39 Ways to Save the Planet
Channel Details
39 Ways to Save the Planet
BBC Radio Four, in partnership with the Royal Geographical Society, presents 39 ideas to relieve the stress that climate change is exerting on the planet.
Recent Episodes
41 episodes
Zero Carbon Farm
Can British farmers transform themselves into carbon-cutting heroes? Arable farmer, Duncan Farrington has worked hard to reduce the carbon emissions...
Hydrogen Revolution
It could be the clean fuel of the near future- for homes and for heavy machinery. Lord Bamford, head of JCB, is betting that it will power the next g...
Arnold Schwarzenegger's favourite ways to save the planet
Arnold Schwarzenegger is the former governor of California and one of America's most influential green voices. He's also one of the biggest movie star...
Hunting Down the Polluters
Tom Heap discovers fresh ways to quantify greenhouse gas emissions with help from satellites, artificial intelligence and former US Vice President Al...
Low Carbon Crisps
Ever thought about the carbon cost of a packet of crisps? At CCM Technologies they think of little else. Their revolutionary fertiliser offers a big s...
Windcatchers
Wind energy is vital in the battle against climate change, but can we make improvements to harness more from them?
Tom Heap visits Kelburn wind...
Better Batteries
Batteries are powering the electric car revolution, but can we make them longer lasting, faster charging and smaller and lighter? Beyond electric cars...
The Happiness Index
How well is your country doing? The GDP - gross domestic product - has long been a measure of growth and success but some argue judging purely on econ...
Floating Solar Power
Generating renewable energy from solar power has been a great resource but land for this purpose can come into conflict with other uses or receive opp...
Local Wisdom
There are different schools of thought on how land (and sea) are best managed but often in the rush for economic development indigenous practices and...
Zero Carbon Flight
Flying, for business or pleasure, has long been seen as one of the biggest carbon villains. As airports gear up again after Covid it's clear not every...
New Nuclear
Nuclear power should be a powerful ally in the fight against climate change but cost and safety issues hold it back. Could a new generation be safer...
Black Gold
Biochar is an idea thousands of years old but one that seemed to have been (foolishly) lost by many along the way.
Like charcoal, biochar is ma...
Better Blocks
Concrete blocks are the foundations of the modern world but they could be greener. Tom Heap meets Colin Hills and his team turning waste dust and car...
Eat Better for the Planet
How to improve mass catering for the planet. Tom Heap considers how changing the menus in schools, hospitals and the armed forces could help in the fi...
Buy Less Stuff
From clothes to cars and buildings, all our new 'stuff' takes energy and resources to produce. If we want to cut down the use of high carbon materials...
Big Drop Energy
A big weight and a very, very deep hole. The team behind Gravitricity think they have found a solution to a serious problem with renewable energy. A...
Insulate the Nation
Heating our homes can be expensive and draughty old housing stock leaches carbon dioxide. But making homes more energy efficient can be a costly uphea...
Magical Rockdust
Soil is brilliant at capturing carbon dioxide and keeping it out of the atmosphere. But what if we could make it do an even better job? On a farm over...
Swiss Air
Giant fans are sucking in fresh air from the Swiss Alps and Iceland's frozen interior, capturing the carbon dioxide and turning it into fizzy drinks o...
Hot Shower, Cool Planet
Why use gas or electricity to heat your water when the power of the sun will do it for free? Faisal Ghani, a young Bangladeshi-Australian engineer, h...
Bamboo Is Better
Fast-growing bamboo has gone in and out of fashion but is now being seen as a possible climate hero. Its capacity to absorb carbon is enhanced by how...
Cutting the Cow Burps
Cattle emit huge quantities of planet-warming methane. But they can be stopped! Tom Heap meets Eileen Wall from SRUC, Scotland's Rural College who i...
Logging For Good
Is logging always bad for the planet? A team from The Nature Conservancy in the United States believe they have developed a way to cut down the trees...
Slippery Ships
While at sea or in port, the hull of a ship can be an attractive new residence for all sorts or creatures. The initial slime build-up can provide a we...
Polluter Pays
There are already examples around the world where the manufacturer helps to pay for the safe disposal of waste from their goods once used - such as el...
Steel without the fossil fuels
Modern civilisation is quite literally built on steel. Our cities, our homes, our cars are unthinkable without it. But steel-making is the biggest i...
Bog-tastic!
There's a lot of carbon locked up in the peatlands of Britain and Ireland but many of them have been drained for agriculture and dug for fuel or garde...
Ocean Farmers
When the cod disappeared from the Grand Banks of his Newfoundland home, fisherman Bren Smith saw the light. He realised that we need a new relationsh...
The Chill Hunters
There's a dirty secret around the back of your fridge. The world's freezers, fridges and air conditioning units are chilled by gases that have planet...
Chilling Food
Chilled lorries are the backbone of our food distribution system, keeping our pork pies and hummus safe and fresh on route to the supermarket. The pr...
More Power from the Sun
Electricity from the sun is cheap and clean but the solar cells we see on our rooftops could be much more efficient. Henry Snaith of Oxford PV has de...
Siberian Rewilding
Trees are often thought to be the good guys when it comes to climate change. In Siberia, however, it's not always the case. The landscape was changed...
The Legal Fight
Campaign and protest have been the traditional tools of environmental action in the UK. American lawyer, James Thornton, set up Client Earth to defend...
Phenomenal Photosynthesis
Some food crops convert just one percent of the sun's energy into edible food. If we can improve the process of photosynthesis we can grow more food...
Robots of the Wind
The UK government is betting big on offshore wind to provide a huge percentage of our electricity by 2030. The turbines are certainly efficient, low...
Educating and Empowering Girls
Around the world many girls leave school before completing their education. It's said that those who stay to the end of high school have more agency a...
Sublime Seagrass
Simple and sublime seagrass meadows work naturally to absorb carbon. The leaves cause friction in the water and trap carbon from organic matter in the...
Wood for Good
BBC Radio Four presents 39 ideas to relieve the stress that climate change is exerting on the planet.
Trees soak up carbon dioxide, trees store...
Super Rice
We’re resourceful, adaptable and the smartest thing this planet has ever seen. We got ourselves into this mess but we can get ourselves out of it. BBC...