Down to Earth

There were early signs the Covid-19 crisis would have implications far beyond the medical arena. Images of farmers heartbroken as their harvests never left the farm played beside footage of supermarket shelves stripped of essential supplies. In a matter of weeks, the coronavirus had exposed the fragility of our food supply system. While Covid-19 isn't the first or last crisis the world will face, is it the wake-up call needed to reform how our food gets from farm to fork?

Transport via two wheels is cheap, clean and allows mass travel while maintaining safe distances. From Bogotá to Berlin, cities around the world are betting on bicycles to get around once coronavirus lockdowns begin to ease.

Conservationists have long been calling for an end to markets where wild animals are kept in confined and unsanitary conditions. These types of markets have been singled out as potential nests for viruses such as Covid-19. Some say today's pandemic is a watershed moment for curbing this trade. What are the risks if business continues as usual? Are we sleepwalking into another crisis?

As Covid-19 takes hold across the globe, and global demand for air travel falls 80 percent, the aviation industry is in freefall. The International Air Transport Association predicts half of all airlines will be bankrupt by June if governments don't step in with loans and bailouts. Climate campaigners, however, believe the pause in flying is an opportunity to build a cleaner air transport system.

The coronavirus outbreak has shocked and surprised the world, but for many disease ecologists, Covid-19 may be just the beginning of many more mass pandemics. There is now growing evidence that we humans could be to blame for the crisis. This week on Down to Earth, we look at the potential link between the destruction of our ecosystems and the rise in animal-borne diseases, but also at how nature could be one of our greatest allies in the fight against Covid-19.

Three and a half billion people are confined in some way around the planet. That's almost half of the world's population. The Covid-19 pandemic has drastically changed our daily lives. With travel halted and industries slowed or stopped, what does that mean for the environment? What effect could it have on efforts to fight climate change? Down to Earth's team takes a look at carbon emissions, pollution, recycling and the impact on agriculture in this special episode in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.

When rain falls in undeveloped areas, the water is absorbed and filtered by soil and plants. But in built-up cities like Seattle, the water washes over roofs, roads and pavements, picking up a cocktail of pollutants on its way: petrol, tyre particles, heavy metals, pesticides and even animal excrement. Most of it ends up passing directly into the Puget Sound, transforming the city's waterway into a toxic home for marine life.

With just one flick of a finger, trillions of cigarette butts are thrown into the environment every year. But how exactly do they pollute and at what rate? We find out more.

Every year, in France alone, the building industry produces 46 million tonnes of waste, compared to 30 million tonnes from households. How should this waste be dealt with? And who should pay for it?

Today, more than ever before, our seeds are increasingly vulnerable to disease and a changing environment. This week on Down to Earth, we visit the world's largest seed bank for wild species and meet scientists and chefs on a quest to safeguard the UK's food security and heritage.