issue to renewable energy when it's set to be completed by 2028 eco africa on d w a y a by now it's clear that forces yours are not to way forward. they're driving climate change, and they're also rolling out our won't be replenished in our life time. that's why

the world is pm in its hopes on renewables like sun, wind and by mars, which is the subject of our show to day. hello and welcome to verse the addition of echo africa. i am chris philips, and i and sandra tween of you. now what is by you mass. exactly. it ease plant invest material that can be used as a fuel to produce heat or electricity. but haven't we learned that a bonding rude and other organic material producers could born to excite emissions? well, that depends on how it is done. so he is a look at of what we have coming up. we'll see how organic material can also be used to make fatty laser how proper residues can help most the energy greet and how both organic and non organic matter pollute waterways.

some months ago the somalia government declared a state of emergency drought there has left more than 2000000 people facing severe water shortages and also hunger. the you and food and agriculture going is a should seize the situation is extremely wiring. but on top of the drought, ongoing conflict is forcing people to flick their horns. many have ended up in internal displacement, comes in one come for example, clean technology is being used to be sure people are getting the food they need until now, most se, cilia barrow has had to overcome her fear to cook on her wood burning stove. the mother of 6 children was forced to flee from severe drought and lives in a camp for internally displaced persons in jo, har, central somalia, providing for her family in the camp has been fraught with serious danger,

merely bidding them hide our the meal also. but with land from july yellow, warm and live in this i need he can kill, got a lie, hadley. well normally we cut wood from the jungle to cook food aria, all over hot metal soccer. we face a lot of problems when we're in the jungle. dr. the are we face sexual harassment earlier, including racism or in a live glass or what are the other women in the camp report? the same, sexual assaults are irregular threat, but the fear of being attacked while gathering wood will now hopefully disappear, just like the smoke pollution from the charcoal stoves. in this communal kitchen, the women take turns cooking for their families with bio gas, they get it free of charge from a near bike by a gas plant. the women of the camp also provide the fuel for the by a gas production themselves by collecting fresh cow dung. the dung is poured into a trough and stirred before it goes into the buyer digest a tap. the gas produced in the tank is piped underground into the communal kitchen

where it provides a hotter and cleaner flame than charcoal. for the around $100.00 women. here the bio gas is liberating in many ways by gus sca bio mass as a great solution for us on a quote that we use to worry about would when we had too little to cook with it. because it was too dangerous for women to collect wood in the jungle home and i am on now when we come home late. if we can cook our food in the bio gas kitchen without worrying sooner and i had that had to laugh. besides providing free clean energy for cooking, the bio gas plant also helps the farmers in the region. the used kalman year from the bio digester tank can be dried, crushed into powder and packaged as fertilizer for local thomas. one bag costs about 30 years. but it's worth it thanks to hire yields and better

quality produce. while you're getting higher, my firm used to produce 40 bags of corn with each weighing a 100 kilos. but last season, we're used by our gas fertilizer and we harvested 80 bags of corn without each weighing a 100 kilos with another gun. we expect more this season and look at some ali even though the country often lacks the know how and financial resources for a large scale implementation. the potential of bio gas is enormous, says ottoman mohammed yamani, a renewable energy expert and environmental consultant is so maria, they are that the $6000000.00 livestock, i mean was according to fall. that's roughly 2 boy, 2. i mean little, but he'll have to tell it's. so animal manure is politically available in somalia. so basically they're due to use

a bio gas in somalia is very viable via guess technology might still be in its infancy in somalia, but the 1st steps have been taken and for the women in the refugee camps, the transition to clean energy has already had a positive impact on their lives. so biomass evolves with growing resources on the use in west mich entity. it certainly seems like the perfect alternative for source. and it is currently responsible for 5 percent of energy globally. but is there a downside? how clean is it really? that's a very good question, sandra and one that doesn't really have a simple answer. we want to look now at some of the pros and cons of using bio mass to create energy on a large scale. as with so many things, it is neither a miracle cure though a quick fix. and if managed poorly,

