has very little wilderness that has been untouched by human hands. She also finds out the vital role visitors to the area play in keeping the landscape alive.

Presenter: Miranda Krestovnikoff

Producer: Martin Poyntz-Roberts.

The first attempt in England to turn a landscape back into a wilderness is 10 years old.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Bug Mac And Flies2011090720110908 (R4)In tonight's Costing The Earth Tom Heap tucks into a portion of locusts and asks if eating insects is good for his diet and better for the planet than a piece of steak.

Bugs such as crickets and caterpillars can convert food into protein at a more efficient rate than livestock, and with valuable agricultural land being overgrazed around the world, we could soon be looking for an alternative food supply. One suggestion is that insects have a role to play in feeding the world. They are easy to raise since farming insects has a low impact on the environment, and once over any cultural taboos we may have as diners, they are nutritionally valuable.

Tom Heap gets stuck in to a locust stir-fry in Bristol before heading off to the Netherlands to witness the latest cutting-edge research into raising insects where he also tries a mealworm cookie: a biscuit that could potentially deliver a day's protein ration in one hit to famine stricken areas of the world.

He then visits a farm of the future where row upon row of crickets and various pupae are being raised. They are currently destined for pet shops to be used as animal food, but could soon be turning up on a supermarket shelf near you.

Beetle burger anyone?

Tom Heap adds locusts to his grocery shopping list and asks if we should all eat bugs.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Build, Build, Build2020091520200916 (R4)With an ever greater demand for more housing, and Boris Johnson calling for the country to 'build buld bulid' post lockdown, Peter Gibbs looks at current trends in house-building. Are the government's plans for 'garden communities' as environmentally-friendly as they sound? And how could developers be encouraged to build in a way which incorporates nature rather than squeezing it out?

Produced for BBC Audio in Bristol by Emma Campbell.

Peter Gibbs looks at how we respond to Boris Johnson's call to build build build.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

With an ever greater demand for more housing, and Boris Johnson calling for the country to 'build buld bulid' post lockdown, Peter Gibbs looks at current trends in house-building. Are the government's plans for 'garden communities' as environmentally-friendly as they sound? And how could developers be encouraged to build in a way which incorporates nature rather than squeezing it out?

Produced for BBC Audio in Bristol by Emma Campbell.

Peter Gibbs looks at how we respond to Boris Johnson's call to build build build.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Buildings2009091420090917 (R4)The places where we live and work account for well over a third of the energy the world uses - our homes, offices, cinemas and sports centres are a much bigger problem for the planet than cars, lorries, planes and ships. Does that mean we can fly as much as we like as long as we sort out the problems on the ground? Tom Heap investigates.

A recent report backed by some of the world's leading corporations identified buildings as major contributors to problems of climate change. The even worse news is that most of the homes, offices and public buildings that will be standing in the middle of the century have already been built, so they will have to be expensively adapted if they are to be made green enough to meet even modest energy-saving targets. The business leaders behind the report have said that although the work is expensive, it will pay for itself in reduced energy bills in a surprisingly short time.

But they also say that it simply won't get done until governments make it compulsory. Have the politicians got the bottle? Do the numbers really work? Tom Heap visits homes, offices and experts to ask whether payback time has arrived, who is footing the bill, and how much disruption it will mean at home, at work and at play.

Tom Heap asks if we are looking in the wrong place for solutions to climate change.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

The places where we live and work account for well over a third of the energy the world uses - our homes, offices, cinemas and sports centres are a much bigger problem for the planet than cars, lorries, planes and ships. Does that mean we can fly as much as we like as long as we sort out the problems on the ground? Tom Heap investigates.

A recent report backed by some of the world's leading corporations identified buildings as major contributors to problems of climate change. The even worse news is that most of the homes, offices and public buildings that will be standing in the middle of the century have already been built, so they will have to be expensively adapted if they are to be made green enough to meet even modest energy-saving targets. The business leaders behind the report have said that although the work is expensive, it will pay for itself in reduced energy bills in a surprisingly short time.

But they also say that it simply won't get done until governments make it compulsory. Have the politicians got the bottle? Do the numbers really work? Tom Heap visits homes, offices and experts to ask whether payback time has arrived, who is footing the bill, and how much disruption it will mean at home, at work and at play.

Tom Heap asks if we are looking in the wrong place for solutions to climate change.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Burn That Fat!20130925Fighting the fat can be a difficult issue - and not just for our waistlines. Old cooking oil from our takeaways and roast dinners can cause major problems - from polluting watercourses to blocking sewers and causing flooding if not disposed of carefully. But rising commodity prices and surprising new uses have turned it from waste product to wonder in some people's eyes.

Tom Heap slides his way to a fat recycling plant where everything from large scale tubs of mayonnaise to tiny butter sachets and even pork scratchings are seen as a golden resource which can be treated and turned into fuels. Out of date or overcooked foods can still find a purpose - even 'frier sludges' are valued here.

So how far would Tom go in pursuit of useful waste fat? A trip beneath the streets of London to the sewers sees him in search of 'fatbergs' - created by the build up of grease thrown down our sinks. Some as large as double-decker buses have been found which have to be blasted out to ensure they don't block the system and cause sewage to flood people's homes. Now instead of being sent to landfill they're being put to good use - despite being once of the most degraded fats on the spectrum.

Meanwhile the University of Wolverhampton has been using oil from the local chippy and canteen for its lab experiments. They've been able to make a bioplastic - something so pure from something so dirty - that it will be used inside the human body to aid healing.

Produced in Bristol by Anne-Marie Bullock.

Tom Heap explores how fat from waste is helping us to heal and keep warm.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Bushfire Animal Rescue2020100620201007 (R4)Record-breaking temperatures and months of severe drought fuelled a series of massive bushfires across Australia last winter. Dozens of people died and millions of hectares of bushland and forest were burnt.

Australia's plant and animal life are well adapted to natural fire but the additional burden of climate change ensured that many of the fires were more intense and widespread than ever before. Much of the country's unique fauna had nowhere to hide.

Peter Hadfield travels through the fire-ravaged regions of New South Wales to discover how local people are working to return injured animals to the wild and prepare habitats for a future that can only get hotter.

Producer: Alasdair Cross

Can Australia's unique animal life bounce back from bushfire devastation?

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Record-breaking temperatures and months of severe drought fuelled a series of massive bushfires across Australia last winter. Dozens of people died and millions of hectares of bushland and forest were burnt.

Australia's plant and animal life are well adapted to natural fire but the additional burden of climate change ensured that many of the fires were more intense and widespread than ever before. Much of the country's unique fauna had nowhere to hide.

Peter Hadfield travels through the fire-ravaged regions of New South Wales to discover how local people are working to return injured animals to the wild and prepare habitats for a future that can only get hotter.

Producer: Alasdair Cross

Can Australia's unique animal life bounce back from bushfire devastation?

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

California Gasping2011051820110519 (R4)California has a rapidly expanding population, one of the world's most important agricultural zones and a chronic lack of water. That contradiction has led to 70 years of wrangling punctuated by outbursts of violence and corruption.

A new plan is being drawn up which is intended to resolve the outstanding problems once and for all, finding a balance between the needs of farmers, consumers and the environment.

Travelling from one of the primary sources of the state's water in the far north to the threatened landscape of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Tom Heap hears the voices of those who've spent their lives in these stunning landscapes, feeling themselves at the mercy of those in power.

Is California's desperate search for water at an end? Tom Heap reports.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

California has a rapidly expanding population, one of the world's most important agricultural zones and a chronic lack of water. That contradiction has led to 70 years of wrangling punctuated by outbursts of violence and corruption.

A new plan is being drawn up which is intended to resolve the outstanding problems once and for all, finding a balance between the needs of farmers, consumers and the environment.

Travelling from one of the primary sources of the state's water in the far north to the threatened landscape of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Tom Heap hears the voices of those who've spent their lives in these stunning landscapes, feeling themselves at the mercy of those in power.

Is California's desperate search for water at an end? Tom Heap reports.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Can Lawyers Save The World?2010101320101014 (R4)Climate change has already claimed its first victims. Displaced people from the Carteret Islands, Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Kenya and the Niger delta have already become climate refugees but from whom can they seek refuge or even compensation?

Environmental Justice Foundation is calling for legally binding agreements to protect those displaced and there are various legal cases in action that could set a precedent for compensation.

400 Alaskan residents are suing energy companies for creating a public nuisance and for conspiracy (in funding research to 'prove' there is no link between climate change and human activity). Tuvalu, the low lying nation in the pacific, has threatened to sue Australia and the United States for their contributions to climate change and in the latest and most high profile case Katrina victims are taking the big oil companies BP, Shell, Chevron Exxonmobile, to court.

So far displaced people have not been defined as refugees so they have no legal rights but countries could be expected to take a number of migrants equivalent to their contribution or compensate victims for their loss.

Myles Allan of Oxford University has set up models to predict how much climate change attributable to man has caused extreme weather conditions like the flooding here in the UK in 2000. Sophisticated modelling could make it easier to attribute blame and a recent ruling in the European Court means that victims of environmental crime should find it a lot easier to take their cases to court. Big insurance companies are already warning their clients to expect compensation suits but there is still some way to go before precedent has been set in the case of climate change and nobody knows what will happen once these floodgates have opened.

Tom Heap talks to victims of Katrina who are already taking lawsuits and flood victims in the UK on the anniversary of the 2000 flooding to find out whether the courts can really offer compensation where international governments have failed to act.

Could courts of law be the first refuge for victims of climate change? Tom Heap finds out.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Can You Spare Some Change Please?20080918Are the food aid policies of many UK-based aid agencies actually making the problem worse?

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Can You Spare Some Change Please?20080919Are the food aid policies of many UK-based aid agencies actually making the problem worse?

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Canoeing The Cam2021090720210908 (R4)Britain's rivers are in crisis, with only 14% of them deemed to be in a good ecological state. Chalk streams are particularly vulnerable, as so much is taken out of them for use in our water supplies. Pollution from sewage and agricultural run-off only add to the problem. In this programme Tom Heap takes a canoe trip along a waterway he knows well, the River Cam, to see for himself what's going on. He talks to environmental groups and local people, and asks whether the rapid expansion of homes and businesses in the area can sustainably continue in such a water-stressed region. He concludes that urgent action is needed if rivers like the Cam are not to run dry.

Producer: Emma Campbell

Britain's rivers are a disgrace. Tom Heap gets up close with a canoe trip along the Cam.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Britain's rivers are in crisis, with only 14% of them deemed to be in a good ecological state. Chalk streams are particularly vulnerable, as so much is taken out of them for use in our water supplies. Pollution from sewage and agricultural run-off only add to the problem. In this programme Tom Heap takes a canoe trip along a waterway he knows well, the River Cam, to see for himself what's going on. He talks to environmental groups and local people, and asks whether the rapid expansion of homes and businesses in the area can sustainably continue in such a water-stressed region. He concludes that urgent action is needed if rivers like the Cam are not to run dry.

Producer: Emma Campbell

Britain's rivers are a disgrace. Tom Heap gets up close with a canoe trip along the Cam.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Carbon Capture And Storage2010092920100930 (R4)The UK's carbon capture and storage (CCS) sector could sustain 100,000 jobs by 2030 and generate up to 6.5bn pounds a year. The Energy Act 2010 made law plans to raise a levy on power users to establish four CCS projects in Britain and the Carbon Capture and Storage Association (CCSA), says Britain is now at the forefront of this new technology. But could this also put Britain at the forefront of an expensive mistake?

Christene Ehlig-Economides, professor of energy engineering at Texas A&M, and Michael Economides, professor of chemical engineering at University of Houston recently published a report looking at the need to store CO2 in an enclosed space. Their calculations suggest that the volume of CO2 to be disposed cannot exceed more than about 1 per cent of pore space. This will require from 5 to 20 times more underground reservoir volume than has been envisioned by many, and it renders geologic sequestration of CO2 a non-starter.

It is like putting a bicycle pump up against a wall. It would be hard to inject CO2 into a closed system without eventually producing so much pressure that it fractured the rock and allowed the carbon to migrate to other zones and possibly escape to the surface,' Economides said.

Their findings have been disputed but in another blow to CCS The Mongstad project in Norway, developed by oil firm Statoil, which was seen as one of the first to start full-scale operation has been set back. The current government cannot commit to the money needed to keep the project on track so it will be put on hold until at least 2014.

But does this mean the idea should be given up by our own new government? At the University of Nottingham Mineral carbonation is a promising technology which captures CO2 by reacting it with magnesium or calcium rich minerals, producing valuable carbonates and doing away with the need for vast underground storage. If it works it could provide a much needed solution with less inherent risk. The big question remains how much we are willing to pay for the fix. Tom Heap investigates.

Tom Heap finds out if Carbon Capture and Storage will ever be the magic bullet we need.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

The UK's carbon capture and storage (CCS) sector could sustain 100,000 jobs by 2030 and generate up to 6.5bn pounds a year. The Energy Act 2010 made law plans to raise a levy on power users to establish four CCS projects in Britain and the Carbon Capture and Storage Association (CCSA), says Britain is now at the forefront of this new technology. But could this also put Britain at the forefront of an expensive mistake?

Christene Ehlig-Economides, professor of energy engineering at Texas A&M, and Michael Economides, professor of chemical engineering at University of Houston recently published a report looking at the need to store CO2 in an enclosed space. Their calculations suggest that the volume of CO2 to be disposed cannot exceed more than about 1 per cent of pore space. This will require from 5 to 20 times more underground reservoir volume than has been envisioned by many, and it renders geologic sequestration of CO2 a non-starter.

