The bulldozers have already begun work on London's 'cycle superhighways' or 'Crossrail for bikes'. Cycling enthusiasts have declared these segregated lanes to be the infrastructure which London needs to make cycling much more appealing for all. Andrew Gilligan, the Mayor's Cycling Commissioner says if Transport for London can get the engineering right then cycling in the capital will become safer and far more people might make the switch from cars, buses and trains to carbon free pedal power. Th...
Apr 14, 2015•28 min
Could the return of the Pine Marten mean the end of the Grey Squirrel takeover? Tom Heap examines emerging evidence that where Pine Marten populations are healthy, Grey Squirrel numbers crash and native Red Squirrels increase. Tom meets the researchers who found the connection in Ireland, and who are now investigating whether it's also happening in Scotland. The Pine Marten is itself recovering from years of persecution and is still only found in tiny pockets of England and Wales. If the Pine Ma...
Apr 07, 2015•28 min
With arctic sea ice shrinking and Antarctic sea ice growing, Tom Heap asks what is happening to the climate. Despite the consensus of scientists around the world, there are still some anomalies in the computer models of the future climate. Tom Heap is joined by a panel of experts to tackle some of the difficult questions that lead to uncertainties in our understanding of the changing climate. The perceived wisdom in the scientific community is that the climate is warming but evidence shows that ...
Mar 31, 2015•28 min
In this week's Costing The Earth Tom Heap asks what the falling price of oil means for the environment. First thoughts would be 'not good'. Lower prices mean that people don't need to be so careful how much fuel they use so what will the consequences of this be? Will this halt the steady decline in car sales? Will people turn their heating up a notch when they're feeling chilly? Those are the direct impacts on people, but look further and could the drop in oil prices spell disaster for the renew...
Mar 24, 2015•28 min
A report from the United Nations published this week highlights for the first time the international impacts of volcanoes. Previously regarded as a local problem for people in Iceland, Indonesia or Central America the UN now recognises that our interconnected world can be split asunder by relatively small eruptions. The 2010 eruptions in Iceland disrupted air travel for weeks, costing the global economy an estimated $4.9bn. In response enormous improvements are being made in the technology used ...
Mar 17, 2015•28 min
The UK's housing crisis is acute. We need to build but where? Many critics point to the ample green space which surrounds some of our most overcrowded cities and towns. The green belt celebrates 60 years since it became part of National Policy but its history stretches back far further. The idea of a stretch of land which separates the urban from the rural has been commended as the defining planning policy of the nation. This legislation is at the core of our notion of what it is to live in a 'g...
Mar 10, 2015•28 min
A failed breeding experiment has led to a hybrid creature running riot in the Grand Canyon. The Beefalo is now growing in number rapidly and causing damage to the landscape, threatening the environment and eco-system and trashing ancient monuments of Native Americans. Yet with a hunting ban in the National Park how can they be controlled? Tom Heap goes in search of the legendary creature and the answers. The iconic bison is on the emblem on the National Parks yet in 1906 its numbers in America w...
Mar 03, 2015•28 min
Bristol has been named as Europe's Green Capital for 2015. Tom Heap finds out if local people will see real improvements in their city. Trapeze artists and a high wire act on a bicycle, spanning two former warehouses, heralded the start of Bristol's Year as European Green Capital for 2015. The award is a few years old now and goes to a city with outstanding green credentials and ambitions. So how is Bristol shaping up for it's year in the big green spotlight? A year ago Costing The Earth asked w...
Feb 24, 2015•28 min
Iceland is warming faster than most countries, two to four times faster than the global average temperature rise. A quirk of geography means that the island's plants and animals are having to cope with rapidly rising temperatures whilst their neighbours in the rest of northern Europe warm much more gradually. Glaciers are melting, trees are growing much faster and arable farming is suddenly possible and profitable. Tom Heap travels through Iceland to gauge the impact on the landscape and the peo...
Feb 17, 2015•28 min
Australian Premier, Tony Abbott is determined to develop his Northern Territory. With the enormous markets of South-East Asia on the doorstep of Darwin there's huge potential for oil, gas, mining and agriculture in the thinly-populated north. Locals welcome the prospect of jobs but there's a real concern that the extraordinary landscape of the north could be lost. Mining and intensive agriculture require water in vast quantities. To get it dams will have to be built and groundwater abstracted. T...
