Carte Blanche

AFRICA BURNING

Satellite images from outer space show Africa is a continent on fire. In some African countries as much as half their contribution to global warming comes from fires. Now a young South African scientist has developed satellite technology that could help control the flames. Barely six years after Phillip Frost started working on the technology as a student, his system has received a standing ovation from Nasa scientists.

EARTHWORM FARMING

The Mount Nelson Hotel in Cape Town has become known for its high tea, a host of international celebrities and its beautiful gardens. Its latest guests may be less attractive than Kate Moss, but are so valuable that they have earned their own pink hotel on the grounds. This week Carte Blanche gets up close and personal with the hotel's most prized guests: thousands of wriggling earthworms. These amazing little creatures are eating their way through a ton of organic waste a month. They further pay their way by producing the finest compost and ‘worm tea’ conditioner for the lush gardens. We show how any household can reduce waste by up to 70 percent with the help of these humble wriggles.

HOLLYWOOD GOING GREEN

Green is the new Black. It's cool to be green in Hollywood, on the fashion ramps, in music, on TV…. As international stars jump on the climate change bandwagon, Carte Blanche shows an exclusive preview from Leonardo di Caprio's new documentary on climate change, “The Eleventh Hour”, and Bonita models the latest green designs.

SUDWALA CAVES

The Sudwala Caves in Mpumalanga, one of South Africa's greatest pre-historic wonders, are under threat. The network of caverns is drying up – and a dry cave is a dead cave. Carte Blanche asks whether the province's timber plantations are killing off these magical caves and draining our water supplies. While we ravenously consume timber, a single pine tree can sap around 25 litres of water a day or 10 000 litres a year and in Mpumalanga alone 600 000 hectares are covered by timber plantations.

GLOBAL DIMMING

Are we seeing 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, this decline in the sun’s rays may mean that global warming is a far greater threat to society than we ever imagined. Carte Blanche travels to Columbia University’s Earth Institute to find out more about the devastating impact of global dimming on the continent.

GLOBAL WARMING

The first broadcast in our Cool Earth series. From the Arctic to Timbuktu, from Patagonia to London: we bring you eye witness accounts and dramatic visuals of climate change in Hot Topics: A Global Look. We speak to the world's leading scientists, including South African-born Sir David King, scientific advisor to the British government. In an exclusive television interview with Sir David, he warns that climate change is as much a modern day challenge as terrorism. We also introduce ordinary people who make a difference: meet climate change ambassador Robert Bell, who is running the "Unpluggit" campaign, and glacier nudists.

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