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00:00Imagine a brand new city for Ireland 25 years from now home to a quarter of a
00:13million people where science has helped solve some of the biggest issues facing
00:18our country today
00:21that is futureville and this is how we make it happen we have a plan to reimagine Athlone as
00:32a city of the future with brand new neighbourhoods transport networks and a vision for what life will
00:42be like here we call it futureville it's entirely possible and now it's more important than ever
00:49coming up in our Athlone of the future we put nature on your doorstep when is the best time
00:57to plant a tree yesterday when is the second best time today how at the big game everyone
01:03can be part of the action I am registered blind but if that technology was there definitely yeah
01:11I'd go tomorrow again the young scientist hoping to save us from the danger of microplastics
01:18we are the people who are eating and ingesting those plastic and it will cause harm to all of us
01:24and in futureville emergency rescue will come out of a box
01:29but first I'm on the hunt for a future food for Ireland
01:39protein is essential to our diet but producing proteins from animals can be energy intensive I am told it's somewhere around here
01:53yes this will space in futureville finding new sources of protein especially from plants could be key to making our islands resources go as far as possible
02:14let's do this okay now lovely really nice now I'm told apparently the best stop is out in the middle
02:32okay so why am I standing waist deep in a pond well because of this duckweed it could be what our protein intake will look like 25 years from now
02:55in University College Cork professor Marcel Janssen is researching how this unappetizing weed could feed us all
03:10there are not that many good plant protein sources we are very dependent on soy imported soy which comes with an enormous carbon footprint
03:20just think about the food miles bring it from South America to Ireland and at the same time we have something potentially in this country
03:28which could replace soy which could replace soy almost on a one-to-one basis and that's very attractive in the context of sustainability
03:35Marcel's alternative is duckweed
03:39Marcel what exactly is duckweed?
03:41So duckweed is a small aquatic plant native to Ireland floating on rivers, lakes, small ditches
03:48and actually I brought you some in a petri dish this is one of the smallest duckweeds
03:54and here in this petri dish you see thousands of plants and I fish out a few with a pen
03:59wow
04:00so here you see 10-12 plants each about a millimetre across so each little globe is an entire plant
04:08what makes duckweed so special is the speed at which it grows
04:12every two days you double the amount of plants you've got which is incredibly fast
04:17so essentially I could now eat half this petri dish and two days later it's full again
04:23what is different about duckweed in terms of other plant proteins?
04:28what are the main key parts of it that make an attractive source of protein?
04:33what makes a protein a good protein is the amino acids
04:36so these are the building blocks that make a protein
04:39and duckweed is very rich in essential amino acids
04:42and that's why it can be such a good meat replacement or soy replacement for that matter
04:47100 grams of dried duckweed can pack 20-45 grams of protein
04:53putting it in the same league as lean beef
04:56the idea is that duckweed could help us to eat less meat by providing us with the same level of protein
05:10duckweed is already popular in South East Asia
05:13and by 2050 it could be a store cupboard staple in Ireland too
05:18so I want to make a mid-week meal of the future using my duckweed
05:22not the duckweed from the pond which could be contaminated
05:25but this duckweed which Marcel has kindly sterilised ready for human consumption
05:30now because I'm a basic cook at best I'm going to be getting some help from an AI app
05:38don't judge me this is beautiful
05:40hi AI I would like to make dinner for a friend of mine
05:44can you suggest a recipe that would use duckweed as the protein?
05:48that's a great idea how about we make a dish based around duckweed pesto
05:52sounds good can't wait okay what do I do now?
05:55all right let's do this so you'll need some millet
06:01add it to a hot pan give it three minutes
06:06but shake it so it doesn't burn
06:09add two cups of water
06:14lovely okay
06:16and now we can make the duckweed pesto
06:18let's do it so take your duckweed
06:21your garlic
06:23your lemon
06:25and your olive oil
06:27salt and pepper
06:31and blend it to a green paste
06:35I've got my hands on two other protein packed foods we could be eating in the future
06:40now sticking with the pond theme
06:42this is spirulina
06:44it's a blue green algae and it's really high in protein
06:46hey AI can I add spirulina to the pesto?
06:49you bet just a spoonful will really up the protein count
06:53oh that is strong, it's earthy
06:59but it looks great
07:02now this is insect flour
07:05it's made from ground dried crickets
07:08it's also really high in protein
07:10and it's getting more popular in Southeast Asia
07:12okay AI just please reassure me
07:14it is definitely okay to eat cricket flour isn't it?
07:18don't worry cricket flour is definitely edible
07:21let's make a crunchy cricket crumble
07:23take some oil
07:24add a splash of water
07:26and make a paste
07:28there is a strong smell coming off this
07:31we'll keep going
07:33spread it thinly on a baking sheet and pop it in the oven
07:40and for maximum plant protein I'm going to add fried toffee
07:46drizzle of our pesto
07:51and now we have our cricket crumble
07:55mmm
07:56some of our duckweed garnish just to finish it off
08:02and that is my 2050 protein bowl
08:05that's Lolly
08:08okay so we have some dinner
08:09it's duckweed and spirulina pesto
08:12fried tofu and I have some insect flour crumb on top
08:16mmm okay what kind of insect?