It is like putting a bicycle pump up against a wall. It would be hard to inject CO2 into a closed system without eventually producing so much pressure that it fractured the rock and allowed the carbon to migrate to other zones and possibly escape to the surface,' Economides said.

Their findings have been disputed but in another blow to CCS The Mongstad project in Norway, developed by oil firm Statoil, which was seen as one of the first to start full-scale operation has been set back. The current government cannot commit to the money needed to keep the project on track so it will be put on hold until at least 2014.

But does this mean the idea should be given up by our own new government? At the University of Nottingham Mineral carbonation is a promising technology which captures CO2 by reacting it with magnesium or calcium rich minerals, producing valuable carbonates and doing away with the need for vast underground storage. If it works it could provide a much needed solution with less inherent risk. The big question remains how much we are willing to pay for the fix. Tom Heap investigates.

Tom Heap finds out if Carbon Capture and Storage will ever be the magic bullet we need.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Carbon Farming2022030820220309 (R4)Landowners are being offered big money for land to absorb carbon dioxide emissions.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Landowners are being offered big money for land to absorb carbon dioxide emissions.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Carbon Free Islands2019100820191009 (R4)Orkney's strong winds and powerful tides have attracted renewable energy pioneers for decades. For much of the year the islands produce more energy than they can use. Turbines are shut down and green energy goes to waste. The UK government has spotted an opportunity, funding the REFLEX project which aims to use that excess energy to develop new ways to power a community.

Tom Heap visits Orkney to see how hydrogen storage, huge batteries and electric ferries and cars can be lashed together with clever software to remove fossil fuels from an entire energy system.

Producer: Alasdair Cross

The Orkney Islands are pioneering a zero carbon approach to energy.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Orkney's strong winds and powerful tides have attracted renewable energy pioneers for decades. For much of the year the islands produce more energy than they can use. Turbines are shut down and green energy goes to waste. The UK government has spotted an opportunity, funding the REFLEX project which aims to use that excess energy to develop new ways to power a community.

Tom Heap visits Orkney to see how hydrogen storage, huge batteries and electric ferries and cars can be lashed together with clever software to remove fossil fuels from an entire energy system.

Producer: Alasdair Cross

The Orkney Islands are pioneering a zero carbon approach to energy.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Carbon Labelling2008012420080125 (R4)A new label on supermarket food will reveal how much carbon was emitted during manufacture

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

A new label on supermarket food will reveal how much carbon was emitted during manufacture

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Carbon Trading2011031620110317 (R4)It sounded like the perfect answer. Carbon trading could halt global warming, boost 'green' investment in the developing world and make money for city traders. Four years on and Europe's complex system to cut emissions from our factories has comprehensively failed. Despite vast amounts of money and effort being thrown at the scheme the current phase of carbon trading has, according to one report, cut emissions by a third of one per cent. In 'Costing the Earth' Tom Heap asks if capitalism's big idea has a future or just a murky past.

Back in the 1990s, in a desperate attempt to get the United States to sign up to binding reductions in the emission of greenhouse gases the concept of carbon trading was developed. The idea was that polluting industries would be forced to buy the right to pollute in the form of carbon credits. If they wanted to pollute more they'd have to pay. If they polluted less then they could make a profit by offering their surplus credits to other businesses. Over time the number of credits would be reduced, bringing worldwide carbon emissions tumbling in a relatively pain-free way.

The truth, as Tom discovers, is very different. The US has refused to take part, Japan and Korea have shelved plans to join in and the issue splits the Australian government. Only in the European Union has a system been developed and even here corruption, theft and a vast surplus of credits have combined to damage the policy's reputation and blunt its effectiveness.

Despite doubts about the system it's influence is spreading fast. Many businesses are using a system of voluntary carbon off-setting to ease the conscience of their customers. Buy a flight or a 4 x 4 and you'll often be asked to pay a little extra to fund carbon-reduction schemes in the developing world. Closer to home the idea of habitat banking is gaining ground. This could give developers the chance to build on a wildlife-rich area as long as they pay to create the equivalent habitat elsewhere. It's a concept that's popular within the coalition government and supporters expect it to become a major part of conservation policy in England within the decade.

Should we worry about this commodification of our environment or embrace the arrival of money and markets into the campaign to save our planet and improve the green space on our doorstep?

Why has capitalism's answer to climate change failed? Tom Heap investigates.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Carteret Island2009052520090528 (R4)How the Carteret Islands are slowly being submerged by the rising sea.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

How the Carteret Islands are slowly being submerged by the rising sea.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Cave Carnage2011083120110901 (R4)Deep beneath southern Europe there stretches a 500 kilometre long subterranean world. Underground rivers and vast caverns are home to unique and unusual species like the blind salamander and the freshwater sponge. Barely explored, the caves of Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Albania are facing up to a rash of environmental threats.

In Costing the Earth Tom Heap will be joining caver and Whitley Award-winning biologist, Jana Bedek to explore the caves, spot the wildlife and witness the destruction. Waste dumping and agricultural pollution are damaging waterways all through the cave system but it's in Croatia that some of the toughest challenges exist. Preparing for European Union membership the country is pushing ahead with the development of highways and hydro-electric plants. The construction is threatening some of the most valuable wildlife sites on the continent but the damage is invisible to most local people and all but the most adventurous of visitors.

Is damage unavoidable in the rush to join the EU or does Croatia risk losing its natural foundations?

Europe's strangest species are under threat of extinction. Tom Heap investigates.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Cerrado2010050520100506 (R4)With 5% of the world's flora and fauna Brazil's enormous Cerrado region is a rich mosaic of grass and woodland that is being destroyed at twice the speed of the Amazon rainforest.

Taking up one quarter of Brazil's land mass the Cerrado lacks the high profile of the Amazon or its celebrity supporters, making it easier for the fast expanding sugarcane and soya industries to take bigger bites out of the savannah. That can mean the loss of unique species and the destruction of traditional ways of life in the region.

For 'Costing the Earth' Tim Hirsch visits the Cerrado to hear from local people who are trying to save their land by making it pay. Ice creams flavoured with unusual Cerrado fruits and bird-watching holidays for British tourists may not be able to compete with large-scale farming but locals hope they'll give the area the publicity it needs for real protection.

Brazil's Cerrado is one of the world's richest eco-systems. Can it be saved?

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Chemical Weapons: 100 Years On2014042920140430 (R4)With the end of April being the deadline for Syria's President Assad to sacrifice his entire arsenal of chemical weapons, Tom Heap finds out the nitty-gritty of how they're going to be disposed of. This involves previously untried methods such as neutralising the most dangerous chemicals on board an American vessel, the MV Cape Ray. This, as we'll hear, presents its own problems. Other Syrian chemicals will be destroyed in Port Ellesmere in Cheshire, as well as in the United States, Germany and Finland.

Tom puts these efforts of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) into a historical perspective, exactly 99 years after the first recorded use of chemical weapons in Ypres during the First World War.

Producer: Mark Smalley.

Tom Heap finds out how Syria's chemical weapons are going to be disposed of.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

With the end of April being the deadline for Syria's President Assad to sacrifice his entire arsenal of chemical weapons, Tom Heap finds out the nitty-gritty of how they're going to be disposed of. This involves previously untried methods such as neutralising the most dangerous chemicals on board an American vessel, the MV Cape Ray. This, as we'll hear, presents its own problems. Other Syrian chemicals will be destroyed in Port Ellesmere in Cheshire, as well as in the United States, Germany and Finland.

Tom puts these efforts of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) into a historical perspective, exactly 99 years after the first recorded use of chemical weapons in Ypres during the First World War.

Producer: Mark Smalley.

Tom Heap finds out how Syria's chemical weapons are going to be disposed of.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

China 20602020112420201125 (R4)In September at the UN General Assembly China announced that it will aim for carbon neutrality by 2060. Celia Hatton and guests discuss how China might meet this target, and what this means for the world. With Barbara Finamore, Senior Strategic Director at the Natural Resources Defense Council, Sha Yu, Co-Director of the China Program at the Centre of Global Sustainability at the University of Maryland, and Steve Tsang, Director of China Institute at SOAS University of London.

Producer: Toby Field

Celia Hatton and guests discuss China's pledge to be carbon neutral by 2060.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

In September at the UN General Assembly China announced that it will aim for carbon neutrality by 2060. Celia Hatton and guests discuss how China might meet this target, and what this means for the world. With Barbara Finamore, Senior Strategic Director at the Natural Resources Defense Council, Sha Yu, Co-Director of the China Program at the Centre of Global Sustainability at the University of Maryland, and Steve Tsang, Director of China Institute at SOAS University of London.

Producer: Toby Field

Celia Hatton and guests discuss China's pledge to be carbon neutral by 2060.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

China's Water Revolution2015042820150429 (R4)China has powered its development with water. When it needed energy for industry it built the largest hydro-electric dams in the world. When the farmland and factories of northern China were threatened with drought an enormous canal was built to pipe supplies from the south. China has the engineering skill, the capital and the will to challenge the limits that nature sets on development. But the exploitation of China's water resources has come at a great cost, forcing millions from their homes, polluting natural lakes and rivers and pushing rare animal species to the brink of extinction.

Isabel Hilton, editor of the China Dialogue website, assesses the progress of China's water revolution and asks where its water will come from in the future. Can large-scale engineering continue to provide the answers or must government teach industry and the public to live within their means?

Producer: Alasdair Cross.

China needs more water urgently. Isabel Hilton examines the nation's options.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

China has powered its development with water. When it needed energy for industry it built the largest hydro-electric dams in the world. When the farmland and factories of northern China were threatened with drought an enormous canal was built to pipe supplies from the south. China has the engineering skill, the capital and the will to challenge the limits that nature sets on development. But the exploitation of China's water resources has come at a great cost, forcing millions from their homes, polluting natural lakes and rivers and pushing rare animal species to the brink of extinction.

Isabel Hilton, editor of the China Dialogue website, assesses the progress of China's water revolution and asks where its water will come from in the future. Can large-scale engineering continue to provide the answers or must government teach industry and the public to live within their means?

Producer: Alasdair Cross.

China needs more water urgently. Isabel Hilton examines the nation's options.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Chinese Salmon2012091120120912 (R4)In January 2011 the Scottish Government announced a new deal to supply salmon to China. If only 1% of its population chose to eat it the Scottish industry would have to double in size. The target set is to increase the industry by 50% by 2020. Conor Woodman asks how this can be done without impacting on the environment.

Concerns about salmon farming include the spread of sea lice, escapes, pollution of the sea bed and the impact of sea lice treatment on other sea life. However it provides jobs, both directly and indirectly in areas often with fragile economies.

Conor visits the island of Gometra in the Inner Hebrides where a new fish farm is being proposed. The island has no electricity and only a few residents but is classed as 'very sensitive countryside'. It's one of five new fish farm sites applied for in the last 6 months. While the residents there oppose it, many of those on neighbouring Ulva hope the jobs will attract more young people to the area.

Conor speaks to the Scottish Association for Marine Science about how the industry is dealing with the environmental issues. He also hears about the new direction some of the industry is taking - Marine Harvest is moving out of traditional lochs to open sea locations which it hopes will lead to larger farms being permitted. He also speaks to a British company looking to introduce 'closed containment' systems by farming tanks of fish on land. Is this the new image of salmon farming in the UK and will these methods face issues of their own?

Producer: Anne-Marie Bullock.

Conor Woodman asks how farmed Scottish salmon production can increase by 50% sustainably.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Cities Without Cars2016091320160914 (R4)The battle in big cities continues: how do you keep cars out to cut congestion and reduce pollution? Chris Ledgard visits Paris and Barcelona to explore two different approaches. In Paris, the mayor's office wants to ban the most polluting cars, and coloured stickers are being introduced to help the authorities determine which vehicles can enter the city centre. Meanwhile, more and more Paris residents are turning to the electric car-sharing scheme, Autolib. We hear how it works. In Barcelona, urban ecologists are adapting the famous grid system designed by Ildefons Cerda to create 'superblocks' - large traffic-free spaces across the city where the sound of traffic is only distantly heard. Chris talks to the scheme's inventor, Salvador Rueda, and hears about his vision for Spain's second biggest city.

Producer: Chris Ledgard.

Keeping cars out of the city: Chris Ledgard explores new plans in Paris and Barcelona.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

The battle in big cities continues: how do you keep cars out to cut congestion and reduce pollution? Chris Ledgard visits Paris and Barcelona to explore two different approaches. In Paris, the mayor's office wants to ban the most polluting cars, and coloured stickers are being introduced to help the authorities determine which vehicles can enter the city centre. Meanwhile, more and more Paris residents are turning to the electric car-sharing scheme, Autolib. We hear how it works. In Barcelona, urban ecologists are adapting the famous grid system designed by Ildefons Cerda to create 'superblocks' - large traffic-free spaces across the city where the sound of traffic is only distantly heard. Chris talks to the scheme's inventor, Salvador Rueda, and hears about his vision for Spain's second biggest city.

Producer: Chris Ledgard.

Keeping cars out of the city: Chris Ledgard explores new plans in Paris and Barcelona.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Clean Air For Kids2019031920190320 (R4)Clean air - the fightback: Tom Heap investigates air pollution and children's health.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Clean air - the fightback: Tom Heap investigates air pollution and children's health.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Cleaning Up The Ganges2010052620100527 (R4)The Ganges, above all is the river of India, which has held India's heart captive and drawn uncounted millions to her banks since the dawn of history. The story of the Ganges, from her source to the sea, from old times to new, is the story of India's civilization and culture, of the rise and fall of empires, of great and proud cities, of adventures of man'. So said India's first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru.

