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23'
Life at 50°C: Asia
India - 2021
Karachi, the largest city in Pakistan, is one of many urban locations around the world struggling with rising temperatures and climate change. This can cause respiratory problems, exhaustion and heat strokes. Some seek to battle the heat with air conditioning, but one man is trying to find a solution by planting urban forests. In India, heatwaves are becoming more common as the world warms. There’s nowhere to hide especially if you live in a slum. Shakeela Bano struggled to get her grandson Mohammed to fall sleep in their one room house due to the heat. But as the Life at 50°C series on climate change finds out, there’s one solution which doesn't cost the earth.
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22'
Life at 50°C: Africa
Nigeria - 2021
Climate change has had a devastating impact in Africa. As temperatures rise - fertile lands are becoming deserts, forcing communities to leave their ancestral homes, while other regions are hit by flooding and sand storms.
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07'
The Silent Music Street of Kharabat
Afghanistan - 2021
Since the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan in August, musicians have been restricted from playing in public, and live music is effectively banned. On Kharabat Street, the heart of Afghanistan's music culture in Kabul, the once lively streets are now silenced, and musicians have been forced to find alternative work. This report meets some of those who have been hit by the Taliban's takeover, and how they continue to quietly resist by keeping their music culture alive at home.
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23'
Life at 50°C: Middle East
Iraq - 2021
In the Middle East, temperatures are rising at an alarming rate. Desertification and droughts are causing water shortages, while in urban areas, day-to-day life is impeded by sweltering heat.
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28'
Last of Us: The Last Fishermen of the Lake
Italy - 2021
The last fishermen of Lake Maggiore, a photograph of a vanishing world. On Lake Maggiore there are 25 remaining, the last professional fishermen who bring among themselves stories and ancient knowledge, almost forgotten. Last of Us is a slow portrait of a life totally lived on the water of the lake, far from the noises of the modern world which takes over.
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23'
Life at 50°C: Australia & Mexico
Australia - 2021
Australia is one of the countries already seeing an increase in the number of extremely hot days because of climate change, with places like Sydney experiencing temperatures around 50C. The intense heat has led to unusually strong bushfires and some indigenous species dying en masse. This new reality is hitting home for many who are forced to defend their homes from the wildfires and are finding cities too hot to live in. In North America, the Colorado river used to flow through northern Mexico but, where once people used to fish and swim there is now a sandy river bed. And, while climate change is making the area hotter, and drying up the river, activists say that the US is holding water upstream, preventing it from making its way to Mexico and they are fighting to have water returned to the river. Last year, in the region, 422 people were treated for heat related illnesses, 27 of those people died.
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10'
Low Wage Workers in the Pandemic
United States - 2021
Low-wage, essential workers who can’t do their jobs from home are facing an unequal playing field as the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic continue. In California, many of the state’s 556,000 fast-food workers have protested what they call a widespread lack of basic health and safety protections. Now, many are advocating for a new law to address long-standing issues in the industry. The COVID-19 pandemic revealed two distinct workforces: those who could do their jobs from home and those who had to show up in person. A recent increase in labour strikes and protests is drawing attention to what some workers say was unequal treatment.
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08'
Who pays for recycling?
United States - 2021
For years, Americans have been encouraged to recycle, but global changes to the market for recycled material has led to a realization that just because that symbol is on the package or it’s placed in a blue bin, doesn't necessarily mean a used product will go on to have a second life. In 2018, China stopped taking most recycled material from places like the United States, citing the influx of contaminated foreign trash as an environmental hazard. Before that, China took 70 percent of America's plastic recycling alone. The decision had a huge impact all over the world, recyclables piled up, and it cost more in the U.S. to process all the material. Lawmakers here in Maine passed a new law that advocates are hoping transforms the way the state recycles.
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14'
The Endless Battle for Abortion in Texas
United States - 2021
In Texas, a battle rages over abortion, as the Supreme Court is examining the Texas law which prohibits abortion after 6 weeks, even in cases of rape or incest.
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09'
Timber High Rise
United States - 2021
A new kind of construction is taking off in the U.S. Mass timber can replace steel and concrete in large buildings and proponents say it's greener and faster to build with. Is this the future of green building?