0:00:03 > 0:00:0621st-century Europe...
0:00:06 > 0:00:10730 million people...
0:00:16 > 0:00:20A relentless force of change.
0:00:22 > 0:00:28Man and Nature must find new ways to co-exist.
0:00:28 > 0:00:32In Europe's cities, people and animals crowd together.
0:00:36 > 0:00:40The changes that have made Europe what it is today
0:00:40 > 0:00:43have been ever accelerating.
0:00:46 > 0:00:53400 generations had to pass to take Europe from Stone Age farming to industrial agriculture.
0:01:01 > 0:01:07Yet just 100 generations laid the densest road network in the world.
0:01:10 > 0:01:17And it has taken only ten generations to fell more forest than all their ancestors combined.
0:01:22 > 0:01:29But these are nothing compared to the changes taking us into the 21st century.
0:01:31 > 0:01:34New technology,
0:01:34 > 0:01:37new invaders...
0:01:47 > 0:01:51..new efforts to bring back lost wildlife...
0:01:56 > 0:01:59, and new wilderness...
0:01:59 > 0:02:01helping natives to return.
0:02:03 > 0:02:06Since its birth billions of years ago,
0:02:06 > 0:02:10Europe has been in a constant state of change.
0:02:10 > 0:02:17Its wildest fringes are timeless reminders of the fundamental forces still at work today,
0:02:17 > 0:02:23which will ultimately shape the future of this unique continent.
0:02:44 > 0:02:49Rome...where Europe's taste for city life began.
0:02:50 > 0:02:552,000 years ago, this was the sole metropolis on the continent.
0:02:57 > 0:03:03Today, three out of four Europeans are city dwellers.
0:03:03 > 0:03:05Not all of them are human.
0:03:07 > 0:03:13For every million people in Italy there's over half a million cars,
0:03:13 > 0:03:18and here in Rome, nearly as many motorbikes.
0:03:20 > 0:03:24Even in the middle of winter, there's plenty of basking to be done.
0:03:28 > 0:03:32But at this time of year it's not without risk.
0:03:37 > 0:03:42Romans have learned to be very wary of clouds.
0:03:42 > 0:03:47Huge numbers of winter tourists are flying in from the north.
0:03:57 > 0:04:04Rome's ancient soothsayers used to read the future of the Empire from the flight patterns of these birds.
0:04:04 > 0:04:09But today, when swarms of starlings darken the sky,
0:04:09 > 0:04:13you don't need to be psychic to divine imminent disaster.
0:04:22 > 0:04:26Starling droppings are extremely corrosive -
0:04:26 > 0:04:30eating fabric, paints, metal and stone
0:04:30 > 0:04:33and they're as slippery as soap.
0:04:50 > 0:04:53Three million birds come here each winter.
0:04:53 > 0:04:56For one reason only -
0:04:56 > 0:04:59the city is literally a "hotspot"
0:04:59 > 0:05:03significantly warmer than the surrounding countryside.
0:05:03 > 0:05:06Cities burn lots of fuel.
0:05:06 > 0:05:12Their buildings absorb sunlight and smog helps to retain the warmth.
0:05:15 > 0:05:18Each evening, as the starlings descend on Rome,
0:05:18 > 0:05:22they rain down tons of foul-smelling droppings.
0:05:25 > 0:05:27But the Empire strikes back.
0:05:31 > 0:05:34Volunteers set out to defend the city.
0:05:35 > 0:05:39LOUD CAWING
0:05:43 > 0:05:47These new legions come armed with searchlights and loud-hailers
0:05:47 > 0:05:51blasting out starling distress calls.
0:06:04 > 0:06:08The message is loud and clear
0:06:08 > 0:06:09but will it be heeded?
0:06:13 > 0:06:18Starlings are not the only birds that have adapted well to the urban environment.
0:06:22 > 0:06:24Vienna.
0:06:24 > 0:06:26At its heart, Saint Stephen's -
0:06:26 > 0:06:30one of Europe's finest cathedrals.
0:06:33 > 0:06:37Massive, yet intricate, it has caught the attention
0:06:37 > 0:06:40of many a visitor over the past 500 years...
0:06:42 > 0:06:44..including kestrels.
0:06:50 > 0:06:56The gothic architecture mirrors the limestone crags of the nearby Alps.
