Road to Durban

Show #1

United Kingdom

Carbon Emission Mapping Every time the Envisat satellite orbits the earth, the University of Leicester is watching-- recording data on greenhouse gasses and plotting it on a map. From 450 kilometers above the surface, the world's worst carbon offenders can be seen as bright red spots on a map. Professors at the University of Leicester are monitoring gasses like Carbon Dioxide and Nitrogen Dioxide as they enter the atmosphere and flow with the prevailing winds. Monita Rajpal takes a look at emissions from cities in the UK and how the future of this technology could map emissions down to one square kilometer of detail.

Air Traffic Congestion 600 tones of carbon dioxide pours into the skies of London every day because of overcrowded skies. Congestion on the ground at Heathrow Airport forces more than half of arriving planes to circle in four stacks above London waiting to land. National Air Traffic Services is teaming up with McLaren to help ease this congestion. Technology normally used for organizing pit stops will map Heathrow's taxiways and runways much as they do a Formula 1 track. Ayesha Durgahee shows us the system should make the airport more efficient, cutting the amount of carbon dumped into London's skies.

Liverpool's Greenest Museum The new Museum of Liverpool on the city's famous waterfront World Heritage Site is one of the greenest museums in the world. It's powered by its own eco-friendly energy generation center which will convert both renewable biodiesel and natural gas into low carbon heating, cooling and electricity. This advanced trigeneration technology will reduce the museum's carbon emissions by 884 tons per year, the equivalent of removing 295 cars from the road. Nick Glass takes a tour.

Canals: Transport of the Past and Future The 125 year old Victorian-era Manchester Ship Canal network, once a hub of the industrial revolution, has recently reopened in an effort to reduce the number of trucks on the roads. A container barge emits 80% less carbon than the equivalent weight carried by truck. As a part of its sustainability strategy, retailer Tesco now transports 500 containers of wine per year down the river Mersey from Liverpool to Manchester's depot. Nick Glass follows the journey.

London's Cleaner Air Initiatives This year, air pollution in London hit its highest level since 2003 and road congestion is a major contributor. What is the city of London doing to help? Mayor Boris Johnson has rolled out several new programs including a special liquid spray applied to the road that captures PM10 produced by engine emissions, a fleet of hydrogen cabs has hit the road and bicycle superhighways are springing up around the city. Ayesha Durgahee travels around London to see how these initiatives are working.