Deutsche Welle Living Planet

Living Planet

As humans' impact on the planet becomes more evident, there is a need for independent reporting. Living Planet looks at new technologies, visits innovative projects and keeps you up-to-date on the state of the earth.
Weekly English Germany Society & Culture · Health & Fitness
50 Episodes
20 – 40

Holding on: Holland's farmers, California's salmon & Germany's Ahr valley

As Holland continues to battle dangerously high nitrogen levels, its farmers grapple with drastic crisis measures and how to shift to more sustainable farming. In California, the salmon have disappeared from an important river, but one radical change could bring them back. And one man's quest to get a new…
9 Nov 2023 29 min

Is it time to end biofuels?

Making fuel out of food. Sounds like it could be pretty sustainable, right? But then again, does it make sense to be growing crops for fuel that could otherwise be food? We travel to the US, Kenya and Germany to interrogate how biofuels came about, their promises and drawbacks and…
2 Nov 2023 29 min

Rethinking conservation

We head to South Africa, Kenya and Namibia to look at different ways conservation has taken root to sustain some of the region's most iconic species. And we talk to carnivore ecologist and author Mordecai Ogada about some of the problems with classical models of conservation and what alternatives are…
26 Oct 2023 30 min

The business of bogs

Peat bogs are enormous carbon sinks. They store twice the amount of carbon dioxide compared to the planet's forests. But ever since people discovered peat was useful for gardening, farming and heating, they've been digging it up, selling it, and releasing gigantic amounts of CO2 in the process. Now, Germany…
19 Oct 2023 30 min

Out with the old: European cities & climate change

They're beautiful. They're historic. But they're not really built for this new era of extremes. From Paris to Venice to Rotterdam, how European cities are trying to adapt — and what's standing in their way.
12 Oct 2023 30 min

Introducing: The Big Switch on Europe's energy crisis

Putin's assault on Ukraine triggered an energy crisis that sent Europe's economies into a tailspin and put the European clean energy transition to the test. But how did the European Union, a leader in climate action, become so dependent on Russian oil and gas to begin with?
29 Sep 2023 29 min

Reenvisioning the restroom (rebroadcast)

It's perfectly natural and something we do every day. Whether you use a squat toilet, a pit latrine or a water closet, humans need to go. But the ways we do so are often not very efficient, useful or good for the environment. So we're taking a look at the…
21 Sep 2023 30 min

The growing microplastics problem

Microplastics have been found everywhere — from the deepest parts of the ocean to the heights of Mount Everest. A problem that is set to intensify as we produce over 400 million tons of new plastics every year. But just how dangerous are microplastics? And what can we do about…
14 Sep 2023 29 min

Insuring ourselves against the inevitable

We hear from people in California whose home insurers have left them in the lurch as weather extremes intensify in the state, and talk to an expert on disaster risk and adaptation about what we need to help protect our homes against the inevitable. And from high up in the…
8 Sep 2023 30 min

Giving up fast fashion

Writer and stylist Aja Barber on the imperialism of the fashion industry and how to kick your shopping addiction. And how Kenya's dealing with your unwanted clothing.
31 Aug 2023 30 min

Water woes & how to combat water scarcity

What do you do if there isn't enough fresh drinking water around? According to the World Resources Institute, a quarter of the world's population doesn't have enough water to meet demand. DW explores ways to combat water scarcity.
24 Aug 2023 29 min

Life in the Arctic & Russia's exiled environmentalists

We hear from Russian climate activists and environmental organizations working in exile. And we take you to Svalbard in the Arctic to learn about life on this remote archipelago and hear from the climate scientists studying its unique ecosystem.
17 Aug 2023 29 min

How did we become planet plastic?

Each year, the world produces 430 million tons of plastics – and that figure is set to triple by 2060. How did plastics become such a big part of our lives? And what can we do reduce the harm they cause? Today, we share an episode from our colleagues at…
10 Aug 2023 30 min

Extreme heat & mass tourism

As the northern hemisphere's summer heat intensifies, wildfires burn from Greece to Algeria to California, and climate scientists admit that even some of these extremes were beyond their predictions, we talk drought, heat, fire — and what happens when that collides with mass tourism.
4 Aug 2023 30 min

Leaving coal, not people, behind

We visit the state of West Virginia in the United States to hear from people grappling with the phase out of coal mining. What's next for this poor state where the coal industry has dominated for more than 100 years? Julia Kastein investigates.
27 Jul 2023 30 min

The power of solar

Solar energy is about to get a push in Croatia which has a lot of sunshine, but so far hasn't really done much with that potential. Food waste is a global problem. In many countries of the global south, it's often down to being unable to keep produce cool. Could…
20 Jul 2023 29 min

Cooling amphibians & carbon-capturing mollusks

Why the survival of the Mexican axolotl matters for keeping Mexico City's temperature down. The special carbon-capturing capacities of clams. And a new, all-natural woolly lawnmower taking off in France.
13 Jul 2023 29 min

Where your dirty old cars end up & Norway's bid to mine the ocean floor

We hear about how used cars from wealthy countries are getting a new lease on life in Ghana. And we talk to a transport sustainability researcher about why that kind of upcycling isn't as good for the environment as it might seem, as well as what reform could look like…
6 Jul 2023 29 min

The world on fire: How to deal with wildfires

As fires are burning in Canada in what's been called an unprecedented wildfire season, with smoke drifting over to the United States and even across the Atlantic Ocean over to European countries, we talk fires and drought on the show. How should we deal with wildfires? What can we do…
29 Jun 2023 29 min
20 – 40