Google Cloud Speech-to-Text API (Chirp) + Gemini 2.5 Flash Non-Thinking. Treat it as a searchable index of what was broadcast, not a quotation record.
00:03:34From building with wood to recycling
00:03:37concrete, the construction industry is looking for ways
00:03:41to reduce its massive carbon
00:03:43footprint,
00:03:46but it's still early days for change in the
00:03:48sector.
00:03:52One new sustainable approach and much more coming up
00:03:56tomorrow today.
00:04:02Could this soil be the answer to the construction sector's dirty little
00:04:05secret? We have to really speed up things
00:04:09and we have to drastically transform the way that we handle
00:04:14different ways to improve it. One of and consume resources on all levels.
00:04:17Every week, a truck load of soil lands in an old aircraft hanger in
00:04:20Berlin. It looks just like regular dirt because it
00:04:24is, but squashed into blocks it becomes something
00:04:27potentially revolutionary compared to digital. or clay bricks,
00:04:30making the soil blocks emits 97% less carbon
00:04:34dioxide. A revolution is needed because in environmental
00:04:37terms, the construction industry is filthy. The building
00:04:41sector is the world's biggest polluter. According to the UN, between
00:04:442024 and 2025, it accounted for
00:04:4834% of total global CO2 emissions. Over the same
00:04:51time period, that's more than the automotive and aviation sectors
00:04:55combined. One reason is the way traditional building
00:04:58materials are made. To make them strong enough to use, clay bricks are
00:05:02baked in furnaces that hit temperatures exceeding 1,000 degrees celsius
00:05:06and they have to spend several days in the oven. Those
00:05:09kilns are typically powered by fossil fuels and released. massive amounts of
00:05:13suit and carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
00:05:17It's very cheaply and very fastly built with no intention
00:05:21of lasting longer than 40 to 50 years, which is
00:05:24insane.
00:05:28As soon as they're no longer wanted, buildings are often raised to the
00:05:31ground, and lot of that debris just ends up in
00:05:33Landfill.
00:05:38Christian Gater Earthbound hopes his blocks could change this.
00:05:42"the soil for them is taken from excavation waste a construction site on the
00:05:46outskirts of Berlin. Germany's federal environment agency
00:05:50reports demolition and construction waste like this comprises the country's biggest
00:05:56different destiny. We were very interested in this uh
00:06:00sort of devalue chain of excavation material being moved from the
00:06:03construction side and then just deposited in landfield as a
00:06:07waste. So we thought there was great potential in actually using this
00:06:10resource. After reaching..."
00:06:12christian site, the soil is first dried and broken up, then
00:06:16mixed with a tiny bit of water and
00:06:18compressed.
00:06:22there's two things that really come together here, one is that the production
00:06:26process doesn't use any other chemical binders, which on
00:06:30the one hand means that it's very, very low in terms of co2 emissions,
00:06:34and on the other hand it also means that there are no toxic gases or any
00:06:38toxic substances released in the process when a building is constructed from the
00:06:42material. the eco bricks compete with their traditional
00:06:45counterparts in terms of their ability to bear loads and can support
00:06:49building of up to 17 m tall, four or five stories
00:06:52high. each brick can withstand roughly 29 metric tons of
00:06:56pressure before breaking. that's roughly the weight of 15
00:07:00cars. the blocks can be laid with mortar and plaster
00:07:03also made from earth. rooms in houses made from them a cooler and more
00:07:07humid. i really hope that we can sort of take on the
00:07:11conventional maisonry. um construction sector and substitute a
00:07:14significant share of what nowadays built with carbon
00:07:18intensive and also materials that are not recyclable at the end of the
00:07:22life cycle with the earth blocks that we are producing which are
00:07:25100% made from waste materials uh very low in terms
00:07:29of co2 emissions during the production and at the end of the life
00:07:33cycle most importantly we can recycle them to new earth building
00:07:36products without any loss of value or without having to add any new
00:07:40materials
00:07:43This is Sinanen, a researcher at the Natural Building Lab at Berlin's
00:07:47Technical University. She helped design Germany's first building to
00:07:51use recycled wood in load-bearing capacity, but
00:07:57the picture. Every part of construction is always
00:08:00needing, um, you always extract new materials, you always invest more
00:08:04energy, you and we invest um
00:08:07resources and and you also cause emissions, and that's something I think we have
00:08:11to, we have to keep in. back of our heads that even the most sustainable
00:08:15construction
00:08:17um is still causing all these things and um the
00:08:21the actually most sustainable kind of construction is not constructing at
00:08:24all. scenas project will be a minerals museum for her
00:08:27university. she hopes the use of secondh wood will spare property
00:08:31developers to follow
00:08:32suit.
