Costing the Earth

Insect Extinction?

28 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Insects are the most varied and abundant animals outweighing humanity by 17 times, yet they are in decline in many parts of the world. Insects have be...

Indian Impact

21 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

As India votes Navin Singh Khadka travels the sub-continent to find out if environmental issues are rising up the agenda.Amongst nations India is the ...

Eco Anxiety

14 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Is the future of the planet making you depressed? Do you feel paralysed, unable to imagine the happiness of future generations? As global government...

The State of Nature

07 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

A detailed snapshot of Earth's natural life is published this week. How sick is the planet and what can we do to reverse the damage? Tom Heap hosts ...

The Youth Are Revolting

30 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Greta Thunberg and the global youth strikes for the climate have directed the worlds attention to the potential future they face on a warming planet. ...

The Environment after Brexit

16 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Where does Brexit leave the UK countryside? Tom Heap hosts a studio debate. On the panel: Shaun Spiers from the environmental think-tank, the Green A...

The Wolf is Back!

09 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Wolves were hunted out of many European countries over a century ago. In recent years they've been migrating back naturally and have now reached every...

Fast Fashion Slow Down

03 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Fast fashion is responsible for more emissions than shipping and aviation combined and by 2050 could account for a quarter of the world’s carbon bud...

Dash from Gas

02 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

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 b...

Clean Air for Kids

19 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Clean air - the fightback: Tom Heap investigates the problems caused by air pollution, and asks how it affects children's health. He visits schools in...

Tread Lightly

12 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Tyres have an enormous impact on the environment. What can be done to produce and dispose of them more efficiently? Tom Heap reports.Producer: Anne-...

Hit the Gas!

05 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

From the cattle shed to the racetrack, ammonia is having a moment. In the wrong place it's a dangerous pollutant, in the right place it's a clean fue...

The Future of Our National Parks

05 Dec 2018

Contributed by Lukas

2019 is the 70th anniversary of the legislation that created the first National Parks in the UK. At this crucial moment for the future of our countrys...

Heat from the Deep

27 Nov 2018

Contributed by Lukas

The heat contained in the top 3km of the Earth’s crust could power the planet thousands of times over. Despite that, less than 1% of the world’s e...

Art and the Environment

20 Nov 2018

Contributed by Lukas

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 coul...

March of the Wet Wipes

13 Nov 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Over the last decade, wet wipes have become ubiquitous. There's a wipe for almost everything, from faces to furniture, and it's a multi-million pound ...

Wetland Wonder

06 Nov 2018

Contributed by Lukas

What have wetlands ever done for us? Apart from providing fresh water, carbon storage, flood mitigation, wildlife habitat and much more....they are sa...

The Real Cost of Chinese Medicine

30 Oct 2018

Contributed by Lukas

China's $900bn Belt and Road Initiative is taking Chinese money, expertise and workers all around the world. From South-East Asia all the way to South...

Plasticphobia

23 Oct 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Could the war on plastic have unintended consequences for the environment? Tom Heap reports.Producer: Sarah Swadling

Man vs Woman vs Planet

16 Oct 2018

Contributed by Lukas

The environment affects us all so should gender matter when we consider how best to save the planet? Lucy Siegle and Tom Heap take on the gender divid...

Helen Czerski's Arctic Expedition

09 Oct 2018

Contributed by Lukas

The Arctic is warming twice as fast as the rest of the planet. That's certain to impact on the weather we experience in Britain. Physicist Helen Czers...

Electric Dreams

02 Oct 2018

Contributed by Lukas

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 i...

Fertility and the Environment

25 Sep 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Sperm counts amongst men in the West have dropped by over 50% in less than 40 years. Today 1 in 6 couples has trouble conceiving but some animal speci...

Ending the Plastic Age

19 Sep 2018

Contributed by Lukas

How 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 environmenta...

Verity and the Bees

11 Sep 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Verity Sharp wants to keep bees. She already grows her own organic fruit and vegetables. To pollinate her garden and provide delicious honey, bees see...