it can lead to more harm than good all the non appeals, not shells, and other left over foods can actually power the device you're watching this on. it's called biomass energy. not just left overs would plants all animal theses can also be a source of electricity or heat. we are surrounded by biomass and as such by opportunities, trash from the dump as well as waste from homes. restaurants all forms all provide suitable organic matter. the collected waste is cleaned at a processing plant, a temperatures of around $55.00 degrees celsius. the waste is sealed off from oxygen and eaten up by bacteria in a, by a reactor. this process called anaerobic digestion generates gas that contains high quantities of me think it's a powerful source. we're generating electricity and heat once it's fed into the gas

grain. oh, it can also be used to power natural gas vehicles. the left over bio mass can be used as composites for farming, for example, taking the whole process circular by a gas plants of this time exists all over the world. in europe, there are around 20000 there are 2200 bio gas plants in the u. s. and about the same in thailand, malaysia and indonesia, combined by a gas plants produce only a quarter of the c o. 2 emissions that coal plants emit. and bio mass energy has one mortgage advantage over solar and wind in that is on demand. so you don't care if the winds blowing sunshiny, but there is a catch by a me sane can leak from these facilities. this gas is the ability to warm the

planet is much greater than that of c o. 2 and bye. yes, the synergies are only sustainable as long as waste is used if crops are cultivated for the purpose, it's not viable. the same is true of biofuels produced from biomass like fire ethan . oh, by a diesel. the crops will them need to be grown and that takes away space? well, food crops, or even to plates, forests, and biodiversity. as is happening with palm oil, trees and indonesia, sugar cane in brazil and rate seed in germany would pellets are an alternative and increasingly popular biofuel. but research has say, there is strong evidence that natural forests and habitats in eastern europe and north america are being destroyed by the rising demand for would pellets through illegal logging. u. s. e. u and british policy makers have classified woody bio mass as renewable, and therefore, governments are subsidizing the production and burning of wood pellets. produces

are required to reforest areas. so the c o 2 that is released while burning pellets is re absolved. but a study found that depending on the type of forest it could take between 44 and 100 full years until nearly planted trees can absorb the same amount of carbon sucked up by the ones that was cut down over a 100 year period ends down trees, pine anyway. climb any these egg cross. i'm are a good source of energy. over a 100 years. over 25 years of errors, 40 years. frankly, they probably are. especially when forests play another crucial role. countries are spending money. they should be spending on true renewables like wind and solar, on this energy source. ah, that's not going to get us where we need to be asked to plan and fast growing plans

could be another up and because the carbon emitted could be absorbed again, much more quickly than in trees. can you make bio mass, a sustainable and a have you make sure it has a positive carbon impact answers? yes. but then you have to get into the details of what kind of bio mass, what kind a leon? ultimately, most forms of biomass pretend to be better than they are burning would alone, for example, is not a solution because even if it's source and sustainably, it's still produces emissions. would waste can however, be digested by that tyria added by a gas facility and organic products like that. banana peel power in your phone can help manage ways the cycles to de biomass energy covers any small part of our world wide demand. it can work in combination with other renewables,

but it's not scalable to be our main energy source in the future. lots kill energy production requires large amount of basic materials. what, what can we do with the small amount of organic, wished would produce in our kitchens on a weekly basis. thus to can find, propose, as you see in this week's doing your bit, ah, it's a shame to see good food go to waste and not just because it has nutritional value . but also because when food rots it releases climate damaging emissions like methane table scraps can be put to better use. this restaurant in northern garner has a 0 food waste policy. any leftovers are put into underground fermentation peps

restaurant. i know martin yellow bora ads, local bacteria to the mix. when sealed, it produces an organic fertilizer relatively quickly. with the usual compost takes about 6 months to a yell. this fed laser takes barely 3 months and it's ready to fet laser soils. we can't even extract liquid for laser from distillate for life to make the liquid version martin yellow bore apps, waste water from the kitchen to the pit. one local farmer has been using it to spray his corn crop the crops of change color compared to what you the uplifted leather you see then look and feel. when i tried to thump alone, busy curt, within 7 days a week. i saw a change in the plan. i went in the door and then close and imposed according to mountain yellow bore a thanks bag. he says $10000.00 tons of solid organic fertilizer could be produced

annually and northern garner alone from household and restaurant leftovers that would otherwise go to waste. and how about you? if you are also doing your bit, tell us about it, visit our website, or send us a tweet tag doing your bit. we share your stories. so far we've presented examples of all gather much a can be put to good use. but sometimes the wrong kind of voice can end up in the wrong place at the wrong time. on next report deals with a devastating effect. sewage can have on what we a wants, pristine m f. i remains much to the dismay of people living in the area debbie leach is not impressed. few would guess where she is pulling up here. the

