[QODLink]
Earthrise Play Series two, episode two
Sustainable aquaculture in Spain, rechargeable 'e-trikes' and a methane-cutting diet for Australia's cows.

World Population  
earthrise explores solutions to today's environmental challenges, taking an upbeat look at ecological, scientific, technological and design projects the world over. Our reporters meet inspiring individuals and communities leading the way in a field few can afford to ignore.
Watch earthrise on Al Jazeera English at the following times GMT:
Friday: 1930; Saturday: 1430; Sunday: 0430; Monday: 0830
Eco Fact
  • By turning off the tap when brushing your teeth you could save enough water to supply 500,000 households.

    View Fact Source
  • By recycling a glass bottle you save enough energy for an average light bulb to light for four hours.

    View Fact Source
  • About 30 per cent of all domestic water is flushed down the toilet. Older toilets use as much as 14 litres per flush compared to a modern dual-flush toilet which use between 2.6-4 litres per flush.

    View Fact Source
  • A running tap uses about six litres of water a minute. When turning off the tap while brushing your teeth, we would save 446 million litres of water, enough to supply 2.9 million people for one day.

    View Fact Source
  • Water vapour is the most prevalent and most powerful greenhouse gas on the planet.

    View Fact Source
  • We could potentially save up to 500,000 tonnes of C02 by simply putting our clocks forward by an hour.

    View Fact Source
  • Deforestation is one of the main causes of climate change. Burning and cutting millions of trees each year accounts for about 25 per cent of all carbon emissions.

    View Fact Source
  • A garden sprinkler can use about to 1,000 litres of water per hour. That's how much water a family of four uses in two days. In the summer it is enough to water your lawn once a week.

    View Fact Source
  • According to a UN report, the shipping industry contributes over a billion tonnes of carbon every year, or around 4.5 per cent of the world's greenhouses gases. Only the US, China, Russia, India and Japan produce more.

    View Fact Source
  • Lowering the temperature in your home can save you up to 10 per cent on your heating bill.

    View Fact Source
  • Plastic bottled drinks use up to 40 per cent less fuel for transportation than glass bottles.

    View Fact Source
  • Of all the food that goes into our bins, 61 per cent can be avoided.

    View Fact Source
  • People living in sub-Saharan Africa use less energy than anywhere else in the world. An average North American uses 13 times as much.

    View Fact Source
  • With an energy-efficient home you spend about one-third less on your energy bill than your average household neighbour.

    View Fact Source
  • 15 centimetre-deep loft insulations can help cut down your heating costs by around 20 per cent.

    View Fact Source
  • Filling out all the holes in your house reduces heat loss by up to 60 per cent, and can save you up to 40 per cent on your heating bills.

    View Fact Source
  • Double-glazed windows can reduce heat loss by up to 50 per cent.

    View Fact Source
  • Boiling only the amount of water needed to make a hot drink will not just help reduce your electricity bill, but it would save enough energy in a week to light up your house for a day.

    View Fact Source
  • Taking a shower instead of a bath saves enough water each week for 1,000 cups of coffee.

    View Fact Source
  • Producing steel from recycled materials saves 75 per cent of the energy needed to make steel from raw materials

    View Fact Source
  • Out of 20,000 tonnes of aluminium foil packaging only 3,000 tonnes get recycled.

    View Fact Source
  • One tonne of recycled paper helps save 15 average-sized trees.

    View Fact Source
  • Up to 90 per cent of new glass can be made from reclaimed scrap glass, saving energy and raw materials.

    View Fact Source
  • Of the 2.4 million tonnes of plastic waste, an estimated 1,400,000 tonnes is household plastic waste, 200,000 tonnes is 'process scrap', and 800,000 tonnes is commercial waste. 61% of the total plastic waste from Western Europe is packaging, which typically has a 'life' of less than 12 months.

    View Fact Source
  • One-third of the world's population growth is the result of incidental or unwanted pregnancies.

    View Fact Source
  • You can save up to 33kg of C02 a year by simply switching off your monitor and computer when you finish work.

    View Fact Source
  • In order to supply half of the US' current energy consumption through solar energy, around 20 per cent of US land would have to be used.

    View Fact Source
  • In developing countries like sub-Saharan Africa more than 80 per cent of the population depends on traditional biomass.

    View Fact Source
  • Rainforests currently cover around six per cent of the world's surface.

    View Fact Source
  • The Amazon rainforest spans over large parts of Southern America including Brazil, Venezuela, Colombia and the Eastern Andean region of Ecuador and Peru, covering more than one billion acres. As a country, Amazonia would be the ninth largest in the world.

    View Fact Source
  • There are more than 10 million plant, animal and insect species on our planet. More than half can be found in the world's tropical rainforests.

    View Fact Source
  • 20 per cent of the world's fresh water can be found in the Amazon Basin.

    View Fact Source
  • The rainforest on the Southeast Asian island of Borneo is one of the most biodiverse places on our planet, where 25 acres of rainforest may contain more than 700 species. That equals the number of tree species found across North America.

    View Fact Source
  • You will find more bird species in a single rainforest reserve in Peru than in the entire United States.

    View Fact Source
  • There are more fish species in the Amazon than in the entire Atlantic Ocean.

    View Fact Source
  • Every fifth person depends on fish as their primary protein source.

    View Fact Source
  • Mangroves stabilise coastlines and contain the damage that could otherwise be caused to the area through tsunamis, hurricanes or other natural phenomena.

    View Fact Source
  • Mangrove forests provide protection, habitat as well as nesting grounds for a wide range of birds and marine wildlife.

    View Fact Source
  • Three quarters of land in Bangladesh is no more than 10 metres above sea level with some 80 per cent being flood plain.

    View Fact Source
  • Since the introduction of Nepal's Community Forestry Scheme in the 1970s, figures from 2009 show that around one-third of the Nepalese population are taking part in the programme to look after about 25 per cent of the country's forests.

    View Fact Source
  • The use of solar energy and wind power have grown by more than 30 per cent annually over the past five years in countries such as Germany, Japan and Spain, thanks to policies that have encouraged their use.

    View Fact Source
  • The Earth's shape is described as an oblate spheroid. It's like a sphere but the Earth's rotation causes the equator to bulge out.

    View Fact Source
  • The Earth is composed of 32.1 per cent iron, 30.1 per cent oxygen, 15.1 per cent silicon and 13.9 per cent magnesium.

    View Fact Source
  • The Earth's atmosphere extends out to 10,000 kilometres.

    View Fact Source
  • The world's urban population is expected to reach 4.9 billion in 2030. Rural populations are expected to decrease by 28 million.

    View Fact Source
  • The world population is expected to reach around 9 billion in 2044.

    View Fact Source
  • With 89.78 years, the people of Monaco have the highest average of life expectancy in the world.

    View Fact Source
  • The Earth's molten iron core creates a magnetic field that extends out thousands of kilometres from the surface of the Earth.

    View Fact Source
  • At 6,696 kilometres long, the Nile is the longest river on Earth.

    View Fact Source
  • On average the Atlantic Ocean is the saltiest of Earth's major oceans.

    View Fact Source
  • Approximately 70 per cent of the world's supply of fresh water is located in Antarctica, locked in 90 per cent of the world's ice.

    View Fact Source
  • The overall amount of water on our planet has remained the same for two billion years.

    View Fact Source
  • The average person needs two quarts of water a day.

    View Fact Source
  • On a global average, most freshwater withdrawals — 69 per cent — are used for agriculture.

    View Fact Source
  • Railways are crucial to reducing greenhouse gas emission and to creating sustainable transport systems.

    View Fact Source
  • Forests provide a home to more than 300 million people worldwide.

    View Fact Source
  • The livelihoods of 1.6 billion people depend on forests.

    View Fact Source
  • Forests cover 31 per cent of the total land area on the planet.

    View Fact Source
  • Forests are home to 80 per cent of terrestrial biodiversity.

    View Fact Source
  • The total area of the Earth is 510.072 million square kilometres.

    View Fact Source
  • The world's total coastline is 356,000 kilometres.

    View Fact Source
  • The Antarctic is the coldest, windiest, highest and driest continent on earth.

    View Fact Source
  • 84 per cent of all household waste can be recycled.

    View Fact Source
  • More than one-third of all energy is used by people at home.

    View Fact Source
  • The human population has grown more in the last 50 years than it did in the previous four million.

    View Fact Source
  • 11 per cent of the Earth's surface is used to grow food.

    View Fact Source
  • Worldwide, 13 million deaths could be prevented every year by making our environments healthier.

    View Fact Source
  • Every year, the lives of four million children under 5 years – mostly in developing countries – could be saved by preventing environmental risks such as unsafe water and polluted air.

    View Fact Source
  • More than 90 per cent of the planet's biomass is found in the oceans.

    View Fact Source
  • Although coral reefs comprise less than 0.5 per cent of the ocean floor, it is estimated that more than 90 per cent of marine species are directly or indirectly dependent on them.

    View Fact Source
  • There are about 4,000 coral reef fish species worldwide, accounting for approximately a quarter of all marine fish species.

    View Fact Source
  • 90 per cent of the world's fishermen operate at the small-scale local level, accounting for over half the global fish catch.

    View Fact Source
  • More than 3.5 billion people depend on the ocean for their primary source of food.

    View Fact Source
  • A thousand tonnes of meteor dust falls to Earth every day.

    View Fact Source
  • If every single person who read the New York Times recycled their paper for a single day, it would save 75,000 trees.

    View Fact Source
  • 80 per cent of items in landfills are recyclable.

    View Fact Source
  • Installing a low-flow or high-efficiency toilet saves nearly two gallons of water.

    View Fact Source
  • A family of four can save up to 32 gallons a day if each person remembers to turn off the tap while brushing their teeth.

    View Fact Source
  • 50 per cent of all plant and animal species on the planet inhabit the seven per cent of the Earth covered by rainforest.

    View Fact Source
  • Highest Temperature Recorded: 135.8°F - Al Aziziyah, Libya, September 13, 1922

    View Fact Source
  • Lowest Temperature Recorded: -128.5°F - Vostok, Antarctica, July 21, 1983

    View Fact Source