00:08:36i think what is also good about circular economy is that it's
00:08:39it's it's supporting also maybe the development of business
00:08:42models that are focusing more on refurbishment and more on
00:08:46transformation instead of new construction and
00:08:49demolition, so this may be also then an opportunity to
00:08:53drive um industries and and econom
00:08:56economies into more sustainable
00:08:59direction.
00:09:01preventing demolition, repurposing buildings and using eco-friendly
00:09:05materials a hallmarks of circular
00:09:07construction.
00:09:09at scale, the practices could help sustainably. house the
00:09:132.5 billion more people, the UN says will live in
00:09:16urban areas by
00:09:172050.
00:09:21But what about air quality in those cities? There are
00:09:27them, surprisingly
00:09:28simple.
00:09:33Ja Chenn from the Technical University of Munich and her
00:09:36colleague Lijun Way are in one of the city's
00:09:39parks. Over the course of several months. They've been
00:09:42taking measurements here and elsewhere in Munich to
00:09:46verify their calculations.
00:09:48They showed that urban green spaces can absorb
00:09:52surprisingly large amounts of
00:09:54carbon.
00:09:58We found that urban vegetation in Munich offsets about
00:10:022% of the annual human induced
00:10:05carbon emissions
00:10:06produced
00:10:09by the city's inhabitants.
00:10:25Using this device, the researchers can, for instance, measure
00:10:28photosynthesis activity in grass. In other
00:10:32words, how much CO2 it absorbs? At the same
00:10:35time, they look at how much of the greenhouse gas is released
00:10:39back into the atmosphere through soil
00:10:41respiration. Their findings show that over the
00:10:45course of year, lawns are actually a net source of
00:10:48CO2, contributing more emissions than they
00:10:52remove. Trees are more effective. carbon
00:10:55stores, while shrubs and bushes can also offset at
00:10:58least part of a city's
00:11:00emissions.
00:11:03we also developed a model to determine the flow of
00:11:06CO2, in other words, where carbon
00:11:09dioxide is absorbed and where it's emitted. you can
00:11:13think of it as map showing exactly where in the city
00:11:16CO2 is being taken up and where it's being
00:11:20released. where CO2 is absorbed and
00:11:23released. based on
00:11:55always happier when they're outside in green
00:11:57spaces,
00:12:01her recommendation, city planners should pay more
00:12:05attention to urban greenery, it improves
00:12:08the quality of life for residents and also helps
00:12:12improve a city's carbon
00:12:13balance.
00:12:18Barcelona showed it can work,
00:12:21Paris, Vienna,
00:12:23London and... in Belgium followed
00:12:26suit, now it's the German city of Nurenburg's turn
00:12:29to experiment with Super blocks, when standard
00:12:33city blocks are grouped into zones that emphasize car-free public
00:12:36spaces,
00:12:39a jungle gym going up a playground in
00:12:42Nurenburg, gan feda is member of an
00:12:45initiative to reshape the Gustenhof neighborhood,
00:12:49the city supports the project and in the summer of
00:12:522025 introduced street.
00:13:04The goal is to significantly improve quality of life for
00:13:07everyone in the neighborhood by keeping out through traffic
00:13:11and creating little oasis for the people who live
00:13:14here.