08:20crickets
08:21full of protein
08:22let's give it a go
08:26mmm okay
08:27it's certainly different but it's not
08:29crazy different to anything I've had before
08:31it's really good
08:33you can hardly taste any difference with the pesto
08:34it's kind of nutty
08:35so could food like this really be landing on the dinner tables of Futureville?
08:40could you imagine this being your kind of typical standard midweek meal for a family?
08:442050 definitely I think we have more need for protein
08:47so I think different protein sources for sure
08:50but it's going to make us more creative cooks
08:51where on earth did you get a recipe for this?
08:53well you'd be proud of me because I did consult AI for that
08:57what do you think?
08:58I think you're a woman of many talents
09:01we can find duckweed growing on our doorsteps
09:14or at least in our local duck ponds
09:16and in Futureville growing food as locally as possible will deliver fewer food miles
09:21and cheaper produce
09:23in Futureville every centimetre could help feed the city
09:28exactly what's happening here in Tipperary
09:31where they're farming not horizontally but vertically
09:35vertical farm is controlled agriculture indoors
09:40we're growing food indoors 365 days of the year
09:46what we're growing here at the moment is we're growing basil
09:49the magic of vertical farming is being able to grow crops stacked on top of each other
09:54that gives Brian four times more space to grow his basil than in the same space outdoors
09:59what you're looking at is a module
10:02what you're looking at is a module
10:03that's a module
10:04down here
10:05four high, four tiers
10:06and then plant wise you can grow up to 720 plants
10:10that's your conventional pot plant
10:12so here's your size
10:1390% difference
10:16the system uses low energy LED lighting
10:19and pumps that recirculate the water
10:22making the whole growing process super efficient
10:25a thousand litres once a week
10:28that's how it's taken
10:30to grow the plants
10:31so you're using 90% less water
10:32than conventional
10:33that's your root system there
10:35does it work?
10:36does it grow?
10:37yes it does
10:38if you were a basil farmer in the tropics
10:40you'd be happy with three harvests a year
10:43here in County Tip
10:44Brian is doing way better than that
10:47the whole growing process takes 40 days
10:50so each module will turn over 16 crops per year
10:53you look at that one module
10:54that one module will give you 10 kilos of basil
10:56we will harvest 240 kilos here next week
11:00I'll go to Pesto Maker
11:02if we were to look at this on a yearly basis
11:04the whole farm
11:05there's the three modules working
11:06as it stands at the moment
11:08we will do 23 and a half tonne of basil
11:11and the great thing about
11:12there's no waste here
11:13that's the one thing about vertical farming
11:16you don't have waste
11:17with vertical farming, control farming
11:18your taste a lot stronger
11:19it's known to be four times stronger
11:21than conventional
11:23so it's all taste and all waste
11:25pure licorice
11:27if you look at basil where it comes from
11:31it comes from Kenya
11:32Ethiopia
11:336,000 miles away
11:34that's not sustainable
11:35I'm growing basil today
11:37and it's shipping out to the customer tomorrow
11:39so that's local, that's fresh
11:42so vertical farms can be super productive in a minimal space
11:46but they also make it possible to cut food miles
11:49with produce grown right where we need it
11:52you can put a vertical farmer anywhere
11:55you can put them into shop fronts
11:57you can build them in the morning
11:58you look at Athlone
11:59Athlone has a tonne of these oil buildings along the channel
12:03and then all you need is the modules, electricity
12:07and you have the water
12:09it's a no brainer
12:10so the future is there
12:13in Athlone of 2050
12:16communities will have space to grow their own fruit and veg
12:19and farmers to sell their produce locally
12:21but we'll go deeper
12:23with vast basements used not as car parks
12:26but as vertical farms
12:28in Futureville
12:29we'll harvest crops right beneath the city where they'll be eaten
12:32forget food miles
12:34we can begin to talk about food meters
12:39so that's Wednesday night dinner sorted
12:42but what about the match?