river thames and london has a few undesirable spots along its banks. and this here is wet light. it's caught on this twig. it's about one half meter thick mound of wet wipes, mixed with twigs and some salt few leaves. but it's basically solid, used wet wipes. locals have dropped the area which white island it country will house is this south like in people's bathrooms. it's people are using wet wipes in their bathrooms and then i think a jak of a flush that down the low. there's no bite of esoteric there at all. the small animals you'd expect to see on river banks, and unfortunately he is gone. debbie is part of a group of britons monitoring the condition of the rivers. something the authorities here rarely do these days. many are outraged that toiletries could end up here on the river bank. retired police officer,

ashley smith heads up a group that conducts daily detective work the washer company for the thames region . once a purification plant, not far from here. we see quite a nasty coating of grey fine sediment on the bottom and brown and grey owl gay, which is coating the gravel choking any we've life out of it. ashley smith is on his way to a spot where the company releases the purified waste water into the stream. but directly next to it actually points to a 2nd pipe. this one sometimes spews out untreated waste water, the actual chemicals, your hormones, the drugs, the bacteria, the human waste, the ah, heavy levels of phosphate and nitrate and m and ammonia that all comes out here. and that makes its way down into the river windrush then into the river thames sewage last clued from it 2 days ago. he says he's collecting film evidence. i'm

going to put them gloves on because i'm going to post the camera after it's been in that the companies are allowed to release untreated waste water into the rivers, but only in exceptional circumstances. when there's flooding or the sewers are fool after heavy rain, otherwise it's illegal. our analysts can tell if it's happened by looking at water industry data flow data taken on 15 minute intervals. he can establish whether it's happened to early, if they've discharged it before treating sufficient for their permit. and we found a lot of illegal activity in that way. the washer company insists its activities are legal. the environment agency relies on companies to self monitor at the public outcry has now prompted an investigation. u. k. rivers are among the most polluted in europe. the government and water companies are accused of feeling to modernize the sewage system over decades. this is basically

a consequence of victorian infrastructure and it's a, it's a huge undertaking to remove all of these storm overflows. they are therefore emergency flash flooding events outside. they've always been part of the system. but we're taking action right now to, to eliminate some of these and reduce their home. but it's predicted to take 10 or 20 years. so ashley wants to keep up the pressure by exposing as many illegal activities as possible. he recently found an undocumented pipe from thames water is about 3 meters down into the thames. here the water is in a shocking state containing feces, old food and grease. every time we've come, it's been worse than the last is. it's dreadful, it's, it's really bad. the water company claims not to have released any untreated sewage here since march last year. so it's a mystery how this condo came out of the pipe,

were presented to the environment agency, and i expect them to be very little life become almost redundant on a spectator in the engagement now between campaigners the water industry and counselors and local people who are now really pushing for the changes to of those local people arrive on the scene. oh you oh, they were hoping to go swimming, looking a bit around. ok. usually that is not looking good. is it? no, at least the water company, no issues warnings, when it's releasing sewage into the terms disgusting. and we shouldn't have to put up with this as a river here was so clean. you could see the river bed only a couple of decades ago, especially when their group has come up with another strategy to get this stretch of the river cleaned up. the aim is that we're going to try and get designated bathing water status, which will mean that the environment agency are obliged to monitor regularly and

try and impose i did some functions on tmz water. the device their plan, along with trevor williams. he takes regular samples and since the results to the authorities. so you can see it's quite dirty today because it's just rained but hopefully not for much longer because their strategy worked. this stretch of the river has no been granted bathing water status. so things ought to get a lot cleaner here, soup, that'll be the 2nd river in the whole of the u. k. to have a bathing or to status so and hopefully other rivers will follow suit. and other water companies will take note that they can't get away with dumping that their waste in the river and placing polluting on barnett. the campaigners are having to go to great lengths and even resort to tricks. but thee, along with many britons just want the u. k. 's rivers to be cleaner. again,

