Living Planet: Sustainability & the city
This week on the show, we re taking a look at our cities. From our food systems to transportation and urban planning to our waste streams, we dive into the ways in which urban life can be environmentally-friendly. We also get to hear from some little critters who are taking unwelcome refuge in cities.
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They’re Australia’s climate change refugees and they’re looking for somewhere to roost. But their smell and nocturnal shrieks have made them unpopular with locals. Scientists warn against trying to get rid of flying foxes, calling them the ‘canaries in the coal mine’ for what will happen to other species as temperatures rise. Their disappearance would spell disaster for forests and woodlands.
Fire and Wilding Conifers in New Zealand
Fire and Wilding Conifers in New Zealand
House on Pukaki Downs that avoided fire due to large, low-cut green lawn
Wilding conifers infest over 1.8 million hectares of New Zealand. The spread of these self-sown trees has a dire effect on natural ecosystems and creates severe implications for fire control.
Historically, New Zealand has had low wildfire frequencies. However, due to climate change, wildfires are becoming more rampant; and last year’s fires on the shores of Lake Ohau and Lake Pukaki were a sobering reminder of the devastation fire can cause.
Clean burn of wilding tree slash along the western shoreline of Lake Pukaki following the mechanical control of wilding trees in 2011
As our planet faces unprecedented environmental crises, it's becoming clear that piecemeal solutions can't fix the problem. We hear about transformational change, and how we might get there. UNDP chief Achim Steiner speaks to whether it's possible to decouple progress from environmental damage, and we look at "degrowth" as an alternative. Plus, the trees of Philadelphia.
Economic growth is often the main measure for human progress and development. But Achim Steiner, head of the UNDP, says that's a narrow view that fails to take into account the impact of environmental damage. In an interview with DW, he lays out how we can get to the green economy of tomorrow.