12:44Athlone has always been a soccer town
12:46and Athlone's greatest ever day begins
12:49where fans still remember the day in 1975
12:53when the local lads held the mighty AC Milan to a nil-all draw
12:57and in 2050 the soccer town will be a soccer city
13:08where we'll make sure everyone can be part of the action
13:12especially if you're visually impaired
13:14if I have a hard day in work
13:18if I know I'm going to a match
13:20I just switch into match mode
13:22and getting to see the best team in Europe
13:24that is always a tonic for me
13:26that is always a tonic for me
13:28you'd be hard pressed to find a more die-hard football fan
13:31than Shamrock Rover supporter Brendan O'Connor
13:34house is here
13:37stadium
13:38right there
13:39I could be over there in 10 minutes
13:41no problem
13:43so we've two ex-players
13:45where I actually won match balls
13:48so that's an aerial shot of one of our European games
13:51here in Tala
13:52oh it's Spurs
13:53yeah
13:54when Ronaldo plays his first game for Real Madrid
13:57oh my gosh
13:58I was there
13:59it's going through those moments together isn't it
14:01yeah
14:02losses, wins
14:03yeah
14:04gone through it together
14:05it's like an identity to me
14:07I am registered blind
14:08I do have 3-3 vision
14:10I can see stuff in front of me
14:12but if a ball is far away
14:15I can't see it
14:16like I can't even see the scoreboard
14:21Tala Stadium took a big step forward for fans like Brendan
14:25when in 2020
14:26it introduced live audio descriptive commentary
14:29it involves a live commentator sitting right beside Brendan
14:38and narrating the game for him
14:40this low-fi approach helps bring home games to life for Brendan
14:50through the power of words
14:51the penalty area
14:53Jack's under pressure
14:54and the roadie's offside there
14:55I think it's gone to the side net
14:56but it's offside anyway
14:57yeah
14:58but now a team of young scientists
15:00has found a way to enhance the experience even further
15:04through technology
15:05and touch
15:06they call it
15:07field of vision
15:08how did you come up with the idea of creating this device?
15:11the idea came to us by seeing videos online
15:13of blind or visually impaired sports fans
15:15going to a football game
15:16and having a friend or family member explaining to them where the ball is on the pitch
15:21by tracing the position of the ball in the palm of their hand
15:24and I thought wow
15:25as a football fan myself
15:27and an engineering student at the time
15:29I thought this is something that really interested me
15:31I reached out to visually impaired fans online
15:34figured out how their experiences could be improved
15:36and then we came up with field of vision
15:38what they do is they put their finger in this magnetic finger piece
15:45and they let the finger piece guide them around the pitch based on where the ball is
15:50and how is it picking up where the ball is?
15:53so how it works is there's AI cameras that are installed in most stadiums nowadays
15:57and they can track all the key information from the game
16:00such as passes, tackles, shots
16:04and then we can translate this back to our device
16:07with less than half a second latency
16:09passes would be vibration for one team
16:11and then for another team
16:12there'd be a different type of vibration for passes
16:14and tackles and goals
16:16can I have a go?
16:17yeah, go for it
16:18okay, let's do it
16:19put my finger better in the hole Omar do you think?
16:21yes
16:22yeah, okay
16:23wow
16:24those vibrations are passes now for one team
16:26that's so cool
16:27you can't really feel the vibrations
16:28and then you're going to feel a goal now
16:30soon
16:31wow
16:32you can really obviously feel the difference
16:33it's really strong for a goal
16:35after years of research and testing
16:38Omar and David's invention is now in stadiums across the world
16:42we started out in Dublin trialling it in Bohemians FC
16:46we tried it in Belfast also, Manchester City
16:49and we're permanently installed and deployed in Marvel Stadium in Melbourne
16:52for Aussie Rules Australian Football League
16:54and what's the feedback been like so far David?
16:56my favourite piece of feedback so far has been from an Aussie Rules fan
17:00she said that that was the first time I've been able to tell someone else that a goal is about to happen
17:05she felt like she could commentate a game for the first time ever
17:07which was really great feedback for us
17:09what are your plans for the future Omar?
17:11what role can this technology play?
17:13so what we want to do is to have this in as many stadiums as possible first of all
17:17and then ultimately in as many homes as possible as well
17:19what did you think?
17:35brilliant immensely enhanced my experience by using the audio
17:39and then using the new technology which was brilliant
17:42how excited are you about the future of this technology in sports?
17:46definitely would use it in the home
17:48it means you don't have to sit up real close to the screen
17:51I don't go to many away games because the technology is not there
17:56but if that technology was there definitely yeah I'd go to more away games
18:00love to see more in more sports in the future
18:03for millions of us football is more than a game
18:08and innovations like field of vision will make sure that in Futurville
18:12no fan is left out
18:15still to come bringing nature to the heart of Futurville
18:19when is the best time to plant a tree?
18:21yesterday
18:22when is the second best time? today
18:24and having fun in Futurville
18:27I go shooting some zombie pirates
18:29we want Friday night in Futurville to be fun
18:35and that could mean instead of going to the movies
18:37we'll be in the movies and playing a starring role
18:40to get an idea of what this might involve
18:46I'm trying out the latest in virtual reality entertainment
18:50we're probably all familiar with the traditional VR headset
19:05but obviously this is so much more
19:08so we have our motion trackers here
19:11which was picked up from our 20 motion cameras within the studios
19:14but then we also have here our haptic vests
19:17and as you can see here I've exposed one of these
19:19and these all have different vibration plates
19:21haptics are devices that create life-like physical sensations
19:26so the second you get whacked in the game
19:28you feel a whack in real life
19:30virtual reality here is not just about what you see
19:34it's about what you feel
19:36we have a number of atmospheric fans
19:39so if you're in a cold environment or a windy environment
19:42they can kick in at certain points within the game
19:45and we also have some of our props here
19:47and these vibrate as and when you're using them
19:50I know how convincing VR can be
19:52so I can't wait to discover how much more intense
19:55vibrating chess plates, atmospheric fans and weapons
19:58will make the experience
20:00you must get really strong reactions, do you?
