39 Ways to Save the Planet
Activity Overview
Episode publication activity over the past year
Episodes
Zero Carbon Farm
22 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Can British farmers transform themselves into carbon-cutting heroes? Arable farmer, Duncan Farrington has worked hard to reduce the carbon emissions ...
Hydrogen Revolution
18 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
It could be the clean fuel of the near future- for homes and for heavy machinery. Lord Bamford, head of JCB, is betting that it will power the next g...
Arnold Schwarzenegger's favourite ways to save the planet
29 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Arnold Schwarzenegger is the former governor of California and one of America's most influential green voices. He's also one of the biggest movie star...
Hunting Down the Polluters
25 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Tom Heap discovers fresh ways to quantify greenhouse gas emissions with help from satellites, artificial intelligence and former US Vice President Al ...
Low Carbon Crisps
25 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Ever thought about the carbon cost of a packet of crisps? At CCM Technologies they think of little else. Their revolutionary fertiliser offers a big s...
Windcatchers
25 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Wind energy is vital in the battle against climate change, but can we make improvements to harness more from them? Tom Heap visits Kelburn windfarm i...
Better Batteries
18 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Batteries are powering the electric car revolution, but can we make them longer lasting, faster charging and smaller and lighter? Beyond electric cars...
The Happiness Index
18 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
How well is your country doing? The GDP - gross domestic product - has long been a measure of growth and success but some argue judging purely on econ...
Floating Solar Power
18 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Generating renewable energy from solar power has been a great resource but land for this purpose can come into conflict with other uses or receive opp...
Local Wisdom
18 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
There are different schools of thought on how land (and sea) are best managed but often in the rush for economic development indigenous practices and ...
Zero Carbon Flight
18 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Flying, for business or pleasure, has long been seen as one of the biggest carbon villains. As airports gear up again after Covid it's clear not every...
New Nuclear
30 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Nuclear power should be a powerful ally in the fight against climate change but cost and safety issues hold it back. Could a new generation be safer ...
Black Gold
30 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Biochar is an idea thousands of years old but one that seemed to have been (foolishly) lost by many along the way. Like charcoal, biochar is made by b...
Better Blocks
30 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Concrete blocks are the foundations of the modern world but they could be greener. Tom Heap meets Colin Hills and his team turning waste dust and car...
Eat Better for the Planet
30 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
How to improve mass catering for the planet. Tom Heap considers how changing the menus in schools, hospitals and the armed forces could help in the fi...
Buy Less Stuff
30 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
From clothes to cars and buildings, all our new 'stuff' takes energy and resources to produce. If we want to cut down the use of high carbon materials...
Big Drop Energy
23 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
A big weight and a very, very deep hole. The team behind Gravitricity think they have found a solution to a serious problem with renewable energy. A...
Insulate the Nation
23 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Heating our homes can be expensive and draughty old housing stock leaches carbon dioxide. But making homes more energy efficient can be a costly uphea...
Magical Rockdust
23 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Soil is brilliant at capturing carbon dioxide and keeping it out of the atmosphere. But what if we could make it do an even better job? On a farm over...
Swiss Air
23 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Giant fans are sucking in fresh air from the Swiss Alps and Iceland's frozen interior, capturing the carbon dioxide and turning it into fizzy drinks o...
Hot Shower, Cool Planet
23 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Why use gas or electricity to heat your water when the power of the sun will do it for free? Faisal Ghani, a young Bangladeshi-Australian engineer, h...
Bamboo Is Better
26 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Fast-growing bamboo has gone in and out of fashion but is now being seen as a possible climate hero. Its capacity to absorb carbon is enhanced by how ...
Cutting the Cow Burps
26 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Cattle emit huge quantities of planet-warming methane. But they can be stopped! Tom Heap meets Eileen Wall from SRUC, Scotland's Rural College who i...
Logging For Good
26 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Is logging always bad for the planet? A team from The Nature Conservancy in the United States believe they have developed a way to cut down the trees ...
Slippery Ships
26 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
While at sea or in port, the hull of a ship can be an attractive new residence for all sorts or creatures. The initial slime build-up can provide a we...
Polluter Pays
23 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
There are already examples around the world where the manufacturer helps to pay for the safe disposal of waste from their goods once used - such as el...
Steel without the fossil fuels
19 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Modern civilisation is quite literally built on steel. Our cities, our homes, our cars are unthinkable without it. But steel-making is the biggest i...
Bog-tastic!
19 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
There's a lot of carbon locked up in the peatlands of Britain and Ireland but many of them have been drained for agriculture and dug for fuel or garde...
Ocean Farmers
19 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
When the cod disappeared from the Grand Banks of his Newfoundland home, fisherman Bren Smith saw the light. He realised that we need a new relationsh...
The Chill Hunters
19 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
There's a dirty secret around the back of your fridge. The world's freezers, fridges and air conditioning units are chilled by gases that have planet...
More Power from the Sun
11 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Electricity from the sun is cheap and clean but the solar cells we see on our rooftops could be much more efficient. Henry Snaith of Oxford PV has de...
Phenomenal Photosynthesis
11 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Some food crops convert just one percent of the sun's energy into edible food. If we can improve the process of photosynthesis we can grow more food ...
The Legal Fight
11 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Campaign and protest have been the traditional tools of environmental action in the UK. American lawyer, James Thornton, set up Client Earth to defend...
Siberian Rewilding
11 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Trees are often thought to be the good guys when it comes to climate change. In Siberia, however, it's not always the case. The landscape was changed ...
Chilling Food
11 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Chilled lorries are the backbone of our food distribution system, keeping our pork pies and hummus safe and fresh on route to the supermarket. The pr...
Robots of the Wind
04 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The UK government is betting big on offshore wind to provide a huge percentage of our electricity by 2030. The turbines are certainly efficient, low ...
Educating and Empowering Girls
04 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Around the world many girls leave school before completing their education. It's said that those who stay to the end of high school have more agency a...
Sublime Seagrass
04 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Simple and sublime seagrass meadows work naturally to absorb carbon. The leaves cause friction in the water and trap carbon from organic matter in the...
Wood for Good
04 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
BBC Radio Four presents 39 ideas to relieve the stress that climate change is exerting on the planet.Trees soak up carbon dioxide, trees store carbon ...
Super Rice
04 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
We’re resourceful, adaptable and the smartest thing this planet has ever seen. We got ourselves into this mess but we can get ourselves out of it. B...
Welcome to 39 Ways to Save the Planet
21 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Beating climate change takes the best ideas from the smartest minds. In each 15 minute episode Tom Heap meets the people behind a fascinating idea to...