The Future of the Countryside

29 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

What do we want from our countryside and how much are we willing to pay for it? Tom Heap chairs a debate in response to the Government's 25 Year Envir...

Disappearing Alps

22 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

The permafrost is thawing, the mountains are crumbling and the glaciers retreating. What will be left of the Alps? Peter Hadfield reports from Switzer...

Run Rabbit

16 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

When was the last time you saw a rabbit - dead or alive? Despite its reputation, a BTO survey suggests European rabbit numbers in the UK have declined...

Antarctic Assault

11 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

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 deve...

Outback Outrage

08 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

In the Australian Outback survival is tough for plants, animals and people. Food and water are always in short supply. If anyone, or anything, takes t...

Demolishing Dams

24 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

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. ...

Shifting Spring

23 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

We've just endured a really tough winter but records suggest that Spring is on average beginning much earlier. Lindsey Chapman investigates how shifti...

Undiscovered Colombia

17 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Colombia is second only to Brazil in the extent of its rich biodiversity but armed conflict over a half century has limited exploration and charting o...

Dunes into Bunkers

03 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

It's a decade since Donald Trump began building his golf resort on the enormous mobile sand dunes of Balmedie in Aberdeenshire. Conservation organisat...

Superwood

28 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Anything made from oil can now be made from trees, so is a new age of wood about to dawn? Tom Heap visits Finland which is pushing for a new industria...

Microfibre Detectives

27 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Around two thirds of fibres produced globally are synthetic material - many used in our clothing. It's emerged that plastic microfibres are being shed...

A Greener Home For All

13 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Our homes and their construction have a huge impact on the environment. The construction industry is estimated to contribute to 40% of worldwide energ...

Coral versus Coal

07 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

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 accuse...

Defenders of the Reef

27 Feb 2018

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

Everything's Gone Green!

20 Feb 2018

Contributed by Lukas

In the last General Election environmental issues barely merited a mention. Nine months on and the Prime Minister is making keynote speeches on recycl...

Bonn Climate Talks: Where Next?

14 Nov 2017

Contributed by Lukas

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 Unite...

America's Climate Resistance

07 Nov 2017

Contributed by Lukas

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 i...

Tony's Farm

31 Oct 2017

Contributed by Lukas

When Anna Jones was growing up, the air was clean and the grass was lush. She lived on a farm in Shropshire, and phrases such as 'greenhouse gas emiss...

Fish Farms of the Future

26 Oct 2017

Contributed by Lukas

A new study suggests farmed fish could be key to feeding a growing global population. Fish are an efficient source of protein and already over half th...

Where Does Our Waste Go?

17 Oct 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Where do the contents of our bins end up? Tom Heap lifts the lid on the recycling industry to find out what happens to our waste beyond the kerbside c...

The Future of Fashion

10 Oct 2017

Contributed by Lukas

It may seem odd when an industry that relies on seasonal trends and consumption talks about 'going green'. But Lucy Siegle has had a keen eye to the f...

Dare to Share

03 Oct 2017

Contributed by Lukas

The ability to share underused resources like holiday homes and car journeys through online sites has disrupted many sectors of the economy. Many peop...

Guardians of the Environment?

29 Sep 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Tom Heap asks if the Environment Agency is fit for purpose. After seven years of deep cuts to its staffing and budgets, Tom Heap asks the EA's Chair, ...

Fight the Power

20 Sep 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Meet Gina Lopez, the radical green activist who suddenly found herself appointed Environment Minister for the Philippines. Rodrigo Duterte was elected...

Battery Powered Britain

12 Sep 2017

Contributed by Lukas

New developments in battery technology are changing the way we power Britain. More efficient, higher capacity batteries expand the range of electric v...

Tourist Tide

05 Sep 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Can beautiful places welcome mass tourism without environmental destruction? Tom Heap reports.There's been a summer of discontent in some of Europe's ...

James Wong on the World's Toughest Plants

30 May 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Between 20 and 33% of the world's plant species are currently at risk of global extinction. That's the estimation of recently published studies. So ho...