Feb 10, 2015•28 min
The melting sea ice of the Arctic creates opportunities and threats for the people and wildlife of the region. This week the leaders of the polar nations are in Iceland to map out a future for the region at the Arctic Circle conference. Will oil and gas production ravage the north or bring jobs and money to impoverished local people? Will Russian designs on Arctic riches provoke conflict or link the region to the global economy? And what's in it for Britain? Can our expertise in polar science he...
Nov 04, 2014•28 min
Despite being protected on paper, many of the world's and the UK's rare plants and flowers are being targeted by thieves and smugglers. From the moment a new species is discovered it can have a high price on its head, with collectors going to the ends of the earth to source a prized specimen. Tom Heap discovers how easy it is to find rare plants for sale on the net and how such trade not only threatens those plant species with extinction but could destroy the elements within them that could help...
Oct 28, 2014•28 min
Tom Heap meets Darren Reynolds, a health and environment professor, who has developed a mini treatment plant that can turn dirty water into clean drinkable water. The technology could be transported around the globe and put to use in places where clean water is scarce, such as in areas where there is a humanitarian crisis. Costing The Earth discovers how the machine works and looks at other technology that could improve the water supplies of millions of people around the world. Presenter: Tom He...
Oct 21, 2014•28 min
Cleaning the ocean floor, one dive at a time. Miranda Krestovnikoff reports from the sea bed as she joins a new marine clean-up squad. Miranda joins NARC - Neptune's Army of Rubbish Cleaners - in their war against marine litter. Dave Kennard and his band of ocean cleaners dive off the coast of Pembrokeshire recovering fishing gear, bottles, cans and a whole miscellany of unwanted rubbish. They've found trolleys, whole cars, and even the kitchen sink. This week Costing The Earth looks at the prob...
Oct 14, 2014•28 min
The small islands of the Caribbean are acutely vulnerable to rising sea levels and a potential increase in the frequency and severity of hurricanes. Tom Heap travels to the Turks and Caicos Islands to ask if they're prepared for the worst nature can offer. Producer: Alasdair Cross.
Oct 07, 2014•28 min
After a decade of fracking, communities in Texas are still arguing about the pros and cons of the shale gas industry. With the industry ready to begin production in Lancashire, Tom Heap compares and contrasts the hopes and fears of Texans with those of the villagers of the Fylde coast. Producer: Anne-Marie Bullock.
Sep 30, 2014•28 min
There's no doubt that 'People Power' can transform a community, when keen volunteers come together to collectively improve their lot. But what happens when People Power can be measured in watts and volts? Communities up and down the country are taking the power back - literally - from the Big 6, and starting a variety of schemes to generate their own energy. They're reducing their bills, strengthening community spirit - and helping the UK towards its renewable energy targets at the same time. An...
Sep 24, 2014•28 min
Meteorologist, Peter Gibbs investigates the global impact of the weather phenomenon El Nino. Forecasts predict El Nino will occur at the end of this year, creating fear in many communities around the world. Flooding, drought and famine have all been caused by the phenomenon in the past. Peruvian fishermen are often the first to notice as warmer waters change the behaviour of coastal fish stocks. Peter hears what they've already noticed and finds out how these changes could have ripple effects ar...
Sep 16, 2014•28 min
Jheni Osman investigates whether the threat of mosquito-borne disease is moving closer to home in the UK. She joins Public Health England's Medical Entomologist, Jolyon Medlock, hunting for signs of the invasive Asian Tiger Mosquito in the motorway service stations of Kent. The mosquito has been spreading across the world in waste tyres exported for recycling. Jheni spends an evening as the bait in a trapping study, designed to find out whether there is a risk of West Nile Virus being spread by ...
Sep 09, 2014•28 min
Whilst many parts of the United States have suffered drought this summer, for Texas it's been going on for years. Wells and reservoir levels are at a fraction of what they should be and farmers and residents have been forced to face some big changes. Climatologists say this is the second worst drought in recorded history but if it continues it could soon surpass that experienced in the 1950s. Tom Heap visits cattle and crop farmer Kenneth McAlister who lives near one of the areas in 'exceptional...
