water conservation

The thing we call “the cloud” might sound harmless, but that seemingly abstract place where the details of your digital life are stored takes a heavy toll on the environment. Marketplace’s Lily Jamali spoke with Steven Gonzalez Monserrate, a postdoctoral researcher in the Fixing Futures training group at Goethe University in Frankfurt, Germany, about his research on cloud data centers and their effect on the health of the planet.

Various claims have been made about how much water is used in the production of a pair of jeans, that cornerstone of casual clothing. With growing worries over the environmental impact of denim production, More or Less decided to investigate - with the help of journalist and researcher Elizabeth L. Cline who has written extensively on sustainability and the fashion industry. This programme was first broadcast in July 2022. Presenter: Tim Harford Producers: Lizzy McNeill, Jon Bithrey Programme Coordinator: Brenda Brown Sound engineer: Neil Churchill Editor: Richard Vadon (A worker sews blue jeans in a textile company in Xintang, China, dubbed the 'denim jeans capital of the world'. Photo: Lucas Schifres/Getty images)

Wednesday briefing: Debt ceiling; North Carolina abortion ban; Philadelphia primary; Jake Sullivan; NBA draft lottery; and more

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“Make better. Buy better. Wear it longer.” Lots of fashion brands are including claims like this in their adverts and one item of clothing that’s really getting the stamp of supposed “sustainability” is jeans.

Maddie has asked Greg to look into what “sustainability” actually means when it comes to denim. Is it a term that marks genuine eco-impact, or is it more marketing BS? And, as adverts claim, do “sustainable” jeans last longer?

Greg speaks to an organisation that rates clothing brands’ sustainability credentials and visits Manchester Metropolitan University to hear the results of their ‘rub test’. Do you have a suggestion of a ‘wonder-product’ making a bold claim that Greg can investigate next?

Send us your suggestions to sliced.bread@bbc.co.uk or send it to Greg direct on Twitter and Instagram where he’s @gregfoot

PRESENTER: GREG FOOT PRODUCER: JULIAN PASZKIEWICZ

Nearly two percent of America is grassy green. Sure, lawns are beautiful and useful and they smell great. But are the costs — financial, environmental and otherwise — worth the benefits?

Nearly two percent of America is grassy green. Sure, lawns are beautiful and useful and they smell great. But are the costs — financial, environmental and otherwise — worth the benefits?

Will a diesel and petrol car ban even work?

If you believe the Government, in 23 years’ time new diesel and petrol cars will be banned. From 2040 the future is electric.

But as these controversial plans were rolled out this week, the first question on many people’s lips was: where’s all that electricity going to come from?

Simon Lambert, Lee Boyce and Georgie Frost discuss the prospects for electric cars now that we’re all going to have to learn to drive in near silence.

They answer all the questions - with the help of Simon’s adventures in a top-of-the range electric Tesla:

Can the power supply and grid cope?

How long do electric cars take to charge?

What’s it like to drive an electric car?

Will carmakers deliver but the Government stuff it up?

And is the booming car industry about to bust?

Also on the show we look at how to build a pension if you’ve got to 45 and still don’t have any savings, what to do about Japanese knotweed and whether reading fiction can help you be a better investor.

And finally…

In one of the more intriguing questions This is Money has been sent recently by a reader – can you sue the council if it moves a school catchment area and harm’s your house’s value?

Enjoy. If you like the show also please subscribe at your favoured podcast outlet and leave us a review or like us on iTunes.

Unless you happen to be standing on a hilltop or swimming in the ocean right now, you are on a watershed. These unsung wonders of topography and hydrology are an important contributor to the rain cycle and yet we humans tend to abuse them.

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Droughts can be an inevitable feature of a local climate or a catastrophic result of human meddling. Learn the ins and outs of droughts including the American mother of them all, the Dust Bowl.

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Dive into the world of water, on Earth and in the cosmos, when Neil deGrasse Tyson and Eugene Mirman host Robert F. Kennedy Jr., The Gyalwang Drukpa, Dr. Tess Russo and Jason Sudeikis at the Beacon Theater.

In 1995, World Bank vice president Ismail Serageldin declared that "the wars of the next century will be about water." Check out our HowStuffWorks article to learn what happens once we run out of water.

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