20:03it's really funny actually
20:04some of the things
20:05because people lose themselves
20:06and they lose the sense of reality
20:09when they're in the virtual world
20:10and it's a real kind of you know
20:12show-stopping moment for people
20:14when they take those headsets off
20:15and they're back to reality
20:16and it's wow
20:17you know where have I just been?
20:19Honestly now I'm still a little bit
20:21it's just kind of like
20:22is this the real world again?
20:24The whole like immersive thing
20:26with the vests and everything
20:27you just really feel like you're there
20:29it feels completely real
20:31I can't wait to find out what they're talking about
20:34Caroline can you hear me?
20:36Yeah
20:37I'm going to play alongside Stephanie
20:38as we attempt to steal a treasure chest
20:41from some angry zombie pirates
20:43Love it!
20:44Okay I think I'm going to be her
20:46Now look at yourself
20:48Yay!
20:50This is exactly how I want to look everyday
20:53Wow! This is so good!
20:56You actually feel like you're on a boat
20:58looking out of the ocean
21:00on a pirate boat
21:02No!
21:04Ah!
21:05Ah!
21:06Ah!
21:07Ah!
21:08Ah!
21:09Oh you little
21:10Ah!
21:11The haptics in my vest vibrate
21:13with every blow from a zombie sword
21:16Oh I'm dead
21:17Oh can you feel it around your chest
21:19that you've died?
21:20That is so weird
21:21And the fans kick in with every explosion
21:25Oh my gosh you feel the wind!
21:27That is so weird
21:30We're going in to get the treasure now
21:32Oh my gosh
21:33This is so good!
21:34Ah!
21:38Oh my gosh
21:39We're right up the side
21:40Yeah!
21:42Mission fail!
21:44No!
21:45Woo!
21:46Oh my goodness
21:47That was so cool!
21:48That was so cool!
21:49That was so cool!
21:50You actually felt like you were properly on the high seas
21:54You have no concept of there being any other world
21:57I already have such a rush of adrenaline that I just want to do it again
22:01I think you've earned a mocktail from Tony
22:04Oh wow!
22:05No way!
22:06So Tony is Ireland's only robotic cocktail and mocktail maker
22:11What type of work rate does Tony have?
22:13So Tony will turn out a drink in under a minute
22:16We saw him there around 80%
22:18So if we turn him up to full fade he can get a bit messy
22:21Brilliant thank you
22:22Yep, on Friday nights in Futurville
22:24We could all be queuing up for a virgin cocktail
22:27And some virtual zombie bashing
22:30Cheers to that!
22:42We can look forward to exploring new virtual universes in Futurville
22:46But we won't forget the real life natural world
22:49Right outside
22:52We tend to look out of the window and we see the green
22:55And we hear the birds and we think
22:57Oh well you know everything's grand
22:58Nature's all still out there
23:00But actually if you scratch beneath the surface it's not great
23:04Professor Jane Stout is one of Ireland's leading ecologists
23:07She studies the damage done to our environment
23:10And what we can do to repair it
23:12We've been using pesticides, herbicides, insecticides, fungicides
23:18To try and control nature that's competing with our crops
23:22We've been clearing for development
23:25So all of this along with changes in climate
23:29Have driven biodiversity to the brink
23:33So we're seeing these severe and dramatic declines
23:37In things that used to be common
23:39So with about 30,000 different species of organism living in Ireland
23:4320% of those species are at risk of extinction
23:4860% of our birds are in decline
23:52When we look at our bees
23:54A third of our bee species are at risk of extinction
23:57And over half of them are in decline
23:59But restoring native biodiversity
24:01Doesn't need to involve lots of complicated science
24:04On an abandoned farm in West Cork
24:07It means doing as little as possible
24:09The first time I walked this forest
24:14I was completely choked up
24:17What I was feeling was so strong
24:20I had never seen anything like this
24:23In 2009, artist Owen Dalton
24:26Bought over 70 acres of farmland in West Cork
24:2920 acres of it had been abandoned a century earlier
24:32And left to nature
24:34In place of pasture
24:36Owen now found a remarkable rainforest had grown up
24:39Over the course of about a century
24:41The farm essentially rewilded itself
24:43And the form that that took
24:45Was mostly what we would now call temperate rainforests
24:50The main thing that characterises a healthy Irish rainforest
24:55Is just an overwhelming feeling of life
24:59Buzzing insects
25:01They're full of birdsong
25:02The really sad part of all of this
25:05Is that it's almost impossible to find that now in Ireland
25:08Owen decided immediately
25:10Not just to preserve the forest
25:12But to help it thrive
25:14All he needed to do
25:15Was protect it from invasive species
25:18It was in a terrible state
25:20You had a large group of feral goats in the area
25:24And you also had seca deer
25:26Both of which are invasive
25:29The effect that they were having on the forest
25:31Was absolutely catastrophic
25:34The first thing I did was to fence out the goats
25:39And the seca deer
25:40I set to work in my spare time
