Costing the Earth
90% of the world's coral is under threat, but could this frontline ecosystem also offer signs of hope?
Ocean acidification is one of the biggest threats to coral but in Egypt tourism also contributes. Much of the coastal resorts waste is pumped directly into the sea and plastic bags litter the sea bed. Step forward eco divers. Volunteers who clean up reefs on their holidays and not just in the Red Sea. Neptunes Army of Rubbish Cleaners dive in Wales to keep the Pembrokeshire marine environment free from litter but can this army of volunteers across the planet really make a difference.
Wednesday 2 March, 21:00, BBC Radio 4
Thinking Allowed
The British government is seeking to develop a way to accurately measure the happiness of the population, in France such a gauge already exists, but is happiness really the proper goal of life?
The French philosopher Pascal Bruckner tells Laurie that happiness has become a burdensome duty, and that the wave of enthusiasm for pursuing the nebulous quality has the opposite effect of actually promoting unhappiness amongst those who seek it. Much better, says he, to accept that happiness as an unbidden and fragile gift that arrives only by grace and luck.
Wednesday 2 March, 16:00, BBC Radio 4
Mud, Sweat and Tractors
We take a look at the changes in the way fruit and veg was grown, picked and sold, told through three of the staples in the British landscape - apples, strawberries and tomatoes.
Home movies and archive footage reveal the extent of the revolution in how the fruit was picked and the impact supermarkets had on the fortunes of the small and medium-sized growers.
Mud, Sweat and Tractors: The Story of Agriculture
BBC News: Healthy diet 'boosts childhood IQ'
Wednesday 2 March, 19:30, BBC Four
The Giant Egg
David Attenborough returns to the island of Madagascar on a very personal quest. In 1960 he visited the island to film one of his first ever wildlife series, Zoo Quest. Whilst he was there he acquired a giant egg. It was the egg of an extinct bird known as the 'elephant bird' - the largest bird that ever lived.
Using Zoo Quest archive and specially shot location footage, this film follows David as he revisits scenes from his youth. On his return scientists at Oxford University are able to reveal for the first time how old David's egg actually is - and what that might tell us about the legendary elephant bird.
Attenborough and the Giant Egg
Wednesday 2 March, 20:00, BBC Two
© MMXI
