Costing the Earth

What would the British countryside look like if we all adopted the vegan diet recommended by many environmental campaigners? Tom Heap hosts a discussion with panellists from the National Farmers Union and the Vegan Society. We also hear from expert witnesses from Oxford University, Aberystwyth University, Harvard Law School and Rothamsted Research.

Producer: Anne-Marie Bullock

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

The Iron Curtain was an accidental wildlife haven. 30 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall, Tom Heap walks the borderlands to see how nature has continued to thrive.

Before the fall of the wall naturalists in West Germany had noticed that some bird and mammal species favoured life in the deathzone with its lack of human disturbance. When the Soviet bloc crumbled they joined friends and colleagues in the East to declare a Greenbelt through Europe, from Trieste on the Adriatic to Lubeck on the Baltic.

Against the odds their campaign has met with great success, creating new migration routes for some of Europe's biggest mammals whilst keeping developers away from most of the old border between East and West.

Producer: Alasdair Cross

The last decade has seen a huge rise in the number of people opting for artificial turf in their gardens. Meanwhile businesses and corporations are making more use of plastic plants in both indoor and outdoor spaces. What effect does choosing fake over real plants have on the environment? Peter Gibbs investigates.

Producer: Emma Campbell

Britain urgently needs a zero carbon source of reliable energy for our homes, industry and the new generation of electric vehicles. This summer's electricity blackouts suggest that we're a long way from achieving the goal. Tom Heap and a panel of power experts offer their solutions.

Tom is joined by Jillian Ambrose, Energy Correspondent of The Guardian, the Chief Executive of the Committee on Climate Change, Chris Stark and CEO of power company Good Energy, Juliet Davenport.

Producer: Alasdair Cross

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

From the Loch Ness Monster and mammoths to the Amazon river and uncharted river flies - 'environmental DNA' is revolutionising how we tell what species are present in a certain landscape. Traces of skin, mucus or gametes can be left by creatures in their environment and scientists can use samples from the water, air or soil and sequence the DNA found within to test for a specific species or to get a broader picture of what is there. It can help monitor for invasive species and even look back to ancient history. Samples can be taken by non-experts, in remote locations, quicker than some traditional methods and it's non invasive. Scientists say this can speed up and revolutionise how we chart our living world....which in some cases might flag up the most urgent need to intervene where species are threatened.

The technique has been used recently by Prof Neil Gemmell from University of Otago working with experts from the Loch Ness Centre - to search for evidence of what is and isn't present in the depths but it's also being used in more applications around the world.

Jheni Osman explores why scientists are so excited about this modern technique, how long the traces last and what it might reveal in the future.

Produced by Anne-Marie Bullock

Plastic nets and equipment left in the ocean by fishing boats is estimated to make up over 10% of marine rubbish and in the 'Great Pacific Garbage Patch' over 40% of the accumulated plastic is lost fishing gear. Even worse these plastic 'ghost nets' can go on catching fish and attracting other wildlife which then become entangled too. Often these nets are very old and once they finally do start to degrade they add to the problem of 'microplastics' which are ingested by sea creatures. It's a big global problem but as Lucy Siegle discovers in Cornwall and Italy there are lots of solutions on offer and teams of enthusiastic volunteer divers who want to get these old nets out of the sea and into a recycling scheme.

With the help of 'Ghost Fishing UK' Lucy takes a look at what can be done to prevent more 'ghost gear' being lost and to help get existing nets out of our oceans.

How can we prevent a repeat of the devastating fires in the Amazon? Tom Heap and Lucy Siegle search for solutions.

Producer: Emma Campbell

Verity Sharp wants to turn her small garden into a haven for wildlife. She's inspired by the Rewilding movement, but her neighbours aren't too keen on wolves in Wiltshire.

Inspired by the work being done at Knepp Castle Estate in West Sussex, Verity loves the idea of abandoning the lawn mower and letting nature take control. But will her abandoned garden turn into a natural paradise or an embarrassing mess that lowers the tone of the neighbourhood?

Verity calls on the author of 'Wilding', Isabella Tree and rewilding pioneer, Germaine Greer for sage advice.

Producer: Alasdair Cross