The Minister for Local Government and Community Cohesion was on the defensive. He thinks that the government's policy already deals with sustainable communities. Devolving power to the people, he says, it what Labour is all about. Listen and make your own mind up.
Thrupp lake in Radley, Oxfordshire, is one of the county's prime wildlife havens. It is slated to be filled with a toxic blend of pulverised fuel ash from nPower's nearby Didcot power station. In our exclusive podcast, we talk to the local community, campaigners, ecologists, the press and nPower themselves to uncover some very murky waters...
'China' has become the man-on-the-street's word to dismiss climate change campaigners. What is the future for global warming if China's growth continue apace? Where is the global economy headed? Mark and Paul fight it out...
The solutions are there - plans have already been put forward for an energy 'climb-down' by 2030. So what's stopping us? Mark and Paul agree that it all comes down to our obsession with economic growth...
If it were possible to fly without producing any polluting gases would it be a good thing? If we discovered fusion power tomorrow, would our problems be solved? Mark and Paul argue it out...
Paul's interested in the psychology of climate campaigners - "we have to do something because we can't do nothing". Is that the best option? What's the role of the 'technofixes' which Blair and Branson are so keen on?
Paul asks whether Mark thinks that the cuts in carbon dioxide now thought necessary - at least 80 per cent by 2050 - are really achievable. Lawrence Buckley tackles Mark on whether defeat might be an acceptable option...
We ask environmental campaigners and authors Paul Kingsnorth and Mark Lynas whether campaigners can save the world? Mark thinks there's still hope. Paul is of the opinion that things have already gone too far. According to Mark, there's a waking argument and sleeping one...
The fairtrade logo is renowned and trusted. But exactly what aspects of production does it cover? Will it ever be extended to the whole supply chain? Harriet Lamb responds...
Fair trade has brought rewards to farmers in Africa and Asia. Is there a role it could play in poorer European countries as well? Silver Kasoro and Harriet Lamb answer...
Fairtrade products brought from farms in the less-industrialised world incur food miles. Environmentalists are trying to reduce food miles. Can 'fairtrade' and 'buy local' campaigns sit together? Harriet Lamb and Silver Kasoro respond...
What is the role of organic farming in fairtrade cooperatives? Will higher prices for produce encourage more intensive farming? Silver Kasoro and Harriet Lamb answer...
'Fairtrade' is sometimes described as merely 'less-unfair trade'. Are there global trading mechanisms that need to be tackled first before fairtrade can work? What about the role of subsidies? Harriet Lamb, Director of the Fairtrade Foundation, and Silver Kasoro, a fairtrade tea grower, give their answers...
According to the Campaign For Real Ale (CAMRA), 56 pubs are being forced to close in the UK every month. Rising property prices and the underhand tactics of big pub chains are two major causes. We asked Iain Loe, from CAMRA, and John Longdon from 'Pub is the Hub', what communities can do to save their locals.
Lewis Gordon Pugh, an endurance swimmer who has swum in the Artic, Antarctic and the Thames, is planning to swim the 160km across the Maldives to highlight the impact of climate change.
We joined him on his final training session in the Serpentine lido, and asked him what he was hoping to achieve in the balmy waters of the Indian ocean.
Ian Pearson, Britain's Climate Change Minister, put a smile on the face of the environmental movement in January when he derided Ryan Air as 'the irresponsible face of capitalism'. That smile was soon wiped off, however, when he was reputedly 'slapped down' by the Treasury for his comments.
Our reporter was in Parliament to ask Ian Pearson why he was forced to back down over his comments...
Carbon off-setting hogs the headlines. Blair says he is going to off-set all his flight. MPs fall over themselves to join him. The government declares that it will introduce a 'kite-mark' standard to regulate the industry. Prius-driving Hollywood actors help launch the 'Global Cool' campaign.
What is going on?
Listen to our podcast programme to uncover what's behind the glossy websites and 'carbon neutral' pledges...
William Hudson, an ex-strawberry farmer from Essex, speaks candidly about how supermarket buyers treat suppliers, create packaging cartels and keep farmers gagged.
The Labour think-tank the Fabian Society held its annual meeting on Saturday 13th January. Under a motion of 'Can't We Get Greener Than This?', four speakers including David Miliband MP offered their views.
David Miliband, Secretary of State for the Environment: "Climate change needs Labour and Labour needs climate change". Can he be serious?
