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© France Médias Monde
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We meet the people behind fascinating environmental, health and technological innovations in a bid for sustainable solutions to our changing world.
59 Episodes
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Around the world, food insecurity is on the rise, with the cost of living crisis cutting many households off from nutritious meals. In France's Bordeaux region, 400 people have begun experimenting with a unique food security programme, aiming to make locally-grown food accessible to everyone - regardless of income. Inspired by France's universal healthcare system, the programme could be the premise of a new branch of “social security” for food - with both social and environmental benefits.
Cheese lovers beware: the days of Camembert could be numbered. According to France's National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), a lack of microbial diversity risks driving the famed French soft cheese to the brink of extinction. Researchers say a single mould strain known as Penicillium camemberti, which is essential for the production of camembert, is now unable to reproduce. This has led to a collapse in its genetic make-up, threatening its survival and that of the iconic cheese along with it. The Down to Earth team reports from France's Normandy region, the home of Camembert.
Asian hornets were first detected on French soil in 2004, and the invasive species has since spread rapidly across the country and the rest of Europe, including Germany, Spain and the UK. Asian hornets are known to be a major cause of high bee mortality, with entire colonies wiped out in as little as several days. Earlier this month, the French government launched a nationwide strategy to combat their proliferation. Beekeepers have also had to adapt in order to protect their hives. The Down to Earth team reports from France's western Finistère peninsula.
April 22 marks Earth Day, and this year's theme is "Planet vs. Plastics". Over the past 60 years, around 7 billion tons of plastic have been produced, according to the UN. But only around 10 percent of it has been recycled. Initiatives are flourishing around the world to tackle the waste crisis, including new technology to improve recycling rates. French startup Carbios has developed an alternative method to mechanical recycling, using plastic-chewing enzymes to break down polyethylene, one of the most common single-use plastics in the world. The Down to Earth team visited their demonstration plant in Clermont-Ferrand.
As the Spanish region of Catalonia battles its worst drought on record, activists are beginning to question Barcelona's mass tourism model. Should Spain's most visited city be allowed to welcome even more tourists this summer amid a state of emergency? The Down to Earth team takes a closer look.
Pumping industrial emissions into the depths of the Earth's crust – is it a silver bullet to pump the breaks on climate change? Norway says yes, as it prepares to launch the world’s first cross-border carbon storage facility. But will it cut global emissions? Or just greenwash and prolong the same old polluting practices?
The Paris metro is one of the oldest underground railway networks in the world. Every day, 4 million people in the French capital rely on its services. But could Parisians be unknowingly exposing themselves to toxic levels of air pollution? The Down to Earth team takes a closer look.
In France's eastern Lorraine region, scientists have uncovered vast deposits of natural hydrogen, one of the cleanest fuels in nature. The discovery could be the biggest of its kind so far, spurring a global energy race for the fuel of the future. The Down to Earth team takes a closer look.
Where life cannot be sustained, some plant species show astounding resilience against toxic contaminants. Could they help us clean up pollution? The Down to Earth team investigates.
As the UN's annual climate summit gets underway in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, one underlying question is set to top the agenda: can the world finally agree to ditch fossil fuels? Down to Earth takes a closer look.
One year on from the historic wildfires that decimated the woodlands of Gironde in south-western France, the bark beetle is adding insult to injury. Bark beetle larvae usually feed off the sap of dead trees, but after the fires left so many trees weakened, it's been a field day for the insect, which is now proliferating at an alarming rate. It's now a race against time to save what can be saved – to evacuate dead or infected trees from the area, in the hope of protecting their neighbours. The Down to Earth team reports.
Last August, a massive rockfall in France's Maurienne valley brought traffic to a standstill between France and Italy. Nearly 16,000 cubic metres of rock suddenly tumbled down the mountain, damaging a highway and train tracks down below.
Their carbon-absorbing properties have made trees crucial climate allies. But for how long? As extreme climate conditions accelerate their decline, forests are losing their ability to act as carbon sinks by soaking up planet-warming gases. In France, some have even turned into a source of carbon. In this edition of Down to Earth, we meet with scientists as they try to piece together the sequence of factors contributing to the decline of French forests and carbon sequestration.
As cities expand, demand for land continues to grow. But that same land provides vital services to humans, such as agriculture. Nature and urbanisation are two sides of the same coin. Can they ever be reconciled? Or is urban sprawl inevitable? The Down to Earth team takes a closer look at the situation in France.
They produce twice as much oxygen in the Mediterranean as the Amazon rainforest. They are often confused with algae. But seagrasses, known as "posidonia" in the Mediterranean, are plants that are crucial to our planet. Yet they are under threat. Scientists believe the Mediterranean has lost 14 percent of its seagrass meadows over the past 100 years. Tourism, boats dragging their anchors and pollution have driven the rapid decline of this ancient, carbon-absorbing plant.
The healthcare sector accounts for around 4 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. That's equivalent to the annual emissions of France, Germany and Brazil combined. Medical staff and the healthcare industry are gradually embracing the objective of reducing the sector's contribution to global warming. But the task remains daunting. The Down to Earth team takes a closer look.
Dry rivers, thirsty villages and depleted groundwater reserves: as water supply grows ever more uncertain, France is gearing up for another dry summer. But the country has a game plan for survival: share, reuse and save a dwindling resource. The Down to Earth team takes a closer look.
Swimming in the Seine has long been forbidden but taking a dip in the iconic river could soon become a reality. Just in time for the 2024 Summer Olympics, Paris has embarked on its most ambitious bid yet to clean up one the world’s busiest waterways.
With microplastic pollution invading our oceans and the soil, few places have been spared. Could it also enter the food chain? Scientists in the Netherlands are beginning to uncover the tip of the iceberg – so far, with more questions than answers.
It could almost be the scene of a picture postcard: old boats dotted around the French coastline, moving with the tide. But their environmental impact is a lot less charming. Most boats are made of fibreglass, plastics and resins, making them difficult to recycle. But is there another way? Can sustainable boating set sail? We take a closer look in this edition of Down to Earth.
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