The Ganges holds a sacred place in the Hindu religion. It is a requirement for the 830 million Hindus in the world today to bathe in its waters at least once in their lifetime.

Today the Ganges is a filthy shadow of its former majesty but all that is about to change. The World Bank is lending the Indian government $1.5 billion to help clean the river, but it is 10 times the length of the Thames and many argue that its distance from the sea, its proximity to so many fast-growing cities, as well as India's lack of a sewage system mean that it is an impossible task.

Efforts to clean-up the Ganges tributary, the Yamuna, have failed and scientists argue that more money is needed to expand treatment plants in Lucknow, Allahabad and Kanpur but sewage first needs to reach these plants. Some argue that water management is the source of the problem and that this is where money should be spent. Climate change and dam building are drying up the river at its source and they argue the only way to clean it is to increase the flow of clean supply.

Tom Heap travels the banks of the river to find out if the Holy Ganges can be saved.

Producer: Helen Lennard.

Tom Heap visits the holy Ganges river to discover if India's life source can ever be clean

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

The Ganges, above all is the river of India, which has held India's heart captive and drawn uncounted millions to her banks since the dawn of history. The story of the Ganges, from her source to the sea, from old times to new, is the story of India's civilization and culture, of the rise and fall of empires, of great and proud cities, of adventures of man'. So said India's first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru.

The Ganges holds a sacred place in the Hindu religion. It is a requirement for the 830 million Hindus in the world today to bathe in its waters at least once in their lifetime.

Today the Ganges is a filthy shadow of its former majesty but all that is about to change. The World Bank is lending the Indian government $1.5 billion to help clean the river, but it is 10 times the length of the Thames and many argue that its distance from the sea, its proximity to so many fast-growing cities, as well as India's lack of a sewage system mean that it is an impossible task.

Efforts to clean-up the Ganges tributary, the Yamuna, have failed and scientists argue that more money is needed to expand treatment plants in Lucknow, Allahabad and Kanpur but sewage first needs to reach these plants. Some argue that water management is the source of the problem and that this is where money should be spent. Climate change and dam building are drying up the river at its source and they argue the only way to clean it is to increase the flow of clean supply.

Tom Heap travels the banks of the river to find out if the Holy Ganges can be saved.

Producer: Helen Lennard.

Tom Heap visits the holy Ganges river to discover if India's life source can ever be clean

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Climate Change: Inconvenient Facts?2015033120150401 (R4)With arctic sea ice shrinking and Antarctic sea ice growing, Tom Heap asks what is happening to the climate.

Despite the consensus of scientists around the world, there are still some anomalies in the computer models of the future climate. Tom Heap is joined by a panel of experts to tackle some of the difficult questions that lead to uncertainties in our understanding of the changing climate.

The perceived wisdom in the scientific community is that the climate is warming but evidence shows that even though Arctic sea ice is melting, there has actually been a growth in Antarctic sea ice. That, along with a documented slow down in the warming of the climate since 1998, has been a 'stone in the shoe' of the climate change story. So what is happening?

Tom is joined by BBC and Met office weather presenter John Hammond to put these 'difficult' climate scenarios to a team of experts: Mark Lynas is an author and environmental campaigner, Mike Hulme is professor of Climate and Culture at Kings College London and Dr Helen Czerski is a broadcaster and 'bubble physicist' at UCL.

With the help of this panel, Costing The Earth discusses how best to communicate anomalies that don't appear in climate models and make the science sometimes hard to comprehend.

Presenter: Tom Heap

Producer: Martin Poyntz-Roberts.

With Antarctic sea ice growing, Tom Heap asks what is happening to the climate.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

With arctic sea ice shrinking and Antarctic sea ice growing, Tom Heap asks what is happening to the climate.

Despite the consensus of scientists around the world, there are still some anomalies in the computer models of the future climate. Tom Heap is joined by a panel of experts to tackle some of the difficult questions that lead to uncertainties in our understanding of the changing climate.

The perceived wisdom in the scientific community is that the climate is warming but evidence shows that even though Arctic sea ice is melting, there has actually been a growth in Antarctic sea ice. That, along with a documented slow down in the warming of the climate since 1998, has been a 'stone in the shoe' of the climate change story. So what is happening?

Tom is joined by BBC and Met office weather presenter John Hammond to put these 'difficult' climate scenarios to a team of experts: Mark Lynas is an author and environmental campaigner, Mike Hulme is professor of Climate and Culture at Kings College London and Dr Helen Czerski is a broadcaster and 'bubble physicist' at UCL.

With the help of this panel, Costing The Earth discusses how best to communicate anomalies that don't appear in climate models and make the science sometimes hard to comprehend.

Presenter: Tom Heap

Producer: Martin Poyntz-Roberts.

With Antarctic sea ice growing, Tom Heap asks what is happening to the climate.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Coast: 50 Years Of Change2015102020151021 (R4)A new report from the National Trust reveals how how our coast has changed over the last 50 years. Tom Heap asks if we've become better or worse at protecting the nation's prime asset.

He joins John Whittow who led a team of students to survey the coast in 1965 and compares his findings with a brand new study from Leicester University. Has the rapid urbanisation of the 1960s continued or has the tide been turned? What new threats are on the horizon?

Producer: Alasdair Cross.

A new report reveals how the UK's coast has changed over the last 50 years.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

A new report from the National Trust reveals how how our coast has changed over the last 50 years. Tom Heap asks if we've become better or worse at protecting the nation's prime asset.

He joins John Whittow who led a team of students to survey the coast in 1965 and compares his findings with a brand new study from Leicester University. Has the rapid urbanisation of the 1960s continued or has the tide been turned? What new threats are on the horizon?

Producer: Alasdair Cross.

A new report reveals how the UK's coast has changed over the last 50 years.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Cocoa Loco2011042720110428 (R4)It used to be a treat but now a chocolate bar is one of the cheapest ways to fill up. Chocolate is the unlikely substance at the heart of commodity wars. Cocoa has been reported to be more valuable than gold but will this mean the end of the nation's coffee break.

Over-farming has caused problems in chocolate producing countries in Africa and South America. The pressure to produce cheap cocoa has meant farmers have failed to replant and replenish. Soil has become unusable and mature trees are now reaching the end of their life cycle. Fair trade has been forced on even the biggest producers like Nestle as the only means to get the raw product. But, is it too little too late and is this late interest a real commitment to fair deals for farmers and their land?

There is concern that speculation by financial traders has helped to push up food prices worldwide, creating an unsustainable bubble that makes it even harder for many in the developing world to afford to eat. Workers in the UK have also felt the impact - Burton's Foods blamed higher cocoa and wheat prices for the closure of its Wirral factory - where Wagon Wheels and Jammie Dodgers are made - with the loss of over 400 jobs.

Palm oil is another growing problem. Cheap, easy to grow and lucrative, many cocoa farmers have switched to this crop and turned their land over to monoculture. Costing the Earth investigates the efforts to keep our favourite treat going and asks if this is the first commodity of many to succumb to over-production and unrealistically cheap market prices.

Cocoa costs have soared recently. Tom Heap asks if costly chocolate might be good for all.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Community Energy2022112220221123 (R4)Community energy might conjure up images of off-grid villagers working together to put up solar panels on a remote community hall. This is one model, but Tom Heap finds that there are now many more ways to join the clean energy revolution.

From urban solar rooftop projects which train up young people as fitters to huge wind farms owned by a growing online army of committed enthusiasts, community energy is having a moment.

It seems an incredible but simple idea. If we all own a bit of our energy system then we can decide the price that we pay to keep warm and keep the lights on. So what is standing in the way of more community energy? Tom Heap discovers more about how all of us could get involved with the future of energy.

Producer: Helen Lennard

Could community energy be the answer to the gas price crisis? Tom Heap reports.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Community energy might conjure up images of off-grid villagers working together to put up solar panels on a remote community hall. This is one model, but Tom Heap finds that there are now many more ways to join the clean energy revolution.

From urban solar rooftop projects which train up young people as fitters to huge wind farms owned by a growing online army of committed enthusiasts, community energy is having a moment.

It seems an incredible but simple idea. If we all own a bit of our energy system then we can decide the price that we pay to keep warm and keep the lights on. So what is standing in the way of more community energy? Tom Heap discovers more about how all of us could get involved with the future of energy.

Producer: Helen Lennard

Could community energy be the answer to the gas price crisis? Tom Heap reports.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Consuming The Earth?2008010320080104 (R4)This week Costing The Earth asks if we are heading for consumption Armageddon and if so what difference, if any, can the individual make? More and more we are being made aware of the environmental impacts of modern living but how many of us are actually prepared to go green? Is it simply more hassle then its worth?

Over Christmas and New Year many of us will partake in an orgy of spending. On average we receive £90 worth of unwanted gifts. A third of the food we buy will get thrown away. Shopping is a national pastime, it makes us feel better about ourselves and keeps the economy burning, but it also contributes to climate change.

Miriam O'Reilly spends a day with a man who believes that only through individuals changing their lifestyles can the world have a sustainable future. Since a trip to the Amazon rainforest Donnachadh McCarthy has made it his mission to lead a life with as little environmental impact as possible. To do this he hasn't gone to live in a bender somewhere in Dorset, far from it, Donnachadh lives smack bang in the middle of London, and as Miriam finds out he's slowly winning the war on waste.

Miriam O'Reilly looks at the festive period and its impact on the environment.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

This week Costing The Earth asks if we are heading for consumption Armageddon and if so what difference, if any, can the individual make? More and more we are being made aware of the environmental impacts of modern living but how many of us are actually prepared to go green? Is it simply more hassle then its worth?

Over Christmas and New Year many of us will partake in an orgy of spending. On average we receive £90 worth of unwanted gifts. A third of the food we buy will get thrown away. Shopping is a national pastime, it makes us feel better about ourselves and keeps the economy burning, but it also contributes to climate change.

Miriam O'Reilly spends a day with a man who believes that only through individuals changing their lifestyles can the world have a sustainable future. Since a trip to the Amazon rainforest Donnachadh McCarthy has made it his mission to lead a life with as little environmental impact as possible. To do this he hasn't gone to live in a bender somewhere in Dorset, far from it, Donnachadh lives smack bang in the middle of London, and as Miriam finds out he's slowly winning the war on waste.

Miriam O'Reilly looks at the festive period and its impact on the environment.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Cop26: A Turning Of The Tide?2021110920211110 (R4)World leaders have offered up a suite of promises at the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow but how many of them will make a real dent in our greenhouse gas emissions? Tom Heap talks to experts in sustainable finance, methane emissions, deforestation, clean technology and energy to gauge the impact made so far. He's also joined by two veterans of many COP meetings, University of East Anglia climate scientist, Corinne Le Qu退r退 and Bernice Lee of Chatham House. What do they make of the conference that the world is watching?

Producer: Alasdair Cross

Tom Heap analyses the promises made so far at the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

World leaders have offered up a suite of promises at the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow but how many of them will make a real dent in our greenhouse gas emissions? Tom Heap talks to experts in sustainable finance, methane emissions, deforestation, clean technology and energy to gauge the impact made so far. He's also joined by two veterans of many COP meetings, University of East Anglia climate scientist, Corinne Le Qu退r退 and Bernice Lee of Chatham House. What do they make of the conference that the world is watching?

Producer: Alasdair Cross

Tom Heap analyses the promises made so far at the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Cop26: The Unheard Voices2021110220211103 (R4)As world leaders gather in Glasgow you can be certain of one thing - the loudest voices won't be coming from the people most impacted by climate change. Inuit hunters on melting ice and Pacific islanders losing their homelands to rising sea levels won't be flying Business Class to Glasgow - they won't have the chance to fight for their rights amongst the world powers and corporate interests. Tom Heap brings those voices to the banks of the Clyde for the first of two special editions of Costing the Earth from COP26.

He hears from the Adivasi people of India, marching to stop their land being taken for new coal mines and meets Yessie Mosby, a Torres Strait islander who believes the Australian government should do much more to prevent his islands disappear beneath the rising seas. In Glasgow he talks to Sarobidy Rakotonarivo about the tensions between conservation and livelihoods in the forests of Madagascar and hears how conflict and climate change are inextricably linked in the humanitarian crisis around Lake Chad.

Producer: Alasdair Cross

Photo: Courtesy of Vijay Ramamurthy

Tom Heap brings the unheard voices of the first victims of climate change to COP26

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

As world leaders gather in Glasgow you can be certain of one thing - the loudest voices won't be coming from the people most impacted by climate change. Inuit hunters on melting ice and Pacific islanders losing their homelands to rising sea levels won't be flying Business Class to Glasgow - they won't have the chance to fight for their rights amongst the world powers and corporate interests. Tom Heap brings those voices to the banks of the Clyde for the first of two special editions of Costing the Earth from COP26.

He hears from the Adivasi people of India, marching to stop their land being taken for new coal mines and meets Yessie Mosby, a Torres Strait islander who believes the Australian government should do much more to prevent his islands disappear beneath the rising seas. In Glasgow he talks to Sarobidy Rakotonarivo about the tensions between conservation and livelihoods in the forests of Madagascar and hears how conflict and climate change are inextricably linked in the humanitarian crisis around Lake Chad.