00:13:18A year ago a community picnic in the middle of the street
00:13:22would have been impossible.
00:13:56Superblock projects exist across Europe, social
00:14:00scientis from the German Institute of Urban
00:14:03Affairs has studied
00:14:05them.
00:14:11Superblocks ir restrict vehicle traffic within a neighborhood, especially
00:14:14through traffic. At the same time, it creates more
00:14:18space for active mobility, such as walking
00:14:21and cycling, while often making them nicer places to spend.
00:15:37fell by 60% while cycling increased by the same
00:15:41amount, public transport use rose by
00:15:4412%.
00:15:49in gent, car ownership declined over several
00:15:52years, from 1.2 cars per household to
00:15:56roughly one car per household. these are
00:15:59effects that emerge when people rethink their habits in the medium
00:16:02to long term, and then decide they may not actually need a car
00:16:06anymore because
00:17:08Maybe six months a year after that it grows too
00:17:11cold, so for half the year the super block will
00:17:14probably just empty
00:17:16out.
00:17:26We need to look at what different social groups make up
00:17:29society here and perhaps set up a round
00:17:31table, one where families, seniors,
00:17:35singles and people with. heads
00:18:39up Nurenburg's urban development department, he wants to see
00:18:43fewer cars and more buses, bikes and pedestrians, to
00:18:46him, the super block is a forward thinking
00:18:49experiment. if we want our cities to remain
00:18:53livable and to ensure a high quality of life, even 50 years
00:18:56down the road, will have to change the physical structure of those
00:19:00cities. we still have too much asphalt and concrete and too much
00:19:04parking, projects like this cre
00:19:15In September 2026, the decision will be taken on whether the
00:19:19temporary changes will be made permanent, its
00:19:22proponents will do all they can to ensure this new public
00:19:26space will in the future remain filled with
00:19:29life rather than
00:19:30cars.
00:19:34And how are landscapes changing outside cities?
00:19:37Germany's countryside is no longer devoted just to
00:19:40farms. Renewable energy is now
00:19:43harvested there as well, and that can be
00:19:46controversial.
00:19:48Around 60 kilometers east of Berlin, you'll find the Merkisher
00:19:52Schweiz, an adilic nature park that's a popular
00:19:55recreational destination for the city's residence. The
00:19:58question is, for how much longer renewable
00:20:02energy developers are moving aggressively into the region
00:20:05if investor plans. move forward, large
00:20:09solar farms will be built along the park's edges.
00:20:12opposition has been growing in the nearby town of Muntiabag,
00:20:16where an initiative has stepped up its campaign against the
00:20:20project.
00:20:22we need the energy transition and we need to protect the climate, but we shouldn't
00:20:26be doing it everywhere and regardless of the cost.
00:20:29some gems like nature parks need to be
00:20:32preserved, kept free of large technical installations in the
00:20:36landscape.
00:20:38Though understanding the concerns, the local chapter of nature
00:20:42non-profit warns that pitting climate protection against
00:20:45nature conservation is a bad idea.
00:20:49Yan Zama is also active in the
00:20:52initiative, his farm borders one of the sites
00:20:55being considered for solar
00:20:57park.
00:21:01He's harvesting kale today. Together with his
00:21:04partner, Zama grows produce for the Berlin
00:21:07market. The farm was their dream,
00:21:11and one they had long pursued. The couple
00:21:14moved to Munchag 17 years ago to be as close as
00:21:17possible to nature. They... use horses instead of
00:21:21tractors, that keeps the soil from compacting,
00:21:24allowing it to retain more water.
00:21:28organic farming on 70 hectares, sustainable
00:21:32practices that work, but plans for
00:21:35solar parks could now change
00:21:37things.
00:21:41it was indeed the case that our landlords have
00:21:45been approached and asked whether they were interested in rededicating the
00:21:49land we lease.