25:42Getting rid of the rhododendron
25:44And all of the other eight or nine invasive plant species
25:48That were present
25:49Then Owen left the forest to heal itself
25:52Over the next 15 years
25:54He looked on as nature rebuilt an ancient ecosystem
25:57Before his very eyes
25:59I just watched as the forest completely came to life
26:03First off you had a really rich ground flora
26:07Tree seedlings started to pop up everywhere
26:10And in some areas where all you had were barren grasses
26:15Within six or seven years
26:17You had a complete transformation
26:19Into young closed canopy native rainforest
26:24It was just the most incredible thing to witness
26:27This one is kind of special
26:30It's kidney saxifrage
26:32You find it growing in Ireland
26:35And then you don't find it anywhere else
26:37Until you get down to southern Europe
26:39I was delighted to see otters start to come up the stream
26:45From the nearby sea
26:47It's indescribably joyful
26:50To see all of this
26:52And to be a part of it
26:56These places are teetering
26:58And now is the time
27:01It's now or never
27:03We either start addressing this
27:05And addressing it means not just somewhere else
27:08It means right here at home in Ireland
27:12Owen's Irish rainforest
27:14Shows what one individual can accomplish
27:16In restoring an ecosystem
27:18And in Dingle
27:19An entire community is coming together
27:21To see what they can achieve
27:23From giving up cars for electric buses
27:26To changing how they farm
27:29The Dingle Hub was set up to support
27:31Community based initiatives
27:33With a look at trying to build a sustainable future
27:37For the Dingle Peninsula
27:39We would have invited the farming community
27:43To meet with us in the Hub in the early days
27:45To understand the challenges that they faced
27:47And can we support them?
27:48Can we let them know that they are not alone in doing this?
27:51Can we bring people together?
27:53One farmer quick to join the initiative
27:55Was Dinny Galvin
27:57He's been farming in Dingle since he was 15
27:59And has witnessed a complete change in approach
28:01To managing the land
28:03We forgot the environment
28:04It was just, you know
28:05It was milk as many cows as you could
28:07Get the land green
28:08Grow as much grass as you can
28:10The biodiversity definitely wasn't mentioned
28:13When I was being trained to be a farmer
28:15With encouragement from the Dingle Hub
28:17Dinny looked at his farm with fresh eyes
28:19He saw ways to help nature thrive again
28:22While still making a living from his dairy herd
28:25We had a little area here
28:27About 300 square metres
28:29And there was two springs inside
28:31So I decided, yeah, look
28:33I'll try and put a pond here
28:35We've set a third of an acre of wild flowers as well
28:38We need the bees for cross-pollinisation
28:41So you're not only catering for the bees
28:43You're catering for hedges, the hedgehog
28:46You have, there's the birds
28:48We've too, I noticed with the last few days
28:50There's two peregrine falcons here now
28:52They're flying north-south here every day
28:55It's lovely to see them
28:56Help from the Dingle community
28:58Has allowed Dinny to make bigger changes too
29:00Like replanting hedgerows and trees
29:03We actually planted about 6,000 trees last spring
29:07I think there's something like 10,000 trees
29:10Being looked at for this spring
29:12We had 16 people here
29:14Helping me plant the trees
29:16In the month of March
29:17All community volunteers
29:19And I was delighted
29:21Because this is something
29:22That would take me three weeks on my own
29:24We come here to help him
29:26To, I suppose, improve the nature on his farm
29:29It's good to have a bit of support
29:32Through science
29:34Inspired individuals
29:35And the power of community
29:37We can rescue and restore
29:38Ireland's natural diversity
29:40For the Futureville generation
29:42I would love to see by 2050
29:46That we have a diverse landscape
29:48So we have fields for farming
29:51We have patches of woodland
29:53We have a diversity of plants and animals
29:58And fungi and microorganisms
30:00So if we're building new houses
30:02Then it doesn't need to be houses or nature
30:05You know, and houses and nature make sense
30:08That is the world we can create in Futureville
30:11We could have a radically different landscape by 2050
30:15And by radically different, I mean radically better
30:18We're only custodians of the land
30:20So we're only trying to do our bit
30:22And hopefully hand it on to the next person
30:25We can turn this little part of the world
30:27And hopefully the country of Ireland around
30:29Working collectively together
30:31And if we can do more of this
30:33Yeah, we can definitely turn the tide
30:36Changes like these aren't just crazy what-ifs
30:39They're requirements under European law
30:42Which says Ireland must restore 90% of our degraded habitats by 2050
30:47That's woodlands, bogs, rivers and oceans
30:52It's a very fine line between sort of the natural, the technological
30:56And this sort of future world that we might have
30:59How can we best navigate that?