Producer: Alasdair Cross

Photo: Courtesy of Vijay Ramamurthy

Tom Heap brings the unheard voices of the first victims of climate change to COP26

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Cop27: Meeting The Promises2022110820221109 (R4)The COP 27 summit in Sharm-El-Sheikh is welcoming world leaders and climate negotiators to Egypt. In a year that has been rocked by the war in Ukraine and global economic instability, can COP refocus the world's attention on climate?

Tom Heap and Matt McGrath will take a look back at some of the pledges made last November in Glasgow for COP 26 to find out whether countries across the world are keeping to the agreements made on areas such as deforestation, methane reduction, finance and technology.

Everyone agrees that current geopolitics will make significant global agreements to decrease emissions difficult but there may be signs of hope in the actions of individual countries. Tom and Matt will try to decipher where we are and what we might be able to expect from this years ‘Conference of the Parties'.

To help them pick through the details our panel of experts include Bernice Lee from Chatham House, Danny Kennedy from New Energy Nexus, Mia Moisio from Climate Action Tracker, Piers Forster from the University of Leeds and Ben Caldecott from the Oxford Sustainable Finance Group.

Producer: Helen Lennard

As COP 27 begins, Tom Heap looks back to COP 26 and asks what we can expect next.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Coral Versus Coal2018030620180307 (R4)The rapid decline of the Great Barrier Reef is one of the environmental crises of the decade. But who is to blame?

Environmental activists have accused successive Australian governments of underestimating the threats to the reef from agriculture and the shipping industry but their focus is now on a coal mine.

India's Adani corporation has government support for the development of one of the world's largest new mines at Carmichael, inland from the Great Barrier Reef. Construction would increase shipping traffic around the reef but the real concern is the extra carbon dioxide that the burning of millions of tonnes of coal would send into the atmosphere. This could increase the speed of climate change and lead to yet warmer waters around Australia, potentially killing even more of the coral of the Great Barrier Reef.

Marine biologist and film-maker, Ellen Husain meets both sides of the debate to find out if new jobs from the mine could outweigh the damage to the reef and the jobs that reef tourism supports.

Producer: Alasdair Cross.

Why has Australia failed to arrest the decline of the Great Barrier Reef?

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Could Britain Feed Itself?2019042320190424 (R4)Could Britain feed itself? Tom Heap assesses how much more of our own food we could potentially produce. Currently we import nearly half - 30% from the EU but in a time of growing population and political change could we step up our home grown fare? He asks about the innovative technology helping farmers make smart use of the land they have, visits labs to ask what changes we might need to allow and sizes up our allotments, gardens and window boxes to see if we could be more productive at home. With some theoretical ideas and practical realities he aims to give you food for thought.

Producer: Anne-Marie Bullock

Could Britain feed itself? Tom Heap investigates the pros and cons of self-sufficiency.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Could Britain feed itself? Tom Heap assesses how much more of our own food we could potentially produce. Currently we import nearly half - 30% from the EU but in a time of growing population and political change could we step up our home grown fare? He asks about the innovative technology helping farmers make smart use of the land they have, visits labs to ask what changes we might need to allow and sizes up our allotments, gardens and window boxes to see if we could be more productive at home. With some theoretical ideas and practical realities he aims to give you food for thought.

Producer: Anne-Marie Bullock

Could Britain feed itself? Tom Heap investigates the pros and cons of self-sufficiency.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Countdown To Copenhagen2009102620091029 (R4)Tom Heap looks behind the jargon and political scene-shifting to ask whether or not a definitive new deal on climate change will come out of the talks at Copenhagen in December 2009.

Politicians from around the world will attempt to thrash out a deal in Denmark's capital city to limit the damage that the changing climate on the planet. Most now accept that this means drastic cuts in the use of oil, coal and gas. Getting agreement on how that should be achieved among 192 nations seems impossible. Tom seeks to find out how to interpret the codes of official statements and off-the-record briefings.

He also hears from some of the people who will have to live with the consequences and ask how their voices are working their way into the Copenhagen process. These include the President of the Maldives, who warns that his fight against the encroaching seas is our fight too. Children in Sri Lanka who have been exchanging experiences with English counterparts by the sea in Essex, and a group of children working under the banner Generation Green struggle to produce an action plan for Downing Street.

And in case anyone thinks the Jeremy Clarkson worldview has withered in the face of this upsurge of youthful greenery, Tom joins a group of boy and girl racers in Cheltenham for a petrol-fuelled conversation about living now and paying later.

Tom Heap on the prospects for the United Nations' crucial climate change conference.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Tom Heap looks behind the jargon and political scene-shifting to ask whether or not a definitive new deal on climate change will come out of the talks at Copenhagen in December 2009.

Politicians from around the world will attempt to thrash out a deal in Denmark's capital city to limit the damage that the changing climate on the planet. Most now accept that this means drastic cuts in the use of oil, coal and gas. Getting agreement on how that should be achieved among 192 nations seems impossible. Tom seeks to find out how to interpret the codes of official statements and off-the-record briefings.

He also hears from some of the people who will have to live with the consequences and ask how their voices are working their way into the Copenhagen process. These include the President of the Maldives, who warns that his fight against the encroaching seas is our fight too. Children in Sri Lanka who have been exchanging experiences with English counterparts by the sea in Essex, and a group of children working under the banner Generation Green struggle to produce an action plan for Downing Street.

And in case anyone thinks the Jeremy Clarkson worldview has withered in the face of this upsurge of youthful greenery, Tom joins a group of boy and girl racers in Cheltenham for a petrol-fuelled conversation about living now and paying later.

Tom Heap on the prospects for the United Nations' crucial climate change conference.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Covid-19: The Environmental Impact2020041420200415 (R4)Tom Heap talks through the environmental issues emerging during the coronavirus pandemic and asks what the legacy might be. He's joined by climate change expert Dr Tamsin Edwards from King's College, London to examine the effect of the lockdown.

With millions of people now working from home, planes being grounded and fewer cars on the roads, what level of environmental improvement has there been, and will that be reversed once our lives return to normal?

With the help of experts from the fields of climate change, remote working, ecology and environmental standards, we track the changes in air pollution and global temperature.

What will the return to ‘normal' look like? With the UK aiming to be carbon neutral by 2050, Tom asks whether the pandemic can be seen as a trial run for a zero-carbon world. And, with the international climate meeting COP26 postponed, Tamsin considers how international climate targets might be affected.

With contributions from Christiana Figueres - architect of the Paris climate agreement, environmental psychologist Lorraine Whitmarsh, air quality expert David Carslaw, Gina McCarthy of the Natural Resources Defense Council, business communications specialist Jon Sidwick and Julian Newman from the Environmental Investigation Agency.

Producer: Melvin Rickarby

What effect is the coronavirus pandemic having on the environment? Tom Heap investigates.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Tom Heap talks through the environmental issues emerging during the coronavirus pandemic and asks what the legacy might be. He's joined by climate change expert Dr Tamsin Edwards from King's College, London to examine the effect of the lockdown.

With millions of people now working from home, planes being grounded and fewer cars on the roads, what level of environmental improvement has there been, and will that be reversed once our lives return to normal?

With the help of experts from the fields of climate change, remote working, ecology and environmental standards, we track the changes in air pollution and global temperature.

What will the return to ‘normal' look like? With the UK aiming to be carbon neutral by 2050, Tom asks whether the pandemic can be seen as a trial run for a zero-carbon world. And, with the international climate meeting COP26 postponed, Tamsin considers how international climate targets might be affected.

With contributions from Christiana Figueres - architect of the Paris climate agreement, environmental psychologist Lorraine Whitmarsh, air quality expert David Carslaw, Gina McCarthy of the Natural Resources Defense Council, business communications specialist Jon Sidwick and Julian Newman from the Environmental Investigation Agency.

Producer: Melvin Rickarby

What effect is the coronavirus pandemic having on the environment? Tom Heap investigates.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Crisis, What Crisis?2009020920090212 (R4)Miriam O'Reilly investigates whether a crash in prices has made recycling a waste of time.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Miriam O'Reilly investigates whether a crash in prices has made recycling a waste of time.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Cruel Harvest2012091920121016 (R4)The disastrous global harvest of 2012 has slashed food supplies from the parched Mid-West of the USA to the dusty plains of Ukraine. In this time of crisis many farmers are asking if they should continue to grow crops to be turned into fuel for cars and power stations when they could be feeding more people.

~Costing The Earth visits the American corn-belt of Missouri and the rape fields of Bedfordshire to investigate the international impact of the tightening food supplies and ask if we need to get used to more extreme weather patterns over the coming decades. Can scientists help farmers grow crops that are more resistant to drought and flood or should we accept that all of our fertile land should be turned over to food production?

Producer: Steve Peacock.

Should our farmland be used to grow fuel for our cars? Tom Heap reports.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Cruise Ships And Creeks2012042420120425 (R4)It is the third-largest natural harbour in the world but even so, it isn't deep enough for modern ships. Falmouth in Cornwall wants to invest £100 million to modernise its ship-repairing docks and facilities for cruise liners.

The project would create hundreds of jobs, protect existing businesses and bring cash-laden tourists into the surrounding area. It depends on being able to dredge the channel into the harbour and that's where the problem lies - to do so would mean digging up rare calcified seaweed called maerl which is protected by law and lies in a special conservation area.

It's a classic stand-off between economic development and protecting the natural environment- now specialist marine scientists have been called in to see whether both sides can be satisfied. Tom Heap gets to grips with rare seaweed and big bucks in Cornwall for 'Costing The Earth'.

Producer: Steve Peacock.

Falmouth's plans to attract cruise ships could damage the environment. Tom Heap reports.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Cruising: A Dirty Secret2016111520161116 (R4)A new cruise ship terminal is planned for Greenwich. Enderby Wharf will bring holiday makers right into the heart of the UK's capital city.

Greenwich is an existing pollution hotspot. Heavy traffic from nearby Trafalgar Road and the Blackwall Tunnel mean that air quality limits are frequently breached. Bringing a cruise ship into the area will further exacerbate the problem, increasing traffic bringing goods and services to the terminal.

Residents have raised concerns that visiting ships would burn 700 litres of diesel an hour whilst in dock. That's the equivalent of over 650 HGV lorries idling in an already polluted part of the city. At least 9000 Londoners already die prematurely each year as a result of breathing dirty air.

Southampton is a city built around its docks and so Tom Heap visits the Solent to find out how bad air pollution from cruise ships can be and asks what can be done by the industry to cut down on harmful emissions when the ships are in berth.

Producer: Martin Poyntz-Roberts.

Tom Heap investigates the link between cruise ships and poor air quality.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Csi Landfill2013100820131009 (R4)Tom Heap discovers landfill mining: finding value in what's been thrown away. He visits Belgium to meet the first prospectors digging for treasure in trash.

For years rubbish has been thrown away and sent to landfill sites, but now there are moves to look at what's been discarded as a resource.

Metals, plastics, ceramics and minerals are all buried under ground. As waste in landfill decomposes it emits gases. All are rich pickings and valuable to those looking to recycle and reuse the waste we've thrown away as scientists and engineers look to close the circle of waste.

Presenter: Tom Heap

Producer: Martin Poyntz-Roberts.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Tom Heap discovers landfill mining: finding value in what's been thrown away. He visits Belgium to meet the first prospectors digging for treasure in trash.

For years rubbish has been thrown away and sent to landfill sites, but now there are moves to look at what's been discarded as a resource.

Metals, plastics, ceramics and minerals are all buried under ground. As waste in landfill decomposes it emits gases. All are rich pickings and valuable to those looking to recycle and reuse the waste we've thrown away as scientists and engineers look to close the circle of waste.

Presenter: Tom Heap

Producer: Martin Poyntz-Roberts.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Csi Oceans2022110120221102 (R4)Anna Turns investigates what over 30 years of post mortems on dolphins, porpoises, and whales has revealed about the state of the seas. The Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme in England and Wales, and the Scottish Marine Animal Strandings Scheme, have carried out thousands of autopsies. Anna goes into the pathology lab with Rob Deaville from ZSL as he examines a Harbour Porpoise for clues about how it died, and how it lived. As Anna finds out from toxicologist Dr Rosie Williams and veterinary pathologist Dr Andrew Brownlow, evidence from post mortems shows animals' ability to survive and breed is threatened by pollution from long banned but peristent chemicals, known as PCBs. To find out how these chemicals could still be leaching into the environment Anna travels to the Thames Estuary with Professor of Environmental Geochemistry Kate Spencer.

Producer for BBC Audio in Bristol : Sarah Swaddling

Anna Turns investigates what's killing sea mammals.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Anna Turns investigates what over 30 years of post mortems on dolphins, porpoises, and whales has revealed about the state of the seas. The Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme in England and Wales, and the Scottish Marine Animal Strandings Scheme, have carried out thousands of autopsies. Anna goes into the pathology lab with Rob Deaville from ZSL as he examines a Harbour Porpoise for clues about how it died, and how it lived. As Anna finds out from toxicologist Dr Rosie Williams and veterinary pathologist Dr Andrew Brownlow, evidence from post mortems shows animals' ability to survive and breed is threatened by pollution from long banned but peristent chemicals, known as PCBs. To find out how these chemicals could still be leaching into the environment Anna travels to the Thames Estuary with Professor of Environmental Geochemistry Kate Spencer.