Sep 02, 2014•28 min
The air quality in our towns and cities has remained stubbornly filthy over the last ten years despite tightening regulations on the poisonous emissions our cars can legally belch out. That means more lung disease and more heart attacks. New research is pointing the finger of suspicion at the dramatic rise in the number of diesel vehicles on our roads. Take a look at the data from car manufacturers and it seems that diesel engines are getting significantly cleaner. Independent monitoring suggest...
Aug 26, 2014•28 min
Britain's Overseas Territories from the Caribbean to the Falkland Islands contain a treasure trove of wildlife. A new report from the RSPB reveals that 94% of unique UK species live beyond our shores. But many of those astonishing creatures are at great threat from tourist development and invasive species. To discover whether we are doing enough to protect our secret garden of species Tom Heap visits the Turks and Caicos Islands, 150 miles to the east of Cuba.
May 20, 2014•28 min
Massive batteries? Compressing or liquefying air? Moving gravel uphill on ski lifts? Tom Heap looks at some of the big ideas proposed for storing energy using science or the landscape and explores which may become a reality if we're to keep the lights on. Huge investment is being made in renewable energy but as solar and wind fluctuate and are intermittent often energy goes to waste because the points at which they generate isn't when the demand occurs. So why not use that energy and store it in...
May 13, 2014•28 min
Costing the Earth debates one of the most important issues facing the planet that affects all of us: Where will our food come from in the decades ahead. The world population is expected to rise to 9 billion by 2050. That's another 2.5 billion mouths to feed, roughly the number of people currently living in China and India today. Tom Heap is joined by an panel to chew over the question of what the world will eat as populations rise, climate changes and vital resources are depleted. The panel is m...
May 06, 2014•28 min
With the end of April being the deadline for Syria's President Assad to sacrifice his entire arsenal of chemical weapons, Tom Heap finds out the nitty-gritty of how they're going to be disposed of. This involves previously untried methods such as neutralising the most dangerous chemicals on board an American vessel, the MV Cape Ray. This, as we'll hear, presents its own problems. Other Syrian chemicals will be destroyed in Port Ellesmere in Cheshire, as well as in the United States, Germany and ...
Apr 29, 2014•28 min
Scotland is the principal source of Britain's renewable energy as well as its oil and gas. What would independence mean for the UK energy market? Would England struggle to source clean energy? Could Scotland continue to subsidise its wind turbines and tidal energy schemes? What would a split mean for energy prices in Scotland and in the rest of the UK? Tom Heap reports from Edinburgh on an energetic debate that's certain to heat up as the Scottish independence referendum approaches. Producer: Al...
Apr 22, 2014•28 min
Did you have a tree house or a den as a child and think you could happily live there? What is the smallest space you could live in without being driven doolally? As the demand for houses and the cost to buy and run them shoots upwards, it seems more of us may be thinking small and bijou is cosy and obtainable...and the environment could be benefitting by default. Tom Heap (6 foot 2 inches tall) explores the world of the micro-home - compact spaces often skimming minimum space standards. Some off...
Apr 15, 2014•28 min
When millions of litres of poisonous sludge poured out of a zinc mine in Andalucia in 1998 wildlife was devastated for miles around. As the tidal wave of filth headed for the marshlands of Donana National Park it became a disaster for Europe as well as Spain. The prime route for birds migrating between Africa and Northern Europe seemed certain to be poisoned for decades to come. Sixteen years on from Spain's worst environmental disaster Julian Rush returns to the region to discover how nature, w...
Apr 08, 2014•28 min
Following the publication of the latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Tom Heap and a group of climate experts debate how nations and populations around the world will have to adapt and prepare for the effects of climate change in the coming decades. Recent extreme weather events may suggest that the effects of climate change are beginning to show, so what can be done to mitigate the impact? Producer: Martin Poyntz-Roberts.
Apr 01, 2014•28 min
In 2015 Bristol will be European Green Capital. We discover exactly what the title means to the city and what makes Bristol so environmentally friendly. The 'Green Capital' award is new. It's been going for the last five years and next year Bristol will become the sixth. Miranda Krestovnikoff discovers why Bristol was successful in it's bid and what makes the city stand out from the rest of the country for it's environmental credentials. Miranda visits last year's winning city, Nantes to find ou...
Mar 28, 2014•28 min
