Canoeing the Cam

Tom Heap introduces Rare Earth, a programme exploring major stories about our environment. 

Steve Backshall lives in a new build house which is very energy efficient and almost totally off-grid. However, achieving this has been extremely time consuming, expensive and pretty stressful. For this episode of Costing the Earth, Steve explores why -- when the cost of heating ...  Show more

This week we’re giving Ed another reason to talk about his swimming, and diving into our rivers. Rivers are such an important part of our landscape, ecosystems and communities. They provide two thirds of our water supplies and support a vast array of wildlife, but are in bad shap ...  Show more

River health has captured the public imagination, particularly as overspills from sewers have been getting more attention in the media. But the condition of a river is so much more complicated than what flows into it from our water treatment systems. Agriculture, roads, how we us ...  Show more

The Colorado River – and the people that rely on it – are in a state of crisis. Climate change and overuse are taking a significant toll. Seven states must compromise and reach a solution to prevent the river from collapsing. In late 2023, tensions were running high between the m ...  Show more

A council in Hampshire has passed a motion to grant ‘personhood’ to the River Test, an ancient chalk stream which runs through the county. Although largely symbolic, calls for rivers to have rights are becoming more widespread. What’s driving this burgeoning environmental movemen ...  Show more