Producer for BBC Audio in Bristol : Sarah Swaddling

Anna Turns investigates what's killing sea mammals.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Csi Rhino2013040920130410 (R4)Tom Heap discovers an unlikely battle in the war to protect remaining wild rhino populations being fought here in the UK. Rhino horn is now worth twice as much as gold because of its perceived value in Asian medicine. New markets in Vietnam have increased the pressure from poaching on wild populations but also on horn found in museums and zoos in the UK. Museums are now warned not to display real rhino horn and zoos like Colchester have had to increase security measures to protect their live rhino. To help prevent illegally obtained horn from leaving the country scientists in the UK are setting up a DNA database of all the horn kept here in museums, private collections and on the heads of living rhino in zoos.

Tom discovers that these highly threatened animals can be surprisingly gentle given their size and that thefts from UK museums have become increasingly common. The criminal gangs looking to profit from horn theft are highly organised and DNA forensics could be vital in achieving convictions.

It is hoped that a reduction in illegal horn feeding the market will help put an end to the demand but there are also new arguments for a legal trade using farmed rhino whose horns could be regularly shaved. The debate around legalisation remains live but many agree that a worldwide DNA database would be the only way to regulate and prevent poached rhino horn being traded. Wildlife crime officers say that DNA forensics could be vital in helping protect rhinos and many other endangered species in the future.

Tom Heap finds out how DNA analysis can help prevent illegal trade in Rhino horn.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Tom Heap discovers an unlikely battle in the war to protect remaining wild rhino populations being fought here in the UK. Rhino horn is now worth twice as much as gold because of its perceived value in Asian medicine. New markets in Vietnam have increased the pressure from poaching on wild populations but also on horn found in museums and zoos in the UK. Museums are now warned not to display real rhino horn and zoos like Colchester have had to increase security measures to protect their live rhino. To help prevent illegally obtained horn from leaving the country scientists in the UK are setting up a DNA database of all the horn kept here in museums, private collections and on the heads of living rhino in zoos.

Tom discovers that these highly threatened animals can be surprisingly gentle given their size and that thefts from UK museums have become increasingly common. The criminal gangs looking to profit from horn theft are highly organised and DNA forensics could be vital in achieving convictions.

It is hoped that a reduction in illegal horn feeding the market will help put an end to the demand but there are also new arguments for a legal trade using farmed rhino whose horns could be regularly shaved. The debate around legalisation remains live but many agree that a worldwide DNA database would be the only way to regulate and prevent poached rhino horn being traded. Wildlife crime officers say that DNA forensics could be vital in helping protect rhinos and many other endangered species in the future.

Tom Heap finds out how DNA analysis can help prevent illegal trade in Rhino horn.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Cycle City2015041420150415 (R4)The bulldozers have already begun work on London's 'cycle superhighways' or 'Crossrail for bikes'. Cycling enthusiasts have declared these segregated lanes to be the infrastructure which London needs to make cycling much more appealing for all. Andrew Gilligan, the Mayor's Cycling Commissioner says if Transport for London can get the engineering right then cycling in the capital will become safer and far more people might make the switch from cars, buses and trains to carbon free pedal power. The potential carbon and congestion savings are huge, up to 25% of transport emissions if we can reach the levels of cycling now seen in Copenhagen, and those who cycle are also healthier. However, to replicate Dutch or Danish bike culture cycling's appeal must move beyond the lycra-clad males to become the first choice for women, children and older people too.

Tom Heap finds out if these cycle superhighways can really deliver for the capital and if the huge amounts of money being spent here and elsewhere across the country can ensure a cycling revolution for all of Britain's would-be bikers.

Producer: Helen Lennard.

Tom Heap saddles up to find out if Britain is really about to become a nation of cyclists.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

The bulldozers have already begun work on London's 'cycle superhighways' or 'Crossrail for bikes'. Cycling enthusiasts have declared these segregated lanes to be the infrastructure which London needs to make cycling much more appealing for all. Andrew Gilligan, the Mayor's Cycling Commissioner says if Transport for London can get the engineering right then cycling in the capital will become safer and far more people might make the switch from cars, buses and trains to carbon free pedal power. The potential carbon and congestion savings are huge, up to 25% of transport emissions if we can reach the levels of cycling now seen in Copenhagen, and those who cycle are also healthier. However, to replicate Dutch or Danish bike culture cycling's appeal must move beyond the lycra-clad males to become the first choice for women, children and older people too.

Tom Heap finds out if these cycle superhighways can really deliver for the capital and if the huge amounts of money being spent here and elsewhere across the country can ensure a cycling revolution for all of Britain's would-be bikers.

Producer: Helen Lennard.

Tom Heap saddles up to find out if Britain is really about to become a nation of cyclists.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Dare To Share2017100320171004 (R4)The ability to share underused resources like holiday homes and car journeys through online sites has disrupted many sectors of the economy. Many people now travel using 'Airbnb' or 'Uber' and being able to deal directly with the owner of the property or the driver of the car has opened up additional revenue streams for some and cheaper travel options for us all. As many more industries are about to be 'disrupted' by sharing technology Tom Heap discovers how the sharing economy might also be good for the planet.

New apps like Olio and Fat Llama or the Library of Things are designed to allow people to share everything from leftover food to lawnmowers. In a world where space is at a premium and less people will own their own home many of us may no longer want to store so much 'stuff'. The solution is to borrow what we need when we need it and many statistics suggest we have already reached a point of 'peak stuff'. Buying less manufactured goods may be bad for the economy but it could be good news for the planet. Tom finds out just how far the sharing economy can provide for his needs and asks if this shift in how and what we consume can really save energy and emissions.

Producer: Helen Lennard.

Could the sharing economy save the planet? Tom Heap finds out.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

The ability to share underused resources like holiday homes and car journeys through online sites has disrupted many sectors of the economy. Many people now travel using 'Airbnb' or 'Uber' and being able to deal directly with the owner of the property or the driver of the car has opened up additional revenue streams for some and cheaper travel options for us all. As many more industries are about to be 'disrupted' by sharing technology Tom Heap discovers how the sharing economy might also be good for the planet.

New apps like Olio and Fat Llama or the Library of Things are designed to allow people to share everything from leftover food to lawnmowers. In a world where space is at a premium and less people will own their own home many of us may no longer want to store so much 'stuff'. The solution is to borrow what we need when we need it and many statistics suggest we have already reached a point of 'peak stuff'. Buying less manufactured goods may be bad for the economy but it could be good news for the planet. Tom finds out just how far the sharing economy can provide for his needs and asks if this shift in how and what we consume can really save energy and emissions.

Producer: Helen Lennard.

Could the sharing economy save the planet? Tom Heap finds out.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Dash For Ash2013021920130220 (R4)By 2020 the UK must significantly reduce its landfill habit. A recent government report warned that we would run out of landfill space by 2018 and a European Directive means we must reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill from 48% to 35% or face big fines. Next year landfill tax will hit £80 per tonne. Unsurprisingly there has been a huge rise in planning applications for incinerators. 90 are proposed to add to the 30 currently in operation. Waste is big business. Tom Heap visits existing sites where our rubbish is currently being shipped abroad to create energy and heat in Europe and asks whether it is time we followed suit.

New technologies such as gasification are currently being developed which will provide even more heat and power from our residual waste and they promise to be far cleaner than the mass burn incinerators on the continent, yet opposition remains strong. 'Costing the Earth' hears from local residents who fear the health implications if dioxins formed in the high temperatures are released. Environmental campaigners argue that even if the health risks can be addressed this solution only creates more carbon dioxide emissions when what we really need is more recycling and less initial waste. In his film 'Trashed' actor Jeremy Irons looks at how our waste affects our health and that of the planet. Tom asks if it's time for a national strategy on what goes into our bins and where our rubbish ends up.

Producer: Helen Lennard.

UK landfills are full. Should we create energy from our waste? Tom Heap investigates.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Dash From Gas2019040220190403 (R4)Around 90% of homes in Britain get their hot water and heating from gas-fired boilers. There are 23 million of them in Britain. The Chancellor has banned them from new homes after 2025 and by 2050 they'll be history. The government is committed to phasing them out to meet international climate change commitments.

So what are the alternatives to the gas that's provided reliable, reasonably priced heat since it was first piped ashore from the North Sea in the late 1960s? Electric heating is a quick and easy replacement but we would need to massively increase the amount of green electricity that we generate. Hydrogen gas could be burnt in home appliances but producing hydrogen takes a lot of energy and expensive new infrastructure would be needed.

Peter Gibbs is on the hunt for solutions, basing himself in the valleys of South Wales where energy companies and their customers are trialling new fuels, new smart technology and new payment methods to cut the carbon from heating our homes.

Producer: Alasdair Cross

Domestic gas boilers have to go by 2050, but what's the alternative? Peter Gibbs reports.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Around 90% of homes in Britain get their hot water and heating from gas-fired boilers. There are 23 million of them in Britain. The Chancellor has banned them from new homes after 2025 and by 2050 they'll be history. The government is committed to phasing them out to meet international climate change commitments.

So what are the alternatives to the gas that's provided reliable, reasonably priced heat since it was first piped ashore from the North Sea in the late 1960s? Electric heating is a quick and easy replacement but we would need to massively increase the amount of green electricity that we generate. Hydrogen gas could be burnt in home appliances but producing hydrogen takes a lot of energy and expensive new infrastructure would be needed.

Peter Gibbs is on the hunt for solutions, basing himself in the valleys of South Wales where energy companies and their customers are trialling new fuels, new smart technology and new payment methods to cut the carbon from heating our homes.

Producer: Alasdair Cross

Domestic gas boilers have to go by 2050, but what's the alternative? Peter Gibbs reports.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Deep Sea Treasure20100414Our explorations of the deep oceans have so far given us only tantalising glimpses of weird and wonderful species. A team from the National Oceanography Centre in Southampton is currently sailing through the Caribbean and the Southern Ocean on a mission to provide us with much more than a few fuzzy photos of a giant worm or an upside down prawn.

They want to tie-up the loose ends, telling us just how the many islands of life in the deep actually interact. They hope their mission will greatly aid conservation efforts and make the exploitation of the ocean's resources fairer and more sustainable.

Costing the Earth' joins the expedition as it sails from southern Chile and launches Isis, a remote-controlled submarine armed, for the first time, with high definition cameras.

The crew of the RRS James Cook explore the depths of the ocean in search of new life.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Deepwater Horizon, The Real Damage2011041320110414 (R4)President Obama described Deepwater Horizon as America's worst environmental disaster. If that was true why have fish numbers in the Gulf massively increased since the blow-out?

One year on from the disaster Tom Heap travels through Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana in search of the true economic and environmental impact of the spill. Did the political and media reaction cause more damage to the region than the accident itself?

He'll also be asking what effect the reaction to the disaster could have on Britain's plans for deep water drilling.

Tom Heap looks at the environmental impact of Deepwater Horizon one year on.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Defenders Of The Reef2018022720180228 (R4)Marine biologist and film-maker, Ellen Husain studied the Great Barrier Reef for her Masters degree thirteen years ago. Today she's back to dive with her old supervisor. The picture is grim. So much of the life she remembers has gone, wiped out by the great coral bleaching events caused by rising sea temperatures.

Some who love the reef are in despair, others who once chose to ignore the signs are finally energised, determined to do what they can to slow or even reverse the decline. Ellen meets the people of the reef- tour operators, aboriginal Sea Rangers and coral scientists- to discover if one of the great natural wonders of the world really can be saved.

Producer: Alasdair Cross.

Meet the people fighting to save the natural wonder of the world, the Great Barrier Reef.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Marine biologist and film-maker, Ellen Husain studied the Great Barrier Reef for her Masters degree thirteen years ago. Today she's back to dive with her old supervisor. The picture is grim. So much of the life she remembers has gone, wiped out by the great coral bleaching events caused by rising sea temperatures.

Some who love the reef are in despair, others who once chose to ignore the signs are finally energised, determined to do what they can to slow or even reverse the decline. Ellen meets the people of the reef- tour operators, aboriginal Sea Rangers and coral scientists- to discover if one of the great natural wonders of the world really can be saved.

Producer: Alasdair Cross.

Meet the people fighting to save the natural wonder of the world, the Great Barrier Reef.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Delivering Clean Air2017030720170308 (R4)Internet shopping continues to rise worldwide. That means a lot more delivery vans on the streets of our towns and cities. Those vans and trucks, often powered by dirty diesel engines, are contributing to air pollution problems that can cause significant increases in premature death and great discomfort for people suffering from heart and lung conditions.

As part of the BBC's 'So I Can Breathe' season Tom Heap sets out to find innovative solutions. Could drones or robots be the answer? Could we cut out the middle man and use 3D printers to create everything we want at home? Perhaps it's simply a matter of converting all those vans to electric or gas power or even carrying out the majority of home deliveries by bike.

With the promise of ever-quicker delivery times the search for a solution becomes ever more urgent if we're to prevent our consumer addiction becoming an air pollution crisis on every doorstep.

Producer: Helen Lennard.

More delivery trucks means more air pollution in our cities. Tom Heap looks for an answer.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Internet shopping continues to rise worldwide. That means a lot more delivery vans on the streets of our towns and cities. Those vans and trucks, often powered by dirty diesel engines, are contributing to air pollution problems that can cause significant increases in premature death and great discomfort for people suffering from heart and lung conditions.

As part of the BBC's 'So I Can Breathe' season Tom Heap sets out to find innovative solutions. Could drones or robots be the answer? Could we cut out the middle man and use 3D printers to create everything we want at home? Perhaps it's simply a matter of converting all those vans to electric or gas power or even carrying out the majority of home deliveries by bike.

