Down to Earth

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.