31:01We are part of nature
31:03Our society is part of nature
31:05Our economy is part of nature
31:07We all depend on nature
31:08We've been pulling and extracting from nature for so long
31:11And it's like taking these threads out from this tapestry
31:14And the tapestry is holding together
31:16But actually if we continue doing it at the rate we have been
31:19It's going to fall apart
31:20And that means we have nothing left to depend on
31:23Because if nature is not there as our foundational rock
31:25That's our food system, that's our clean, fresh water
31:28It's our air
31:30This tapestry is something that we kind of need to start re-threading
31:33So we're moving into Futureville, the concept of it by 2050
31:37Is there one thing that you'd like us to embrace to help ourselves move forward?
31:41So if we could all be mindful that we can plant more
31:45And we can plant more pollinator-friendly plants
31:47And we can plant more trees
31:49There's a saying, I think it's Japanese actually
31:51When is the best time to plant a tree?
31:53Yesterday
31:54When is the second best time?
31:55Today
31:56Still to come
32:07In a tight spot in Futureville?
32:09Don't worry
32:10This drone in a box has got you
32:12It's going to make everybody's lives easier
32:15And it's going to save more lives
32:17And how one farmer's invention could do away with single-use plastic
32:21And what does the cattle make of this?
32:23It's kind of sweet, you can taste a bit of it if you want
32:25We want Futureville to be a safe place to live
32:37But if the worst does happen
32:39You can be sure help is just seconds away
32:44In a box
32:46It's a rescue drone that could transform how first responders deal with emergencies
33:01Okay, so the drone is now launched
33:03Casualty was last seen
33:04Somewhere up around Custom House
33:05They went into the water at Buck Bridge
33:07So if we can get eyes on in that location
33:09These dock stations
33:10These dock stations, a drone in the box, mean just that
33:13They're actually located in a box
33:15Provided with power and communications
33:17And can be operated from kilometres away
33:21It's been developed by a research team from Maynooth University
33:25A person sitting in their office can press a button
33:27The drone is on scene now
33:28Okay
33:29And the drone can literally take off from the box
33:31And go carry out a mission
33:32Casualty is just directly opposite
33:35Okay
33:36Delta November 21 Romeo 1
33:37We have located that casualty
33:38They are approximately mid-channel in front of the Custom House
33:41The drone is equipped with cameras that send pictures to emergency response teams
34:02To help them locate victims
34:04It can be quite difficult to see them with a normal camera
34:08Because of the volume of water
34:10But with the thermal camera
34:11We can pick up the heat signature quite quickly
34:13All that visual information has been fed back in real time
34:16And the decisions can be made on the back of that
34:18What we're trying to do here
34:21Is to take the human out of the loop
34:23Reduce risk exposure
34:25And replace it with machines
34:27To move out, gather information
34:29So that the person overseeing the actual emergency event
34:33Can respond more effectively to carry out the rescue
34:41Very often we can receive multiple calls for say a casualty in the water
34:45Then it's to decipher is it one casualty, is it two casualties
34:48Particularly if they give differing locations
34:50We don't know
34:51Having a drone means that we have the intelligence
34:54Straight there to be able to make the accurate and right and efficient decision
34:57To get to the casualties and to rescue them
35:00In time, licensed drones like these could allow direct communication with victims
35:05And even deliver medical equipment
35:07To be able to deploy defibrillators, lifebuys into a water rescue etc
35:11To be able to get a fixed location
35:13To be able to give a message down to a casualty
35:16To get more information from them
35:18You know, as technology advances
35:20It's going to make everybody's lives easier in the services
35:23And it's going to save more lives
35:25You're okay
35:26You're out now
35:27We're going to get you back to Joyland
35:28Okay
35:29Get your warm
35:30Get your warm
35:31Any injuries anywhere?
