Down to Earth

Built in 1977, France's oldest nuclear plant should never have celebrated its 40th birthday. François Hollande promised voters and his Green party allies that if elected, he would shut the Fessenheim site down before the end of his term. Located on a seismic fault line, the power plant has worried French, German and Swiss environmentalists for years, but according to the Nuclear Safety Agency, France's nuclear watchdog, there is "no need" to shut the plant from a safety point of view.  

In this new episode of Down to Earth, we take a look at why the future of Fessenheim is still on hold and why it will definitely be a hot-button issue in the months to come.

The world is a better place for women and girls in 2016 than even a decade ago. But that's not the case for everyone, and certainly not everywhere. Access to job opportunities is still largely unequal, holding back not just individuals but whole economies. Ninety percent of countries have at least one law restricting women in the workplace. This week the team from Down to Earth explores some of the factors halting half the world's population while considering new avenues for female empowerment, from Pakistan to Tanzania and here in France.

Species are disappearing faster than at any time since the dinosaurs' demise. Scientists are calling it the sixth mass extinction and it's largely driven by man. This week the team from Down to Earth looks at efforts made by industry to reduce biodiversity loss across the planet before it's too late. In France, hundreds of quarries are being returned to their natural state after years of extraction, with spectacular results. Alternatively, in the United States, many of Alabama's derelict gas and oil rigs have been transformed into artificial reefs instead of being sold as scrap metal.

Are these truly ecological gestures or a bid to clean up a dirty image?

We speak to Inger Andersen, Director General of the International Union for Conservation of Nature, who says rehabilitation should only be considered after every effort has been made to prevent damage in the first place.

Today, humans face a difficult but pressing challenge: finding the right balance between development and the protection of nature.

Historically known for taking lives, drones are now emerging as one of the most promising tools for health and emergency services. In this week's episode of Down to Earth we speak to Alec Momont, founder of Drones for Good. The Belgian engineer has created an ''ambulance drone'' that can reach heart attack victims within precious life-saving minutes.

In Denmark, Europe's emergency services have partnered with the world's largest commercial drone manufacturer to test how thermal technology can be used in fire-fighting and other rescue situations.

But perhaps drones will have the most impact on healthcare in Africa where access to patients is often limited. Rwanda will soon host the world's first drone port dedicated to delivering medical supplies.

This week Down to Earth explores the alarming rate in which plastic has plastered the planet. Since it was invented a century ago the petroleum-based material has invaded all aspects of modern society. Cheap, solid, waterproof and light, plastic now pollutes ever corner of the globe. While many types of plastic can be recycled, most of it ends up in landfills or oceans where it contaminates the environment and often enters the food chain.

How do we live in a world full of plastic? Or can we find a way to live without it?

We speak to record-breaking sailor Ellen MacArthur who crusades for a better way to manage our finite resources.

In this new episode of "Down to Earth", we head to Senegal, where only three out of five households have access to electricity  

Senegal gets an impressive nine months of uninterrupted sunshine every year but solar technology is still finding its feet.

Today much hope - and money - rests on the success of what's known as nanogrids, small independent energy systems that power several homes.

Among the new players, French entrepreneur Thomas Samuel, who has used crowdfunding to prove that his technology offers a revolutionary approach to lighting up Africa

This week’s special guest is US-Senegalese rap star Akon. Together with his African associates, the celebrity musician has launched Akon Lighting Africa which aims to bring electricity to 40 counties by 2020 and rewrite the continent’s history.

Unlike other industries, the price of clothing has gone down over the last few decades, but at what cost? While clothing consumption is skyrocketing, partly due to a trend known as "fast fashion", the consequences are disastrous for both the environment and human lives. Today the textile industry is the most polluting in the world, after oil.

All around the world, people are promoting ethical fashion. We went to meet some of them, who showed us that it is possible to change the way we dress before the world is worn out.

The world’s population is set to rise to 10 billion by 2050 and the large majority will live in cities. It means fewer resources to be shared among many. So how will we feed tomorrow’s cities? To overcome this new challenge, we need to change the way we produce food and create sustainable solutions: permaculture, communal farms, local food. We talk to French director Cyril Dion who tackled some of these questions in his award-winning documentary “Tomorrow”. Paris images: Franck Medioni

In a matter of months the Zika virus has gone from a relatively unknown ailment to what the World Health Organization now calls a "global emergency". The mosquito-borne virus is expected to infect up to four million people by the end of the year. Despite all the warnings, very little is confirmed about the disease's consequences and how best to stop its spread.  

A race is on around the world to bring the first Zika vaccine to the market, but it might come too late. In countries at high risk of Zika, women have been told to avoid falling pregnant, in case babies are born with the birth defect microcephaly. But in South America, where the disease is most prevalent, abortion is often illegal and access to contraception sometimes limited. Communities and scientists are trying to find new, innovative ways to combat the spread of the disease.

In this new season of Down to Earth, we look at the UN Global Goals for Sustainable Development: 17 objectives to make the world a fairer, healthier and better place to live by 2030. They have been described as a "to-do list for people and the planet". In this episode we focus on efforts to end hunger. Today, one in nine people go to bed hungry - nearly equal to the populations of the United States and the European Union. Conflicts and climate change are amongst the main challenges to overcome if the world has any chance of eradicating famine for the long term. 

The 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals.