Planet E: Fixing Earth From Your Backyard

Ethoxyquin is a feed-preservative that gets into humans by consumption of meat and fish. The impacts of the substance are not yet well known, but what research has unveiled is already alarming. How can we combat this silent enemy?

Bears were wiped out in many parts of Europe, but are slowly starting to spread again. The perception of brown bears still ranges from cuddly toy to monster, but the truth lies somewhere in the middle. Are we able to live peacefully with them today?

Humankind is heating up the planet. In nature, volcanoes can create cooling blankets to combat their intense temperatures. Should we use technology to mimic this effect, and artificially cool the planet? Or does the solution lie elsewhere?

Climate change is disproportionately affecting the world's poorest countries. People here tend to be completely at the mercy of the forces of nature. Without the technology of more developed areas, how will these populations cope?

Bangladesh is often the final destination for freighters from all over the world. They are dismantled by an army of cheap labor. Accidents are a regular occurrence. Deaths and casualties are common.

In September 2000, the UN enunciated the Millennium Development Goals to free people around the world from extreme poverty. 15 years later, Planet E. checks to see if this mission has been accomplished.

Climate change has many faces, but what few people realize is that the effects of climate change have been reaching our supermarkets, too. Many foodstuffs come from far-off countries where drought and freak weather destroy entire harvests.

Up until the middle of the 19th century, the German forests were home to the magnificent lynx, but the big cat was tragically hunted to the brink of extinction and virtually wiped out. Now the lynx is going to be reintroduced into the Palatinate Forest.

Access to clean water and sanitation is a human right according to the United Nations, but these seem to be empty words for the people living in the slums of Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania. They have neither. It's a vicious circle of poverty and disease.

Our water is precious. Quite a mix, it naturally contains lots of different substances, but a one of them that is of great concern is arsenic. It's a life-threatening element and it can be found in German groundwater, too.

Problems have become a daily occurance at a couple nuclear power plants in Belgium and Switzerland. However, they are kept running, despite these and other major problems. Are we sitting on a nuclear powder keg?

Meat that does not come from animals, is it possible? It certainly is, and a kill-free world is the vision of scientists working on cultured meat. Can this idea help to replace industrial livestock farming with all its negative impact on the planet?

Penniless and without a chance, there's misery in Africa. 50 years of development policy didn't alleviate poverty, but now, a German-African startup wants to do the impossible with a revolutionary business idea.

The internet is smart and every present. We are constantly online, sometimes for several hours a day. It has become indispensable. Huge volumes of data are moved to sate the internet's large hunger for energy.

Every year, more than 2 million animals are used for experiments in Germany alone, including many monkeys. Nationwide, opponents draw attention to animal suffering in the laboratories. They demand an unconditional stop.

In recent years, especially in the Mont Blanc area and others under surveillance, we have seen a significant increase in rockfalls at certain altitudes. This results in huge boulders blocking highways, destroyed houses, and other issues.

For Donald Trump, economic growth is high on his political agenda, but at what price? Is environmental protection falling by the wayside in the United States?

Pythons are both threatening and fascinating. Their leather is extremely sought after as a luxury product in the world of fashion. Behind the scenes, it is an industry that is almost uncontrollable. Could a genetic fingerprint protect these snakes?

Worldwide, the massive disappearance of plants and animals is being complained about, and species extinction is making headlines. Why do we actually need biodiversity?

The Manu National Park in Peru is one of the crown jewels of international nature conservation. Driven by the banking crisis, illegal gold washers threaten the natural heritage.

The demand for vanilla has risen dramatically in recent years, as have prices. In order to get the best brown pods, traders go to great lengths.

An Indian state in the Himalayas has completely transformed its agriculture and switched to organic farming. Sikkim has become a model for the rest of the world by sustainable farming. Can the rest of the world be transformed as well?