This summer, an unprecedented marine heatwave hit the Mediterranean Sea, causing mass die-offs of marine life. Will ecosystems ever recover? The Down to Earth team takes a closer look.

Rising gas and oil prices have plunged Europe into its worst energy crisis in decades. France has been hit hard, but perhaps not for the reasons you would expect. Nuclear and hydroelectric power, the country's main sources of electricity, are both running out of steam. Has the French energy mix hit a breaking point? We take a closer look in this edition of Down to Earth.

This weekend, the United Nation's climate change conference COP27 kicks off in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. Losses from climate-related disasters are on the rise, and the question of who will foot the bill is likely to dominate discussions. Developing nations, bearing the brunt of the crisis, won't shy away from demanding that richer countries pay up. In this special edition of Down to Earth, we take a closer look at the growing rift between the North and global South.

Over the past century, city streets have been optimised for motor vehicles. In Berlin, for example, nearly 60 percent of the traffic space is devoted to cars, which account for just a third of journeys, while only 3 percent is set aside for bicycles, even though they make up 15 percent of journeys.

Tiny and insidious, microalgae are multiplying along our coastlines. Although vital to our survival, some 200 out of 5,000 species studied are harmful to people and ecosystems. As global warming intensifies the problem, our oceans may be growing ever more toxic. The Down to Earth team investigates.

Between July and August, the south-western French region of Gironde was hit by major wildfires, destroying nearly 30,000 hectares of forest. The magnitude and fury of the blaze shocked the country, with many now using the term megafire to describe the disaster. So has France entered a new era of megafires? We take a closer look in this edition of Down to Earth.

The summer of 2022 has seen unprecedented droughts that have ravaged crops, threatening the livelihoods of millions across the world. France wasn't spared, with almost all departments facing water restrictions. Increasingly, farmers are turning to water reservoirs, a method decried by environmentalists. In this episode of Down to Earth we travel to western France, where tensions are mounting over the management of water supplies.

Nearly a quarter of Paris' house sparrows have vanished in less than 15 years. It's a global phenomenon that baffles scientists and conservationists. In London, Hamburg and Amsterdam, the species is also in free-fall. We take a closer look.

It sounds like an effortless solution to one of humanity's greatest challenges: using trees as a tool to capture carbon dioxide. As the climate crisis deepens, countries and companies have embarked on a global tree-planting spree. But could they end up doing more harm than good?

Bottom trawling is often singled out by scientists and activists as one of the world's most destructive fishing techniques. It's prevalent in European waters. Nothing escapes the vast nets: fish, crustaceans, but also coral reefs and seagrass beds. Wherever trawlers go, the ocean floor turns into a desert. In this edition of Down to Earth we head to Spain, where bottom trawling is rife, even in marine protected areas.