Travelling from Hawaii to the Amazon and Ethiopia and then on to the Mediterranean, Iain tells the story of the oceans – fierce waves, huge tidal bores, global currents and the future dangers of global warming.
Volcanoes have a fearsome reputation. In reality, they are the most important force in the creation of the planet as we know it today. Iain abseils into a lava lake and cave dives in a cenote to show how the heat that fuels volcanoes also drives some of the most fundamental processes on the planet.
Iain travels into the stratosphere in a Cold War fighter, gets his eyebrows singed in Siberia and discovers why Argentina is one of the stormiest places on Earth. All to show why our atmosphere is unique and utterly crucial for life.
Ice may be nothing more than frozen water but, as Iain explains, it holds extraordinary power. Descending 150m down a frozen waterfall, he sees a glacier in action from below and discovers why the huge Jacobshaven glacier is retreating, he shows how it shaped our past and may now threaten our future.
Travelling from Hawaii to the Amazon and Ethiopia and then on to the Mediterranean, Iain tells the story of the oceans – fierce waves, huge tidal bores, global currents and the future dangers of global warming.
Iain looks at the big picture of Earth's place in space. It's taken four and a half billions years and several great catastrophes to turn it from a barren rock to the unique planet we know today.
The global water crisis is at an inflection point. How do we price our most valuable resource, while also ensuring access to it as a human right?
S01E19 • Explained • 2018 • Environment
We are all seeing rather less of the Sun. Scientists looking at five decades of sunlight measurements have reached the disturbing conclusion that the amount of solar energy reaching the Earth's surface has been gradually falling. Paradoxically, the decline in sunlight may mean that global warming is a far greater threat to society than previously thought.
It begins when journalist Craig Leeson, searching for the elusive blue whale, discovers plastic waste in what should be pristine ocean. Craig teams up with free diver Tanya Streeter and an international team of scientists and researchers, and they travel to twenty locations around the world over the next four years to explore the fragile state of our oceans, uncover alarming truths about plastic pollution, and reveal working solutions that can be put into immediate effect.
2016 • Environment
Ben Fogle and Victoria Pendleton are guided by professional mountaineer Kenton Cool, a veteran of twelve Everest summits. As they head up the mountain, into the notorious "death zone", physical exhaustion, extreme conditions and misfortune will test the pair to their limits, 65 years after Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay became the first climbers known to have reached the summit. Since that day in 1953, more than 4000 people have successfully climbed Everest but nearly 300 climbers have died on her icy slopes. As Ben and Victoria begin their expedition and face their fears, they know Everest will be life-changing.
2018 • Environment
Modern life would be impossible without plastic – but we have long since lost control over our invention. Why has plastic turned into a problem and what do we know about its dangers? This video is a collaboration with UN Environment and their Clean Seas campaign, If you want to take action to turn the tide on plastics, go to http://www.cleanseas.org and make your pledge.
In a Nutshell • 2019 • Environment
When rogue aliens launch a surprise attack on Earth, people are left dying, world governments are obliterated, cities are destroyed, and a deadly virus is unleashed. Can mankind survive or is this the end?
S1E9 • Doomsday: 10 Ways the World Will End • 2016 • Environment