Future Forests

24 May 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Can Britain revive its forests and grow the wood we need for a greener economy? Tom Heap investigates as we approach the 800th anniversary of the 1217...

Mekong Delta Blues

16 May 2017

Contributed by Lukas

New dams threaten life on South-East Asia's most vital river, a river that provides food and water to 70 million people. The government of Laos is det...

Exploding Penguins

09 May 2017

Contributed by Lukas

The penguins of the Falkland Islands have thrived since the war of 1982, protected from human interference by Argentine landmines. Peter Gibbs finds o...

Made to Last?

02 May 2017

Contributed by Lukas

How long do you reasonably expect your electronic gadgets and clothes to last? Has the cheapening of products meant we're too ready to let them go whe...

Insulation for the Nation

25 Apr 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Our homes are responsible for 25% of our carbon emissions in the UK. Tom Heap asks if we can retrofit our homes to fight climate change.An Englishman'...

Sinking Solomon Islands

18 Apr 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Five of the Solomon Islands have already been lost to sea level rise and many more are being rendered uninhabitable. For wildlife film-maker and marin...

Reasons to Be Cheerful?

11 Apr 2017

Contributed by Lukas

The Skoll World Forum was set up by eBay founder, Jeff Skoll to pursue his optimistic vision of a sustainable world of peace and prosperity. But can t...

Fishing Future

04 Apr 2017

Contributed by Lukas

The British fishing industry suffered decades of sharp decline during our membership of the European Union. The European Common Fisheries Policy has l...

Unfrozen North

28 Mar 2017

Contributed by Lukas

What happens in the world's most northerly town when the permafrost de-frosts? Eleanor Rosamund Barraclough visits Svalbard to find out.Longyearbyen, ...

Trump's Big Sell Off

21 Mar 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Tom Heap examines the future for America's Wild West- and its Mild East- under a Donald Trump administration threatening to sell off Federal land.The ...

Heroines of the Rainforest

14 Mar 2017

Contributed by Lukas

The Indonesian rainforest has suffered enormous damage over the last few decades. Logged for timber and cleared for palm oil production, the habitat o...

Delivering Clean Air

07 Mar 2017

Contributed by Lukas

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, ofte...

Soil Saviours

28 Feb 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Can soil play a role in the fight against climate change? Our soils are the biggest store of terrestrial carbon on the planet. This crucial non-renewa...

Black Gold in Paradise

23 Feb 2017

Contributed by Lukas

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 f...

Rig Retirement

14 Feb 2017

Contributed by Lukas

As many of the oil and gas platforms in the North Sea come to the end of their useful life, they're due to be decommissioned - sealed off, cleaned up ...

Fighting Fire

07 Feb 2017

Contributed by Lukas

When wildfires engulfed the Canadian city of Fort McMurray last May 90,000 people were displaced and well over £2bn of damage was caused, making it o...

America's Energy Independence

01 Dec 2016

Contributed by Lukas

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 p...

Cruising: A Dirty Secret

15 Nov 2016

Contributed by Lukas

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 i...

Putting the Fizz Back into Planet Earth

08 Nov 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Can we find a use for all that pesky climate-changing carbon dioxide? If we can turn excess CO2 into something useful we might just be able to slow do...

Nuclear Futures

01 Nov 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Our nuclear power stations are being pushed to run well past their planned life-span. Matthew Hill asks if this is putting us all in danger.Producer: ...

Forests of the Orangutan

25 Oct 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Some of the last refuges of the Orangutan are under threat. As food manufacturers demand more palm oil for their processed products so the pressure gr...

The British Countryside after Brexit

18 Oct 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Tom Heap hears four radical visions for the future of the British countryside after Brexit. He's joined by Baroness Young, Chair of the Woodland Trust...

Wildlife-Friendly Motorways

11 Oct 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Motorways kill animals. That's unavoidable. But can road builders minimise the death toll with badger tunnels, bat flyovers, and green bridges covered...