With the promise of ever-quicker delivery times the search for a solution becomes ever more urgent if we're to prevent our consumer addiction becoming an air pollution crisis on every doorstep.

Producer: Helen Lennard.

More delivery trucks means more air pollution in our cities. Tom Heap looks for an answer.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Demolishing Dams2018042420180425 (R4)Large hydro-electric dams continue to be planned and built in Africa, Asia and South America. In Western Europe and the US they're tearing them down. Peter Gibbs wants to know why.

These wonders of engineering are a symbol of our ability to harness nature to produce renewable energy. The trouble is that many dams radically alter the natural life of rivers and harm their ecosystems. The majority of rivers in Europe and the US have dams on them, many of which are aging and no longer serve any useful purpose. Gradually the conversation is changing and communities are realising that dams don't have to be forever. Now there's a growing movement to remove the worst offenders and restore rivers to their natural state.

France is currently embarking on the biggest dam removal in Europe. Two large hydro-electric dams will soon be demolished on the River S退lune in Normandy. Here a choice had to be made between energy production and biodiversity. Peter Gibbs meets the different groups involved in the project to find out how they are planning for the removals. Will the opening up of wild salmon migration routes and improvements in water quality make up for the loss of low-carbon energy?

Producer: Sophie Anton.

Why dismantle a dam that produces low-carbon electricity? Peter Gibbs investigates.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Large hydro-electric dams continue to be planned and built in Africa, Asia and South America. In Western Europe and the US they're tearing them down. Peter Gibbs wants to know why.

These wonders of engineering are a symbol of our ability to harness nature to produce renewable energy. The trouble is that many dams radically alter the natural life of rivers and harm their ecosystems. The majority of rivers in Europe and the US have dams on them, many of which are aging and no longer serve any useful purpose. Gradually the conversation is changing and communities are realising that dams don't have to be forever. Now there's a growing movement to remove the worst offenders and restore rivers to their natural state.

France is currently embarking on the biggest dam removal in Europe. Two large hydro-electric dams will soon be demolished on the River S退lune in Normandy. Here a choice had to be made between energy production and biodiversity. Peter Gibbs meets the different groups involved in the project to find out how they are planning for the removals. Will the opening up of wild salmon migration routes and improvements in water quality make up for the loss of low-carbon energy?

Producer: Sophie Anton.

Why dismantle a dam that produces low-carbon electricity? Peter Gibbs investigates.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Digging Britain2011021620110217 (R4)The Staffordshire and Frome Hoards are just two of the most exciting archaeological finds in recent years. Both were found by amateur treasure hunters in the UK using metal detectors. A good news story in these tough times but what is the real affect of legions of unqualified diggers on Britain's heritage and landscape?

The growing popularity of metal detectors has meant big finds in the past few years but a new detector has been produced which triples the depth at which small objects can be detected. So far detecting has been tolerated in Britain on the basis that it only digs up land to plough depth and therefore doesn't exacerbate disturbance of historically significant sites.

This new development adds fuel to what is already a heated debate. Archaeologists feel that treasure hunters take valuable finds from sites which should be excavated properly, archaeology is all about context they argue and once artefacts are removed our heritage is lost. The Countryside Alliance is warning landowners not to allow metal detectors on their land in order to avoid disputes but many detectors have signed up to a voluntary code designed to minimise their impact on farmland.

The detectors argues that without their valuable help today's agrochemicals will destroy a base metal object within a few years of it being in the ground. Coins have been destroyed in the last 50 years which have been in the ground for millennia. Stone implements are also broken with today's modern mechanical ploughs.

There are 30,000 metal detectorists today. They started detecting landmines after the war but will they continue to offer a service to the landscape and its heritage or simply take what it has to offer.

Dr Alice Roberts examines the impact of metal detecting on our heritage and landscape.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Digging Climate Change2016041220160413 (R4)Professor Alice Roberts asks if archaeology can help us understand climate change.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Professor Alice Roberts asks if archaeology can help us understand climate change.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Disappearing Alps2018052220180523 (R4)The permafrost is thawing, and the glaciers retreating. What will be left of the Alps?

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

The permafrost is thawing, and the glaciers retreating. What will be left of the Alps?

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Do Happy Animals Cost The Earth?2008050820080509 (R4)Tom Heap demolishes some myths about free-range farming.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Tom Heap demolishes some myths about free-range farming.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Dry Me A River2019111220191113 (R4)Whilst this Autumn's heavy rainfall has caused some rivers in the north of England to burst their banks and flood neighbourhoods there are rivers in the south-east with barely a drop of water in them. Tom Heap asks what impact this is this having on aquatic ecosystems. He talks to water companies and environmental campaigner Feargal Sharkey to find out how flora and fauna are changing as a result of the shortage of water. It's a particular concern for chalk streams, which provide a unique wildlife habitat found in very few places in the world. Tom asks who's the blame - the water companies for taking water out of the rivers, the Environment Agency for giving them permission to do it, or us consumers for using more water per person than we ever have before?

Producer: Emma Campbell

Northern English rivers are flooding whilst southern rivers dry up. Tom Heap investigates.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Whilst this Autumn's heavy rainfall has caused some rivers in the north of England to burst their banks and flood neighbourhoods there are rivers in the south-east with barely a drop of water in them. Tom Heap asks what impact this is this having on aquatic ecosystems. He talks to water companies and environmental campaigner Feargal Sharkey to find out how flora and fauna are changing as a result of the shortage of water. It's a particular concern for chalk streams, which provide a unique wildlife habitat found in very few places in the world. Tom asks who's the blame - the water companies for taking water out of the rivers, the Environment Agency for giving them permission to do it, or us consumers for using more water per person than we ever have before?

Producer: Emma Campbell

Northern English rivers are flooding whilst southern rivers dry up. Tom Heap investigates.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Dunes Into Bunkers2018040320180404 (R4)It's a decade since Donald Trump began building his golf resort on the enormous mobile sand dunes of Balmedie in Aberdeenshire. Conservation organisations bitterly protested and the idea of building golf courses on sensitive dune habitats seemed tainted. Today, however, a new course is being proposed for Coul Links on the stunning coastline to the north of Inverness. Peter Gibbs investigates the impact of Trump's development and the increasingly bitter controversy over the new course.

Producer: Alasdair Cross.

Should we build golf courses on sensitive sand dunes? Peter Gibbs investigates.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

It's a decade since Donald Trump began building his golf resort on the enormous mobile sand dunes of Balmedie in Aberdeenshire. Conservation organisations bitterly protested and the idea of building golf courses on sensitive dune habitats seemed tainted. Today, however, a new course is being proposed for Coul Links on the stunning coastline to the north of Inverness. Peter Gibbs investigates the impact of Trump's development and the increasingly bitter controversy over the new course.

Producer: Alasdair Cross.

Should we build golf courses on sensitive sand dunes? Peter Gibbs investigates.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Earthshot: Fresh Ideas For The Environment2021100520211006 (R4)Taking inspiration from President Kennedy's Moonshot which united people around a goal to put man on the moon and spurred the development of new technology in the 1960s, the Earthshot Prize is centred around five simple but ambitious goals for our planet. Over the next three editions of Costing the Earth, Chhavi Sachdev meets the prize nominees from all around the world.

This week Chhavi concentrates on the innovators working to protect nature on land and in the oceans and meets those striving to improve the air quality of our cities. Vinisha Umashankar, an Indian schoolgirl, reveals her solar powered ironing cart which cuts pollution in her neighbourhood and the Living Seawalls team show off their beautifully carved additions to Sydney Harbour- works of art which provide marine life with a place to hide, feed and breed on the previously sterile sea walls of the harbour.

Producer: Julian Siddle

Photo: Life returns to Sydney Harbour- courtesy of Leah Wood, Living Seawalls project

Meet the global innovators competing for a new prize to reverse environmental damage.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Taking inspiration from President Kennedy's Moonshot which united people around a goal to put man on the moon and spurred the development of new technology in the 1960s, the Earthshot Prize is centred around five simple but ambitious goals for our planet. Over the next three editions of Costing the Earth, Chhavi Sachdev meets the prize nominees from all around the world.

This week Chhavi concentrates on the innovators working to protect nature on land and in the oceans and meets those striving to improve the air quality of our cities. Vinisha Umashankar, an Indian schoolgirl, reveals her solar powered ironing cart which cuts pollution in her neighbourhood and the Living Seawalls team show off their beautifully carved additions to Sydney Harbour- works of art which provide marine life with a place to hide, feed and breed on the previously sterile sea walls of the harbour.

Producer: Julian Siddle

Photo: Life returns to Sydney Harbour- courtesy of Leah Wood, Living Seawalls project

Meet the global innovators competing for a new prize to reverse environmental damage.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Earthshot: More Fresh Ideas For The Environment2021101220211013 (R4)Taking inspiration from President Kennedy's Moonshot which united people around a goal to put man on the moon and spurred the development of new technology in the 1960s, the Earthshot Prize is centred around five simple but ambitious goals for our planet. Chhavi Sachdev profiles more of the prize nominees from all around the world.

This week Chhavi concentrates on the innovators working to reduce waste, provide clean water and develop clean energy solutions for communities without access to power. Japan is notoriously prone to natural disaster which makes it a perfect testing ground for disaster-management solutions. The Wota Box arose from the urgent need for clean water in locations hit by earthquakes or tsunamis. Using the latest techniques in artificial intelligence it controls a series of filters to remove pollutants and provide essential washing facilities where they're needed most. In Nigeria, Olugbenga Olubanjohas invented a portable battery which can be rented from a vending machine to power mobile phone chargers and laptops, bringing modern communication options to some of the poorest areas of Africa.

Producer: Julian Siddle

Meet the people with brilliant ideas to help nature heal from centuries of abuse.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Taking inspiration from President Kennedy's Moonshot which united people around a goal to put man on the moon and spurred the development of new technology in the 1960s, the Earthshot Prize is centred around five simple but ambitious goals for our planet. Chhavi Sachdev profiles more of the prize nominees from all around the world.

This week Chhavi concentrates on the innovators working to reduce waste, provide clean water and develop clean energy solutions for communities without access to power. Japan is notoriously prone to natural disaster which makes it a perfect testing ground for disaster-management solutions. The Wota Box arose from the urgent need for clean water in locations hit by earthquakes or tsunamis. Using the latest techniques in artificial intelligence it controls a series of filters to remove pollutants and provide essential washing facilities where they're needed most. In Nigeria, Olugbenga Olubanjohas invented a portable battery which can be rented from a vending machine to power mobile phone chargers and laptops, bringing modern communication options to some of the poorest areas of Africa.

Producer: Julian Siddle

Meet the people with brilliant ideas to help nature heal from centuries of abuse.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Earthshot: The Winners2021101920211020 (R4)Taking inspiration from President Kennedy's Moonshot which united people around a goal to put man on the moon and spurred the development of new technology in the 1960s, the Earthshot Prize is centred around five simple but ambitious goals for our planet. Chhavi Sachdev announces the winners of the inaugural prize and discusses how smart ideas from individual innovators and small companies can influence the upcoming climate debate at COP26 in Glasgow. Prizes like this prove that there are clever ideas being developed to ease our pressure on the environment, but how can those ideas be harnessed and scaled up to make a big difference globally? Chhavi is joined by Inger Andersen, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme and by Juliet Davenport, founder of the green power company Good Energy, to discuss the best ways to make smart ideas part of the solution to the planet's biggest problems.

Producer: Alasdair Cross

Celebrate with the five winners of the first Earthshot Prize- smart friends of the planet

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Taking inspiration from President Kennedy's Moonshot which united people around a goal to put man on the moon and spurred the development of new technology in the 1960s, the Earthshot Prize is centred around five simple but ambitious goals for our planet. Chhavi Sachdev announces the winners of the inaugural prize and discusses how smart ideas from individual innovators and small companies can influence the upcoming climate debate at COP26 in Glasgow. Prizes like this prove that there are clever ideas being developed to ease our pressure on the environment, but how can those ideas be harnessed and scaled up to make a big difference globally? Chhavi is joined by Inger Andersen, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme and by Juliet Davenport, founder of the green power company Good Energy, to discuss the best ways to make smart ideas part of the solution to the planet's biggest problems.

Producer: Alasdair Cross

Celebrate with the five winners of the first Earthshot Prize- smart friends of the planet

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Eco Anxiety2019051420190515 (R4)Is the future of the planet making you depressed? Do you feel paralysed, unable to imagine the happiness of future generations? As global governments fail to respond to the existential crisis of climate change it's understandable that some people seem unable to conjure up a sense of hope, understandable that dozens of young British women have joined the Birthstrike movement, refusing to bring more children into the world. Verity Sharp meets the eco-anxious and asks if they are ill or simply more perceptive than the rest of us.

Producer : Ellie Richold

Is the future of the planet making you depressed? Verity Sharp meets the eco-anxious.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Is the future of the planet making you depressed? Do you feel paralysed, unable to imagine the happiness of future generations? As global governments fail to respond to the existential crisis of climate change it's understandable that some people seem unable to conjure up a sense of hope, understandable that dozens of young British women have joined the Birthstrike movement, refusing to bring more children into the world. Verity Sharp meets the eco-anxious and asks if they are ill or simply more perceptive than the rest of us.