00:22:20"the farmer fears for his livelihood. We
00:22:23tried to speak with the investors about his accusations, but
00:22:27received no response. The
00:22:29utility company initially agreed to an interview, but
00:22:33later told us it had withdrawn from the
00:22:35project. For Yanzama, the playing field
00:22:39is anything but level. According to
00:22:42him, the investors offered his landlord 20 to 30
00:22:46times more than he could ever afford as a farmer."
00:22:52the nature park itself is it
00:22:53stake.
00:22:57When farmland is repurposed from food production to electricity
00:23:00generation, farmers stop being partners. Young people
00:23:04will no longer have the opportunity to cultivate this land in a meaningful
00:23:08way. That doesn't bring us together, it'll drive us
00:23:11apart.
00:23:14Henrik veindorf also understands how profoundly Germany's
00:23:18energy transition is changed.
00:23:50Economist Ralph Michel Markwart says the issue goes beyond just
00:23:54changes to the landscape, it's also about
00:23:56the energy transition creating winners and
00:23:59losers.
00:24:03For example, if someone leases land for a win
00:24:06turbine, they can earn around 50,00 to
00:24:0870,00 euros per turbine each year,
00:24:12simply by allowing the turbine to stand
00:24:14there.
00:24:20are beneficiaries of the energy transition, but someone also
00:24:23loses out, the farmer who doesn't own land and has to
00:24:27lease it. yanzama hopes his
00:24:31landlord will reject the investor's offer and allow him
00:24:34to stay on the farm, and he'll continue fighting to leave the
00:24:38nature park as it is. why? he
00:24:41asks should solar arrays be built in a protected
00:24:44area? the beauty of solar power
00:24:47is that the panels don't care where the...
00:24:50are, they just need to face the sun. That means
00:24:53renewable electricity can be generated on sealed
00:24:56surfaces, rooftops and parking lots. There they
00:25:00don't cause problems, on the
00:25:01contrary.
00:25:04Officials in Müncheberg say they're carefully reviewing all the
00:25:08arguments and that decision has yet to be
00:25:10taken. Conservationist
00:25:14has seen similar disputes elsewhere, and how they
00:25:17end.
00:26:38has to just wait and see what the authorities decide, land ownership plays a crucial
00:26:42role in the issue, both for him and for Germany's
00:26:45energy
00:26:46transition.
00:26:51Speaking of renewable energy, here's a
00:26:54great question from our viewerd in
00:26:57Ghana.
00:27:01How do solar? panels
00:27:03work:
00:27:05solar panels, also called solar modules, are made up of
00:27:09number of solar cells linked together. about
00:27:1295% of all solar cells are currently made from
00:27:16silicon obtained from quartz sand. it's melted and
00:27:20cleaned in a complex process. the resulting
00:27:23silicon is cut into thin slices called
00:27:26wafers. to make the cell electrically conductive, the
00:27:29silicon is intentionally contaminated or dop
00:27:33some wafers with boron, others with
00:27:36phosphorus.
00:27:39when the wafers doped with boron and phosphorus are placed
00:27:42together, excess electrons migrate from the
00:27:45phosphorus silicone layer into the boron silicone layer.
00:27:49this leads to a surplus of
00:27:53them at the top. similar to battery, solar cells have
00:27:57positive and negative poles. when
00:28:00sunlight strikes the cell, electrons... released in the silicon boron
00:28:04layer, since they're negatively charged, they're drawn
00:28:07to the positive pole. Solar cells also have metallic
00:28:11conductors at their top and bottom. The free
00:28:14electrons travel along these tracks, generating an electrical
00:28:17current as long as the sun is
00:28:19shining.
00:28:25When more lights strikes the surface, more power is generated. To
00:28:29increase yield, solar modules are usually connected. in
00:28:32series and linked up to form larger
00:28:35systems, but even small modules can generate
00:28:39enough electricity for everyday needs, more than
00:28:4211% of all renewable energy already comes from solar
00:28:46energy, increasing trend, it's a form of
00:28:50energy with almost infinite