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A Hydrocarbon Heaven profiles Nick Abson, an English fuel-cell developer who’s been working for decades to create systems that convert everyday organic items – everything from dead leaves to chicken waste – into usable energy. Neither scientist nor engineer, Abson’s tools and materials are nearly as simple as his energy sources, his idea being to ‘make something that anyone can make’. His ultimate goal is complete energy freedom, in which everyone is able to convert the organic waste around them into electricity.
Director: Jason Taylor
Website: The Source Project
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Engineering
Building a prosperous future demands bold ideas. These are some of the boldest
40 minutes
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Nature and landscape
‘A culture is no better than its woods’ – what our trees reveal about us, by W H Auden
5 minutes
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Computing and artificial intelligence
A future in which ‘artificial scientists’ make discoveries may not be far away
9 minutes
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Fairness and equality
There’s a dirty side to clean energy in the metal-rich mountains of South Africa
10 minutes
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Animals and humans
Villagers struggle to keep their beloved, endangered ape population afloat
19 minutes
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Fairness and equality
Visit the small Texas community that lives in the shadow of SpaceX launches
14 minutes
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Earth science and climate
There’s a ‘climate bomb’ ticking beneath the Arctic ice. How can we prepare?
8 minutes
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Computing and artificial intelligence
The ‘cloud’ requires heaps of energy to stay aloft. Could synthetic DNA be the answer?
12 minutes
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Food and drink
Local tensions simmer amid a potato salad contest at the Czech-Polish border
14 minutes