Producer : Ellie Richold

Is the future of the planet making you depressed? Verity Sharp meets the eco-anxious.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Eco Homes Now!2020031720200318 (R4)The demand for housing is pushing through developments of millions of new build homes. So why aren't these all being built to the best energy efficiency standards possible with the technology that's now available? Tom Heap reveals how the scrapping of zero carbon homes has meant years of construction has not had to meet the higher standards hoped for. The new Future Homes Standard has just been consulted on but Tom Heap hears it's not just missing the mark for some groups but is at risk of reducing some standards altogether.

Homes now come with an EPC - an Energy Performance Certificate - to test how reliable they are Tom trains thermal cameras onto a new build house to reveal any leaks or hidden short cuts that may be lurking behind the walls.

Tom also gets a vision of the future - where clever design on village scale and with artificial intelligence could see us living in a low carbon way without even having to think too hard about it.

Presented by Tom Heap

Producer: Anne-Marie Bullock.

Why aren't all the new homes being built meeting the lowest carbon impact?

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

The demand for housing is pushing through developments of millions of new build homes. So why aren't these all being built to the best energy efficiency standards possible with the technology that's now available? Tom Heap reveals how the scrapping of zero carbon homes has meant years of construction has not had to meet the higher standards hoped for. The new Future Homes Standard has just been consulted on but Tom Heap hears it's not just missing the mark for some groups but is at risk of reducing some standards altogether.

Homes now come with an EPC - an Energy Performance Certificate - to test how reliable they are Tom trains thermal cameras onto a new build house to reveal any leaks or hidden short cuts that may be lurking behind the walls.

Tom also gets a vision of the future - where clever design on village scale and with artificial intelligence could see us living in a low carbon way without even having to think too hard about it.

Presented by Tom Heap

Producer: Anne-Marie Bullock.

Why aren't all the new homes being built meeting the lowest carbon impact?

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Eco-cities2015042120150422 (R4)Tom Heap investigates whether eco-cities are living up to their promise.

In years gone by, Costing the Earth has visited two eco-cities, which both promised that rapid urban development could be green, sustainable and profitable. Dongtan in China was meant to be part of 'the quest to create a new world', according to British designers Arup. Masdar in the Arabian Gulf was to have 'changed the world', according to British architect Norman Foster. But Dongtan never got built, thanks to Chinese political machinations and corruption, while Masdar has stalled, a victim of the world economic crisis.

China is still pressing ahead with over 100 new eco-cities. But does the idea of the eco-city make sense anyway? Critics say that some very ordinary new cities are being branded as 'eco' in an attempt to give them a green marketing gloss, and that promoting the idea of the virtuous self-contained eco-city can mask a failure to build sustainably in the rest of the economy.

Producer: Jolyon Jenkins.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Tom Heap investigates whether eco-cities are living up to their promise.

In years gone by, Costing the Earth has visited two eco-cities, which both promised that rapid urban development could be green, sustainable and profitable. Dongtan in China was meant to be part of 'the quest to create a new world', according to British designers Arup. Masdar in the Arabian Gulf was to have 'changed the world', according to British architect Norman Foster. But Dongtan never got built, thanks to Chinese political machinations and corruption, while Masdar has stalled, a victim of the world economic crisis.

China is still pressing ahead with over 100 new eco-cities. But does the idea of the eco-city make sense anyway? Critics say that some very ordinary new cities are being branded as 'eco' in an attempt to give them a green marketing gloss, and that promoting the idea of the virtuous self-contained eco-city can mask a failure to build sustainably in the rest of the economy.

Producer: Jolyon Jenkins.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Eco-city Limits2010032920100401 (R4)Eco-cities. Architects, developers and visionaries have been promising them for the past decade. Dongtan was supposed to be the green Shanghai, the Thames corridor was supposed to be a linear eco-city, Florida's building a car-free city for 100,000, eco towns were to spread around the UK. But time and time again economic reality intrudes, plans are shelved or diluted and another commuter suburb is thrown up with a token wind turbine.

The answers might be found at the World Future Energy Summit in the extraordinary setting of Masdar City in Abu Dhabi. $20bn has been committed by the government to ensure this city is the first zero carbon conurbation. With the money made supplying the world's fossil fuel the Abu Dhabi emirate has employed Norman Foster to create the anti-Dubai- a car and skyscraper-free city powered by the sun. If anyone can do it then the cash-rich, democracy-free, hugely ambitious rulers of Abu Dhabi are the men to back. Progress is rapid with students already attending the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology with its focus on renewable energy and the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) making its home as the first international agency to be located in the Middle East.

With the great and good of the sustainability movement gathered together in Masdar City in early 2010 it's a perfect opportunity to test the concept- a real model for the cities of the future or a green smokescreen for the oil states' carbon- hungry habits.

Tom Heap tests the limits of an eco-city being built in a desert.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Eco-cities. Architects, developers and visionaries have been promising them for the past decade. Dongtan was supposed to be the green Shanghai, the Thames corridor was supposed to be a linear eco-city, Florida's building a car-free city for 100,000, eco towns were to spread around the UK. But time and time again economic reality intrudes, plans are shelved or diluted and another commuter suburb is thrown up with a token wind turbine.

The answers might be found at the World Future Energy Summit in the extraordinary setting of Masdar City in Abu Dhabi. $20bn has been committed by the government to ensure this city is the first zero carbon conurbation. With the money made supplying the world's fossil fuel the Abu Dhabi emirate has employed Norman Foster to create the anti-Dubai- a car and skyscraper-free city powered by the sun. If anyone can do it then the cash-rich, democracy-free, hugely ambitious rulers of Abu Dhabi are the men to back. Progress is rapid with students already attending the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology with its focus on renewable energy and the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) making its home as the first international agency to be located in the Middle East.

With the great and good of the sustainability movement gathered together in Masdar City in early 2010 it's a perfect opportunity to test the concept- a real model for the cities of the future or a green smokescreen for the oil states' carbon- hungry habits.

Tom Heap tests the limits of an eco-city being built in a desert.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

El Nino: Driving The Planet's Weather2014091620140917 (R4)Meteorologist, Peter Gibbs investigates the global impact of the weather phenomenon El Nino. Forecasts predict El Nino will occur at the end of this year, creating fear in many communities around the world.

Flooding, drought and famine have all been caused by the phenomenon in the past. Peruvian fishermen are often the first to notice as warmer waters change the behaviour of coastal fish stocks. Peter hears what they've already noticed and finds out how these changes could have ripple effects around the world. The anchovies in Peruvian waters are caught to feed farmed salmon but they're also an important food source for seabirds. The warm waters could also cause an imbalance in marine life and weather changes that will impact on global crop yields.

Peter Gibbs looks into the possible impacts of El Nino, how long it would take to recover and what's being done to prepare.

Producer: Anne-Marie Bullock.

Weatherman Peter Gibbs investigates the global impact of the weather phenomenon El Nino.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Meteorologist, Peter Gibbs investigates the global impact of the weather phenomenon El Nino. Forecasts predict El Nino will occur at the end of this year, creating fear in many communities around the world.

Flooding, drought and famine have all been caused by the phenomenon in the past. Peruvian fishermen are often the first to notice as warmer waters change the behaviour of coastal fish stocks. Peter hears what they've already noticed and finds out how these changes could have ripple effects around the world. The anchovies in Peruvian waters are caught to feed farmed salmon but they're also an important food source for seabirds. The warm waters could also cause an imbalance in marine life and weather changes that will impact on global crop yields.

Peter Gibbs looks into the possible impacts of El Nino, how long it would take to recover and what's being done to prepare.

Producer: Anne-Marie Bullock.

Weatherman Peter Gibbs investigates the global impact of the weather phenomenon El Nino.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Election 20192019120320191204 (R4)Britain's politicians have been promising the Earth on climate change. Tom Heap chews over the plausibility of their pledges.

He's joined by Angela Francis of WWF, green finance expert Michael Liebreich, Ellie Whitlock from the UK Youth Climate Coalition and the editor of Business Green, James Murray.

Producer: Alasdair Cross

Can Britain's political parties live up to their environmental promises?

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Britain's politicians have been promising the Earth on climate change. Tom Heap chews over the plausibility of their pledges.

He's joined by Angela Francis of WWF, green finance expert Michael Liebreich, Ellie Whitlock from the UK Youth Climate Coalition and the editor of Business Green, James Murray.

Producer: Alasdair Cross

Can Britain's political parties live up to their environmental promises?

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Electric Cars Recharged2013082720130828 (R4)It has been the Next Big Thing for longer than most people can remember but there are signs that the much-derided electric car may finally be poised for its moment in the sun.

For Costing the Earth, Tom Heap visits the factory where a major European car maker's latest electric supermini takes its place on the same production line as its petrol and diesel cousins.

And he discovers that experts believe that success will come this time thanks to a combination of improved technology, commercial imperatives and a hefty dose of EU legislation.

Tom Heap asks if a new breed of electric car may finally bring them to the mainstream.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

It has been the Next Big Thing for longer than most people can remember but there are signs that the much-derided electric car may finally be poised for its moment in the sun.

For Costing the Earth, Tom Heap visits the factory where a major European car maker's latest electric supermini takes its place on the same production line as its petrol and diesel cousins.

And he discovers that experts believe that success will come this time thanks to a combination of improved technology, commercial imperatives and a hefty dose of EU legislation.

Tom Heap asks if a new breed of electric car may finally bring them to the mainstream.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Electric Dreams2018100220181003 (R4)Is the time finally right to buy an electric car? Peter Gibbs has just taken the plunge. We join him on his first road trip to see if Britain really is ready to wave goodbye to diesel and petrol.

He drops in on Robert Llewellyn, Kryten in Red Dwarf and the man behind the electric car Youtube channel, Fully Charged for some initial inspiration and a moan about the difficulties of charging on the road. He checks out the real environmental benefits with Nick Molden from Emissions Analytics. He asks the Gardeners' Question Time panel if they're ready to make the shift and hears from Roads Minister, Jesse Norman and the scientists at Warwick University who are making radical advances in battery technology.

If they really can offer a car with a 300 mile range that can be charged in 10 minutes then the future may very well be electric.

Producer: Alasdair Cross

Is it time to buy an electric car? Peter Gibbs takes the plunge.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Is the time finally right to buy an electric car? Peter Gibbs has just taken the plunge. We join him on his first road trip to see if Britain really is ready to wave goodbye to diesel and petrol.

He drops in on Robert Llewellyn, Kryten in Red Dwarf and the man behind the electric car Youtube channel, Fully Charged for some initial inspiration and a moan about the difficulties of charging on the road. He checks out the real environmental benefits with Nick Molden from Emissions Analytics. He asks the Gardeners' Question Time panel if they're ready to make the shift and hears from Roads Minister, Jesse Norman and the scientists at Warwick University who are making radical advances in battery technology.

If they really can offer a car with a 300 mile range that can be charged in 10 minutes then the future may very well be electric.

Producer: Alasdair Cross

Is it time to buy an electric car? Peter Gibbs takes the plunge.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Electric Island2015051920150520 (R4)Tom Heap visits the Scottish island that can power itself.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Tom Heap visits the Scottish island that can power itself.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Electrifying Africa: Beyond The Grid2013030520130306 (R4)Micro-solar lamps are now lighting parts of Africa that the grid cannot reach. Tom Heap investigates how the solar spread is emulating the wide reach of mobile phones in Africa.

There are currently over 100 million kerosene lamps across Africa that are the main source of light in parts of the continent that are either off-grid or where people cannot afford to hook-up to the electricity grid. These lights are polluting, dangerous and expensive.

Burning a kerosene light in a small room produces the same detrimental effect as smoking two packets of cigarettes. They are a fire hazard and they can cost as much as 15% of an average salary to fuel in some parts of the continent.

Tom heap sets out to discover if a small desktop solar lamp that costs a fraction of the running expenses of a kerosene lamp can improve the health of millions of people and help to lift Africa out of poverty.

This week's programme is produced in conjunction with BBC Newsnight and BBC World's 'Our World' programme. To watch the films made to accompany the programme visit the Newsnight and Our World websites.

Presenter: Tom Heap

Producer: Martin Poyntz-Roberts.

Solar lamps are lighting parts of Africa the grid cannot reach. Tom Heap investigates.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Micro-solar lamps are now lighting parts of Africa that the grid cannot reach. Tom Heap investigates how the solar spread is emulating the wide reach of mobile phones in Africa.

There are currently over 100 million kerosene lamps across Africa that are the main source of light in parts of the continent that are either off-grid or where people cannot afford to hook-up to the electricity grid. These lights are polluting, dangerous and expensive.

Burning a kerosene light in a small room produces the same detrimental effect as smoking two packets of cigarettes. They are a fire hazard and they can cost as much as 15% of an average salary to fuel in some parts of the continent.

Tom heap sets out to discover if a small desktop solar lamp that costs a fraction of the running expenses of a kerosene lamp can improve the health of millions of people and help to lift Africa out of poverty.

This week's programme is produced in conjunction with BBC Newsnight and BBC World's 'Our World' programme. To watch the films made to accompany the programme visit the Newsnight and Our World websites.

Presenter: Tom Heap

Producer: Martin Poyntz-Roberts.

Solar lamps are lighting parts of Africa the grid cannot reach. Tom Heap investigates.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Electrifying Africa: The Power Beneath2013022620130227 (R4)A geothermal revolution is set to electrify Africa. Tom Heap visits the Rift Valley in Kenya, a potential source of abundant energy to find out if promises to light up even the remotest parts of the continent are going to come true.

Tom enters Hell's Gate National Park to meet the engineers harnessing the power of hot steam trapped beneath the crust, and heads north to the Menengai Crater to find geologists prospecting for power.