less snow and made of plastic sashes. these little packets might be handy, but they quickly land in the garbage bin and they don't ross. in all web special, we chant the journey of such a sachet from the origins of the raw materials it's made from to its ends on the rubbish heap. we find out why the number of such haze is growing and why they're so lucrative for businesses. and so disastrous for our planet. find out more at d, w dot com slash plastic. the health of all our water sources is becoming more important than ever, especially as rise in temperatures. and a drop in rainfall are causing more and more water bodies to dry up and as just the one issue that is pushing more counties to find ways to become more self reliant. that is true crease. an example of that can be seen on

a reunion. the island nation in the indian ocean has set itself the goal of switching entirely to renewables before the end of the beget by taking advantage of all the resources at its disposal. reunion island is famed for its beautiful beaches and large green mountains. but it comes to carbon emissions. the islands record is less attractive. around 2 thirds of its energy needs are covered by fossil fuel. this heavy oil factory in the city of flu pool is run by french utility e d f. in future it's you to switch to lashley. couple neutral operation running on calls are in soil just one step towards achieving an ambitious goal. switching to renewables, completely by 2020 it. this power plant owned by albumin runs partly on coal from south africa in partly on domestic bio mass. it will need to switch completely to

bio mass in future. the sugar refinery next door it his provides a convenient source of the quinn fuel. this at gun were utilized as much of the sugar cane as possible. we pressed the liquid out of it in descent and f court in the kent gets distributed on the surrounding fuels as fit laser. the mona susan, go to the ram distilleries the albumen pastiche, and uses the plant fables to produce image that flows into the public grid from which we then draw our electricity is oh, by that him on the bottom of the albumen power plant accounts for around 11 percent of the islands overall energy output? the conversion to all bye, almost production is costing the company 200000000 euros. and that's just what this one plant. and i see no, don't worry. wally doesn't did that. these are i want to new storage storms. they

have a capacity of 9500 cubic meters each. you have, these are the kind of units remain you use. like we plant you sustainable by almost that miss european union standard. my wife will initially use would pellets from the united states, but we later switched to suppliers closer to like in mozambique in south africa. oh, prepare for phone deposit. i known issue oil as it was on meter. i think you should only 10 percent of the would pallets will be so strung island. that means 900000 tons a you need to be imported. the company sees it will still cut the plans over carbon footprint by over 80 percent. the government is more trusted in large scale solar farms like lesser doors in 9 megawatt project in the south of the island. here fruits and vegetables are grown under the solar panels which provide the plants protection from the hot sun and some to renew this is

a small island. we have to make good use of space when you're building for farmland in power plant so. so here we are combining a solar power plant with that organic from we also have a battery system that's towards the electricity produced during the day to feed it into the greed, it peak times, the distorted in elgin bonner lawfully more the company plans to expand this model and multiply it, solar output 6 fold. that would be another important tip towards achieving unions. goal of covering all its energy needs with cupboard neutral renewables by 2028. i am scared of we've run out of time for to day, but we are good for that. he could join us for these, especially edition of equal africa, and a do be sure to tune in again next week, sometime someplace until then i am sarah tween over the signing of from compiler here in uganda. looking forward to seeing you again next week,

sandra to all you viewers. albert, do be sure to share your thoughts and comments with us on our social media platforms. for now is good buy from me, chris, a lamps in oakland state nigeria. ah, [000:00:00;00] a

with who i need alexandria is up to a stork. monuments are in danger and residential neighborhoods are being

flooded with people are afraid why the city council is trying to contain the impact of the waves. is it a hopeless fight against the effects of climate change? global 3000 in 30 minutes on d. w. e co india ah. the glacier as a mel single climate change shows its true face. in the indian state mashed l pradesh. the solution who reducing c o 2 through e buses will this was 90 minutes on d w. o. and when you were an architect,

go all in or not at all women in architecture. why are they so invisible to the larger publisher? we decided to ask them and for women go up with an inefficient oh model. said she and identify with certain professions about their guiding principles versus what is the poetry, the secret of the houses i'm house about, their motivations. architecture does so much to you. it moves you, the real goal of architecture is to create habitat for human about their struggles and dreams cannot sponsibility is huge. they have so much to lose shattering the glass ceiling women in architecture to so this has to be really, really good. start september 30th on d,

w ah ah ah, this is the w news coming to live from berlin. italy takes a hard turn to the right, a conservative alliance sweeps to victory in sunday's election with georgia, maloney set to become italy's 1st. all right leader. since the 2nd world war also