Down to Earth

By FRANCE 24 English

Down to Earth episodes

January 17, 2020 Light pollution: Stealing the night
It's a pollution that's rarely spoken of, but one that's endangering ecosystems by harming animals whose life cycles depend on dark skies. Light pollution is defined as excessive, misdirected, or obtrusive artificial light. In this edition of Down to Earth we find out more.
6 min
January 11, 2020 France 24 Special Edition: Australia Inferno
Tune into our special edition of Down to Earth devoted to the bushfires plaguing Australia.
43 min
January 03, 2020 The rise of eco-anxiety
Amid a dizzying array of warnings about the state of the planet, Down to Earth investigates a new disorder of the 21st century: eco-anxiety.
7 min
December 06, 2019 Italy's troubled waters
This week, Down to Earth is on board with Sea Shepherd, the guardians of the ocean who are on a mission to defend the fragile ecosystem off the coast of Sicily against illegal fishing.
7 min
November 29, 2019 Flying fish: Icon of Barbados under threat
Flying fish, the undisputed icon of Barbados, features as the main ingredient in the national dish, is printed inside its passport and stamped on the one-dollar coin. But in recent years the number of flying fish has declined, driving up prices to the point that the island’s staple food is now becoming a luxury. The Down to Earth team went to find out more.
7 min
November 06, 2019 Germany’s climate-stressed forests
Across Germany, an alarming number of trees are falling ill and dying. Over the past two years 180,000 hectares of forest have disappeared, linked to extreme weather events and the proliferation of an aggressively spreading bark beetle.
7 min
October 18, 2019 Organic farming 'supersized': An imperfect solution for the planet?
This week Down to Earth is in southern Spain, amidst the world's largest greenhouse complex. In just a few years, Spain has become the undisputed leader of organic farming in Europe. But is intensive organic farming a real solution for the planet? We find out more.
7 min
October 04, 2019 Food and the City: Urban farming in Paris
Paris is not a place where you'd expect to find rows of neatly planted fruit and vegetables, but urban farming is flourishing in the French capital. The Down to Earth team takes a closer look.
0 min
September 20, 2019 War waste: A never-ending battle
During World War I, 1.5 billion bombshells were fired on a single frontline extending 700 kilometres from the North Sea to the French border with Switzerland. A third of them never exploded and many of them remain buried. A century later, France is still in an unfinished battle to erase these enduring scars. It could take more than 300 years to rid the soil of this toxic waste, as forgotten shells continue to pose a silent threat to humans and the environment.
0 min
September 06, 2019 Biodegradable plastic: A false promise?
Biodegradable packaging is often pitched as the environmentally-friendly solution the world has been waiting for. However, so-called greener plastics don't necessarily break down as easily as marketers would have us believe. To make matters worse, biodegradable plastic can't be recycled. So if it doesn't readily disappear into nature and can't be reused, should we consider the "biodegradable" label a well-intentioned but misleading promise? The Down to Earth team investigates.
0 min