Back in Nairobi Tom meets businessmen and shopkeepers held back by a lack of readily available electricity and visits the poor neighbourhood of Kibera to find out how power and light can transform the lives of all Africans living with limited electricity.

This week's programme is produced in conjunction with BBC Newsnight and BBC World's 'Our World' programme. To watch the films made to accompany the programme visit the Newsnight and Our World websites.

Presenter: Tom Heap

Producer: Martin Poyntz-Roberts.

A geothermal revolution is set to electrify Africa. Tom Heap visits Kenya's Rift Valley.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

A geothermal revolution is set to electrify Africa. Tom Heap visits the Rift Valley in Kenya, a potential source of abundant energy to find out if promises to light up even the remotest parts of the continent are going to come true.

Tom enters Hell's Gate National Park to meet the engineers harnessing the power of hot steam trapped beneath the crust, and heads north to the Menengai Crater to find geologists prospecting for power.

Back in Nairobi Tom meets businessmen and shopkeepers held back by a lack of readily available electricity and visits the poor neighbourhood of Kibera to find out how power and light can transform the lives of all Africans living with limited electricity.

This week's programme is produced in conjunction with BBC Newsnight and BBC World's 'Our World' programme. To watch the films made to accompany the programme visit the Newsnight and Our World websites.

Presenter: Tom Heap

Producer: Martin Poyntz-Roberts.

A geothermal revolution is set to electrify Africa. Tom Heap visits Kenya's Rift Valley.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

End Of The Petrol Age2020120120201202 (R4)By 2030, sales of petrol and diesel cars in the UK will be banned. The decision announced by the Prime Minister in November is intended to help the country meet its target of reducing emissions of greenhouse gases to net zero by 2050, and will mean a significant shift in patterns of car ownership over the course of the next decade. In this programme Tom Heap looks at the implications of the decision. Does the UK have the battery-charging infrastructure which will be needed to power thousands more electric vehicles? With electric cars still more expensive to buy than those powered by an internal combustion engine, will the public be willing to make the swtich? Are we ready for the end of the petrol age?

Producer: Emma Campbell

Tom Heap explores the decision to ban sales of petrol and diesel cars in the UK by 2030.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

By 2030, sales of petrol and diesel cars in the UK will be banned. The decision announced by the Prime Minister in November is intended to help the country meet its target of reducing emissions of greenhouse gases to net zero by 2050, and will mean a significant shift in patterns of car ownership over the course of the next decade. In this programme Tom Heap looks at the implications of the decision. Does the UK have the battery-charging infrastructure which will be needed to power thousands more electric vehicles? With electric cars still more expensive to buy than those powered by an internal combustion engine, will the public be willing to make the swtich? Are we ready for the end of the petrol age?

Producer: Emma Campbell

Tom Heap explores the decision to ban sales of petrol and diesel cars in the UK by 2030.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Ending The Plastic Age20180919How do we solve the plastic crisis? Tom Heap is joined by an expert panel to find fresh ways to cut down on plastic waste.

It's become the environmental crisis that's caught the imagination. Since Blue Planet 2 broadcast heart-rending images of albatross and turtles tangled in plastic waste enormous pressure has been exerted on government and retailers to reduce the flow of plastic into landfill and the oceans. But what's the best way to dispose of plastic? How do we reduce our consumption of such an incredibly versatile material? Are there future plastics that will degrade and disappear without a cost to the planet?

Lucy Siegle, BBC 'One Show' reporter and author of a new book, 'Turning the Tide on Plastic' joins Tom alongside Richard Walker, MD of Iceland supermarkets who has pledged to remove plastic packaging from own-label goods by 2023. Bath University's Janet Scott discusses plant-based alternatives to plastic and Dustin Benton of the Green Alliance explains how campaigners are keeping up the pressure on government to improve the treatment and recycling of waste.

Recorded at Countryfile Live at Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire.

Solving the plastic problem. Four experts join Tom Heap to offer fresh answers.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Energy Lessons2023040420230405 (R4)After a winter of spiralling energy prices, Tom Heap asks whether our attitudes to energy consumption have changed. What lessons have we learned in the last twelve months, both as individual consumers and as a society - or are we putting our heads in the sand and carrying on as normal? Last week the government announced its plans to update the UK's net zero strategy, but what do its announcements tell us about its priorities when it comes to our energy use? Fuel poverty is hitting many people hard, but some environmentalists argue that the invasion of Ukraine and everything which has followed could prove to be a turning point for environmental change. In this programme Tom hosts a panel discussion on how the energy landscape is changing.

Producer: Emma Campbell

Tom Heap asks what lessons we've learned from a winter of spiralling energy prices.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

After a winter of spiralling energy prices, Tom Heap asks whether our attitudes to energy consumption have changed. What lessons have we learned in the last twelve months, both as individual consumers and as a society - or are we putting our heads in the sand and carrying on as normal? Last week the government announced its plans to update the UK's net zero strategy, but what do its announcements tell us about its priorities when it comes to our energy use? Fuel poverty is hitting many people hard, but some environmentalists argue that the invasion of Ukraine and everything which has followed could prove to be a turning point for environmental change. In this programme Tom hosts a panel discussion on how the energy landscape is changing.

Producer: Emma Campbell

Tom Heap asks what lessons we've learned from a winter of spiralling energy prices.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Energy Prices2022032220220323 (R4)Energy prices have hit new heights. Gas and electricity bills will rocket for most people at the end of this month as the price cap is lifted and nobody filling their car could fail to notice record prices at the pumps. Energy too is at the heart of the biggest conflict in Europe for decades. Russia's war machine is paid for with oil and gas and the West's response is shaped by our reliance on that power source.

What does all this mean for the environment? Can we maintain focus on carbon emissions when Russian tanks are belching their way down Ukrainian streets? Or is it an opportunity to hasten our detox from fossil fuels as we see our addiction funding war?

Tom Heap discusses our energy future with James Murray of Business Green magazine, Emma Pinchbeck, Chief Executive of Energy UK and the expert on new energy finance, Michael Liebreich.

Producer: Alasdair Cross

Is there a green way out of the energy price crisis? Tom Heap gathers expert opinion.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Energy prices have hit new heights. Gas and electricity bills will rocket for most people at the end of this month as the price cap is lifted and nobody filling their car could fail to notice record prices at the pumps. Energy too is at the heart of the biggest conflict in Europe for decades. Russia's war machine is paid for with oil and gas and the West's response is shaped by our reliance on that power source.

What does all this mean for the environment? Can we maintain focus on carbon emissions when Russian tanks are belching their way down Ukrainian streets? Or is it an opportunity to hasten our detox from fossil fuels as we see our addiction funding war?

Tom Heap discusses our energy future with James Murray of Business Green magazine, Emma Pinchbeck, Chief Executive of Energy UK and the expert on new energy finance, Michael Liebreich.

Producer: Alasdair Cross

Is there a green way out of the energy price crisis? Tom Heap gathers expert opinion.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Energy Storage2014051320140514 (R4)Massive batteries? Compressing or liquefying air? Moving gravel uphill on ski lifts? Tom Heap looks at some of the big ideas proposed for storing energy using science or the landscape and explores which may become a reality if we're to keep the lights on.

Huge investment is being made in renewable energy but as solar and wind fluctuate and are intermittent often energy goes to waste because the points at which they generate isn't when the demand occurs. So why not use that energy and store it in another form to be used when it's required? Many companies are proposing ideas to do that - from extending traditional pumped hydro to compressing or liquefying air, electrolysing water or shifting heavy materials up mountains. Or will a revolution in batteries - making them cheaper and from different materials - help the cause?

Tom Heap takes a look at some of the bold ideas to see how far they'll go to keeping the lights switched on, what they'll cost financially and aesthetically and if there's any sign of committing to any of them at all.

Tom Heap explores the innovative ways to store energy rather than let it go to waste.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Massive batteries? Compressing or liquefying air? Moving gravel uphill on ski lifts? Tom Heap looks at some of the big ideas proposed for storing energy using science or the landscape and explores which may become a reality if we're to keep the lights on.

Huge investment is being made in renewable energy but as solar and wind fluctuate and are intermittent often energy goes to waste because the points at which they generate isn't when the demand occurs. So why not use that energy and store it in another form to be used when it's required? Many companies are proposing ideas to do that - from extending traditional pumped hydro to compressing or liquefying air, electrolysing water or shifting heavy materials up mountains. Or will a revolution in batteries - making them cheaper and from different materials - help the cause?

Tom Heap takes a look at some of the bold ideas to see how far they'll go to keeping the lights switched on, what they'll cost financially and aesthetically and if there's any sign of committing to any of them at all.

Tom Heap explores the innovative ways to store energy rather than let it go to waste.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Energy Use High2009012620090129 (R4)Miriam O'Reilly investigates the government's school building programme. She hears that unneccessarily complicated 'green features' are being built into some new schools, hampering teachers from getting on with the job of teaching and in some cases causing schools to use up to three times more energy than ones that were built ten, 20 and even 100 years ago.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Everything's Gone Green!2018022020180221 (R4)In the last General Election environmental issues barely merited a mention. Nine months on and the Prime Minister is making keynote speeches on recycling and Michael Gove is issuing a flurry of policy initiatives to get the green-minded voter on-side.

Tom Heap sets out to discover why this remarkable transformation has taken place. Is it the Attenborough Effect, the power of the newly-green Daily Mail or a blatant attempt to woo the youth vote? Perhaps senior politicians have actually come to accept the gravity of Earth's predicament.

Producer: Alasdair Cross.

Why are environmental issues suddenly back in political fashion? Tom Heap investigates.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

In the last General Election environmental issues barely merited a mention. Nine months on and the Prime Minister is making keynote speeches on recycling and Michael Gove is issuing a flurry of policy initiatives to get the green-minded voter on-side.

Tom Heap sets out to discover why this remarkable transformation has taken place. Is it the Attenborough Effect, the power of the newly-green Daily Mail or a blatant attempt to woo the youth vote? Perhaps senior politicians have actually come to accept the gravity of Earth's predicament.

Producer: Alasdair Cross.

Why are environmental issues suddenly back in political fashion? Tom Heap investigates.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Exotic Pets2013032620130327 (R4)The demand for exotic and unusual pets is growing. Reptiles and amphibians , including snakes, lizards and geckos are popular pets for those looking for something alternative to cats and dogs. Some are captive bred or captive farmed and others are caught from the wild. The British Veterinary Association is re-evaluating its position on wild caught animals but the animal lobby group the Animal Protection Agency has called for a ban on the trade completely. They argue it causes suffering to the animals but also damages the environment.

Miranda Krestovnikoff looks behind the scenes at Heathrow where officers have intercepted animals being smuggled in illegally. She also speaks to Traffic, the wildlife monitoring organisation about the impact on the ecosystems when species are taken out of the wild and also asks what happens when exotic pets are released into the UK countryside.

But those involved in the pet trade in the UK say it's come a long way over the last 20 years. Miranda's invited to Exotic Pets UK which breeds some animals but also imports wild-caught species. They say they make the customers aware of where each species is sourced so they can make an informed decision but say if more people bred these animals in the UK there'd be less need to import. But Chris Newman from the Federation of British herpetologists and REPTA says the trade in species helps protect their habitat and a ban could actually threaten them.

Miranda Krestovnikoff asks if the trade in pet reptiles and amphibians should be banned.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

The demand for exotic and unusual pets is growing. Reptiles and amphibians , including snakes, lizards and geckos are popular pets for those looking for something alternative to cats and dogs. Some are captive bred or captive farmed and others are caught from the wild. The British Veterinary Association is re-evaluating its position on wild caught animals but the animal lobby group the Animal Protection Agency has called for a ban on the trade completely. They argue it causes suffering to the animals but also damages the environment.

Miranda Krestovnikoff looks behind the scenes at Heathrow where officers have intercepted animals being smuggled in illegally. She also speaks to Traffic, the wildlife monitoring organisation about the impact on the ecosystems when species are taken out of the wild and also asks what happens when exotic pets are released into the UK countryside.

But those involved in the pet trade in the UK say it's come a long way over the last 20 years. Miranda's invited to Exotic Pets UK which breeds some animals but also imports wild-caught species. They say they make the customers aware of where each species is sourced so they can make an informed decision but say if more people bred these animals in the UK there'd be less need to import. But Chris Newman from the Federation of British herpetologists and REPTA says the trade in species helps protect their habitat and a ban could actually threaten them.

Miranda Krestovnikoff asks if the trade in pet reptiles and amphibians should be banned.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Exploding Penguins2017050920170510 (R4)Peter Gibbs meets the Penguins of the Falkland Islands.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Peter Gibbs meets the Penguins of the Falkland Islands.

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Fantastic Plastic2020040720200408 (R4)Plastic waste is the scourge of developing countries. Many have poor waste collection and virtually no recycling. But there may be ways in which local people can put the waste to good use

In Cameroon a child called Pierre Kamsouloum wanted to play football, but had no ball. He got the idea of melting soft plastic, the kind that food is wrapped in, and moulding it into a crude football. A few years later, without a job and looking for a way to make money, he came back to the idea, and realised that if you mixed the molten plastic with sand, you could turn it into tough paving slabs, competitively priced. Now, with the help of NGOs, thousands of people across Cameroon and Gambia have been trained in the technique.

In the Netherlands, design student Dave Hakkens had the idea of creating machines that people could use to recycle their plastic locally. Using quite basic technology, these machines shred, melt and then extrude plastic into moulds to make flat sheets, bowls