35:32Well
35:33Okay
35:34Today it's a simulation in Dublin city
35:37But if there's an emergency in Futureville
35:39Rescue drones like these could be the first on the scene
35:42Whatever the situation
35:43If we look forward into 25 years
35:52These electronic devices will be ubiquitous
35:56They will be along the coastlines, in our towns, in our cities
36:00They will help first line responders to gather information
36:04To reduce risk and ultimately save lives
36:08By 2050 we will see this type of technology having drastically changed the emergency and rescue services in Ireland
36:33Futureville offers us the chance to make things better
36:36To find new solutions to age-old problems
36:39Like single-use plastic
36:41Look, they're in our fridges, they're in our coffee shops
36:44It's just everywhere
36:46In Ireland we produce one million tonnes of plastic waste every year
36:50That's about 65 kilograms each
36:53More than double the EU average
36:55Plastic could overrun our new city
36:58In Futureville we can't just reduce plastic
37:01We have to rethink it entirely
37:03Where it comes from
37:05How we use it
37:06And what happens after we throw it away
37:08People who walk along beaches like this
37:14Often don't realise that they're stepping over millions of particles
37:19In every single step
37:21And this is plastic
37:22Fionn Vrera is a young Irish scientist from West Cork
37:26And a leading voice in the fight against plastic pollution
37:30And this sparked in me a deep desire to not only understand this crisis
37:35But to actively seek solutions
37:37At just 23 years old
37:39My journey has taken me from kayaking with my dog India
37:42Noticing the microplastics
37:43Every year millions of tonnes of plastic enter the ocean
37:47And very soon there will be more plastic in the oceans than fish
37:52Plastics that were made from crude oil are really, really difficult to break down
37:57And often last hundreds of thousands of years
38:00And just fall into smaller and smaller particles
38:02But never go away
38:04We are the people who are eating and ingesting those plastic
38:08And it will cause harm to all of us
38:10Plasticisers and colourants inside plastic particles
38:15Have been linked to cancers and Alzheimer's
38:18And a lot of other issues
38:20The ingestion of microplastics has been seen
38:23To have effects on the production of blood cells
38:26And there's probably hundreds of thousands of particles
38:29In our bloodstream right now
38:31Fionn's research shows how microplastics really are everywhere
38:37This is water that we collected from Dublin Bay
38:41So here we can see a prime example of some microplastic fibres in the water
38:47And this microfibre probably came from a piece of clothing
38:52There's a nurdle, the sphere, about a 50th of a millimetre
38:56These pieces really show to me that the problem is one that's everywhere
39:01Our next sample is a sample of tap water
39:06Looking into this tap water we need to zoom a bit more
39:10And here we go
39:11These are some plastic fibres
39:13These particles are the ones that are so small
39:16They can go through a lot of water filters
39:18Probably if you drink this glass of water
39:21You drink and could even end up inside your bloodstream
39:24I think every time I do this and look through a microscope
39:29I'm always surprised by how much plastic I can find
39:33For Fionn, the answer to the problem of microplastics is to change how we make plastic
39:40It's to try and find an alternative that breaks down quickly
39:44Either a material that isn't plastic at all
39:46Or a material that breaks down well and doesn't break into microplastics
39:50But actually breaks into something that's okay for the environment
39:54And this will truly make an impact
39:57In UCD scientists are researching how to do exactly that
40:04By making plastic from organic waste
40:08The project is called Biobic
40:11We're trying to utilise better different resources including waste
40:18We have to produce a lot of food
40:20Which means that there will be a lot of waste
40:22Associated with the production of a lot of food
40:24Industry is looking into how can you dispose of this waste
40:31In a more sustainable way
40:33And here you have an example where biodegradable, bio-based plastic
40:38Was used to make this shoe
40:40It started as a pineapple
40:41When pineapple was harvested
40:43The leftover stocks that would be simply a waste
40:47Were used to make this shoe
40:50Here in Ireland we don't have heaps of pineapple waste
40:53But we do have plenty of waste from wood processing
40:56Which, who knew, is rich in sugar
40:59We can use that waste to grow bacteria in
41:03Because bacteria love sugar
41:05As bacteria consume the sugar in the wood waste
41:08They produce lactic acid
41:10Which scientists here can use to make plastic
41:14And we can make materials that are currently made with petrochemical plastic
41:19We can make them using biodegradable materials
41:22Tania and her team have used this method to produce a new bioplastic
41:26This material that I'm holding is called polyhydroxyalkanate
41:31Very tricky name
41:32It is a material that we can use to make different products
41:36Including products that are used for medicinal purposes
41:39Like implants for example
41:41The team's bioplastic could also be used to make single-use items
41:45That just rot away in your compost bin
41:47The challenge now is to make it affordable
41:50There are a few teething problems that we need to solve
41:55We need to solve the cost of production
41:58We need to be better at producing this at high volume
42:03Because we have a really large appetite for plastic
42:06But I do see that we're going to be moving away from finite resource
42:13Crude oil
42:14And we're going to use more and more biodegradable and biobased plastic
42:18It's not just scientists in university labs looking for a solution to our plastics problem
42:24In County Clare, Paul Conlon is a cattle farmer
42:29He's invented a bioplastic to replace the black silage wrap used on farms around the country
42:36And he did it in his own kitchen
42:39To my basic bioresin mixture, I just dissolve this powder here
42:44And I get a kind of a gel consistency here
42:47Paul wanted to help the environment by using less plastic
42:52And to protect his cattle from eating it
42:54So he concocted an alternative
42:56It's biodegradable and edible
42:59I'm using mostly food that I've got in various supermarkets
43:03Now to this one I wanted to add a little bit of pine
43:06And I let it dry for about four days
43:08It's mostly a jelly that I'm actually making
43:10And adding certain additives to it then
43:12Simple things like adding vinegar, lemon juice, baking soda
43:15After months of experimentation, Paul landed on a formula for bioplastic
43:20That even comes in a range of cattle friendly flavours
43:24This I've used quite a bit of ingredients from the banana tree
43:30Bananas, banana tree
43:31Yeah, and you can see it's quite tough
43:32Yeah
43:33It's actually edible as well
43:34Amazing
43:35As well as being able to compost it
43:36And it just tears off
43:37Yeah, it tears off and you can eat it
43:39Is it kind of citrusy?