Spiritual Greens

04 Oct 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Tom Heap drops in on the 50th anniversary celebrations of the green magazine Resurgence. With its origins in the peace movement, the magazine has cham...

The Growing Season

27 Sep 2016

Contributed by Lukas

The Met Office recently issued a report which states that the growing season in the UK is now one month longer than it was in the 1960's. Keen gardene...

Fruits of the Forest

21 Sep 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Can the growing of fashionable super fruits save the Amazon rain forest? Peter Hadfield meets the native farmers finding ways to profit from the fores...

Cities Without Cars

14 Sep 2016

Contributed by Lukas

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 explo...

Big Oil Big Trouble

06 Sep 2016

Contributed by Lukas

The big oil companies are the pantomime villains of the global warming debate. They've been accused of everything from climate change denial to commer...

The Sun King of China

10 May 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Meet Huang Ming, the Chinese inventor who describes himself as, 'the number one crazy solar guy in the world'.One of the prize exhibits of his museum ...

Four Menus to Save the Planet

03 May 2016

Contributed by Lukas

How should we eat to reduce our carbon footprint and save the planet? Should we all give up meat? Or eat only meat that's reared on grassland which co...

After Chernobyl

26 Apr 2016

Contributed by Lukas

When radioactive particles from the Chernobyl disaster landed in Germany's Black Forest one woman decided to change her country's relationship with nu...

The Mars of the Mid-Atlantic

19 Apr 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Ascension Island is a tiny scrap of British territory, marooned in the tropical mid-Atlantic roughly halfway between Brazil and Africa. It's the tip o...

Digging Climate Change

12 Apr 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Professor Alice Roberts asks if archaeology can help us understand climate change.Producer: Helen Lennard.

From Iceland with Love

05 Apr 2016

Contributed by Lukas

The Ice Link interconnector would link Iceland's cheap and carbon free electricity from hydro and geothermal to the UK. It could provide the equivalen...

Beasts of the Border

29 Mar 2016

Contributed by Lukas

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 bee...

Litter

22 Mar 2016

Contributed by Lukas

The government in Westminster has promised England a new, national anti-litter strategy. But how do you persuade a throwaway society to use a bin? Chr...

The Environment after Exit

15 Mar 2016

Contributed by Lukas

From Roman Snails and Great Crested Newts in East Anglia to the lemon sole of the English Channel and the wind turbines of Fife, European legislation ...

New York's Big Green Clean

08 Mar 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Tom Heap visits New York to find out how the city is cleaning up its dirty waterways and bringing back oysters to the harbour.New York is highly popul...

Acoustic Ecology

03 Mar 2016

Contributed by Lukas

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 af...

The City That Fell into the Earth

23 Feb 2016

Contributed by Lukas

How do you move a city? Lesley Riddoch travels to Arctic Sweden to find out. Kiruna is gradually sliding into Europe's biggest iron ore mine. The city...

Requiem for a King

16 Feb 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Tom Heap tells the story of coal from Industrial Revolution to its apparent demise. As the world begins to fall out of love with coal, is it too early...

Britain Disconnected

09 Feb 2016

Contributed by Lukas

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

Murder in Cambodia

20 Nov 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Peter Hadfield travels to Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam to investigate the illegal trade in Siamese Rosewood.Rosewood is a hard wood that is highly p...

In Conversation with David Attenborough

17 Nov 2015

Contributed by Lukas

David Attenborough and a panel of influential thinkers on the natural world join Tom Heap to preview this month's Climate Summit in Paris. Can the wor...

River Quality

03 Nov 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Campaigners claim England's river life is under threat from 'insidious' pollution, yet the Environment Agency says rivers are at their healthiest in 2...

Antipasto Agony

27 Oct 2015

Contributed by Lukas

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....

Coast: 50 Years of Change

20 Oct 2015

Contributed by Lukas

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 pr...

Paying For Our Parks

13 Oct 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Our National Parks are getting less money from central government - some have seen their grant cut by 40% in the past 5 years. To make up the shortfal...