43:40Yeah, that's more the lemon
43:42Once Paul got started, he could see the possibilities for bioplastics were endless
43:47So I ended up making a few products kind of by accident I suppose really
43:51One of them is a disposable glove
43:53When you're finished with the glove
43:55You just wash your hands in water around 48 to 52 degrees Celsius
43:58And it just turns back into sugary jelly
44:00It feels like jelly that you're actually making
44:02And it starts to disintegrate
44:03Yeah, you can really see it coming apart there
44:05Yeah, yeah
44:06So about the plastics I've been trying out the back of the house at home
44:08I can't actually find these bioresins after a few days
44:11They're gone
44:12Yeah, gone
44:13So in Futurville, silage bales could come in lemony flavoured wrappers
44:19Sweet!
44:20But Paul did not stop there
44:22Traditionally, silage bales are covered with a polyethylene net wrap
44:26It just gets caught everywhere
44:28You trip over it
44:29No matter how meticulous you are, you'll see some animal with it in their mouth
44:32And you have to try and go in and chase them nearly
44:34I'm trying to take it back out
44:35About maybe up to 2,000 cattle can die a year from choking on this, especially calves
44:38It was like there has to be something else
44:40And that's where it started from
44:41So I am getting a reaction off the net, which I was hoping for
44:46So what have you done? Tell me
44:47So I've used a plant fibre instead that cattle can eat
44:50This is banana fibre
44:5185% of a banana plant is just wasted
44:54So I'm using that waste
44:55Oh, okay
44:56Yeah
44:57And what do the cattle make of this?
44:58It's kind of sweet, you can taste a bit of it if you want
44:59I can taste this?
45:00Yeah, yeah
45:01Have you tried this?
45:02Of course I have, yeah
45:03Can we see?
45:04It's not too bad
45:06There's no real taste to it
45:08Paul's inventions are now being picked up by international industry
45:12And he's already patents pending in America
45:15So Paul, what do the next 25 years look like for you?
45:18What do you see your future in the work that you've been doing?
45:21We won't be using plastic net wrap ever again
45:24Including the silage wrap as well
45:27I've been contacting farmers in lots of different countries
45:29And they're all geared up for this
45:31Everywhere from Brazil, America, Australia, New Zealand
45:34And so a field like this with hay wrapped using this type of plastic net
45:39Yes
45:40Wouldn't be here?
45:41No, it won't be, no
45:42I'd make sure of it
45:43Dr. Brian Freeland is researching plastics and sustainability at DCU
45:49Brian, great to see you, great to chat to you today
45:52Nice to be here
45:53Really what we'll see in the future is development of bio-economies
45:57Where we're using waste products from municipal waste, from agriculture and from industry
46:03The likes of grass can be used, seaweed and all waste from brewing and distilling industries as well
46:14It's kind of mind-blowing isn't it that your grass or your grain can eventually be broken down and be hard enough to be durable enough to be a plastic?
46:22The new bio-economy is projected to be worth 2-4 trillion euro yearly by 2050
46:30So this is a huge new economy that Ireland could lead
46:33In Futureville, we'll find new foods, new ways to farm
46:40Inside and out, we'll discover ways to be kinder to our planet
46:46So that nature can exist alongside our city, not in spite of it
46:50Next time, how would you like it if this sky moved in?
47:04Are robots going to take over the world?
47:07No, we robots are here to help
47:09And my trip to Helsinki to discover the future of food
47:13So Solane can be of course many things, a bit like a potato
47:18This is why you're a Michelin chef
47:20Yes
47:48But we've had to figure out what the transformers are for
47:51Dear Sir Spain
47:52Do Diske experts
47:53See you soon
47:54Here at the moment
47:55I have to look to him
47:57I have to look into this
47:58What do you want?
47:59Just slowly
48:00Hold on your budget
48:02And Crow 2
48:03Looks also
48:04Over the moment
48:05Who is very innocent
48:06Like you
48:07And Crow 2
48:08To the massive
48:12watch
48:14Along the way
48:16There's crouches
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