0:07:00 > 0:07:03Kestrels, like pigeons,
0:07:03 > 0:07:06are drawn to cities because they're natural cliff dwellers,
0:07:06 > 0:07:10seeking shelter in high and inaccessible places.
0:07:20 > 0:07:24CATHEDRAL BELLS RING
0:07:32 > 0:07:35Bats also find sanctuary here.
0:07:36 > 0:07:40But a night hunter haunts these belfries -
0:07:40 > 0:07:43the stone marten.
0:07:46 > 0:07:50It's not after bats but pigeon eggs.
0:07:57 > 0:08:02From the roof of Vienna's cathedral to Charles Bridge in old Prague,
0:08:02 > 0:08:07hundreds of thousands of stone martens patrol Europe's city streets
0:08:07 > 0:08:10unseen and unsuspected.
0:08:13 > 0:08:16Even people can find themselves victims.
0:08:20 > 0:08:23Martens can't resist cars.
0:08:23 > 0:08:28Beneath the bonnet there's a cosy den and plenty to chew on.
0:08:28 > 0:08:35In just one night in Munich, West Germany, a single stone marten damaged 100 cars.
0:08:46 > 0:08:49Martens are wily creatures
0:08:49 > 0:08:53but you'll certainly know if one has paid you a visit.
0:08:55 > 0:08:57ENGINE GRINDS
0:09:06 > 0:09:12On the bright side, stone martens can increase personal fitness
0:09:12 > 0:09:15and even the use of public transport.
0:09:17 > 0:09:19But on the down side,
0:09:19 > 0:09:23are the steadily rising premiums for car insurance.
0:09:39 > 0:09:43Daybreak in northern Spain.
0:09:43 > 0:09:47The medieval town of Alfaro is anything but sleepy.
0:09:52 > 0:09:55European white storks are natural tree-dwellers,
0:09:55 > 0:10:01but with a shortage of big, old trees, they resorted to boulders.
0:10:03 > 0:10:07And with overcrowding of these, they were forced to think again.
0:10:15 > 0:10:21Now some 140 stork families reside on Alfaro's cathedral alone.
0:10:21 > 0:10:24But they're not here just for the real estate.
0:10:29 > 0:10:33On their doorstep, there's an endless supply of food.
0:10:40 > 0:10:45Europe produces over two billion tons of household waste per year -
0:10:45 > 0:10:48plenty of opportunity for scavengers.
0:10:54 > 0:10:58Griffon vultures are only too keen to join the feast.
0:11:17 > 0:11:21Rubbish dumps offer more than just food.
0:11:21 > 0:11:26For urban red foxes they also provide valuable den sites.
0:11:41 > 0:11:47Estimates suggest some 10,000 red foxes may live in London alone.
0:11:47 > 0:11:54These highly adaptable scavengers are now establishing themselves in cities right across the continent.
0:11:54 > 0:11:55And they're not the only ones.
0:12:00 > 0:12:02Budapest.
0:12:02 > 0:12:05Spanning the river Danube, Hungary's capital is a city
0:12:05 > 0:12:11flanked by woodland, making jogging something of an adventure sport.
0:12:32 > 0:12:37During the rutting season, wild boar can give you a good run for your money.
0:12:40 > 0:12:44The woodlands around Budapest, Berlin and Vienna are full of them.
0:12:46 > 0:12:49BOARS GRUNT
0:13:04 > 0:13:07The increased protection of wild boar in central,
0:13:07 > 0:13:11eastern and southern Europe has allowed numbers to soar.
0:13:11 > 0:13:17Many of these normally secretive forest dwellers have now lost their fear of man.
0:13:17 > 0:13:21They're over-running villages, city suburbs and farmland.
0:13:35 > 0:13:43Farmers often find there's been an early harvest, and that their fields have even been ploughed.
0:13:56 > 0:13:59Over millennia of agricultural growth,
0:13:59 > 0:14:05some wild animals have found ways to exploit the intensively groomed landscape.
0:14:13 > 0:14:16All of this was once impenetrable forest.
0:14:32 > 0:14:35Europe's moderate climate
0:14:35 > 0:14:37and rich geological past
0:14:37 > 0:14:41make it the most fertile continent on Earth.
0:14:41 > 0:14:47Six million square kilometres of prime fields and pastures.
0:14:47 > 0:14:49From the rice fields of Italy
0:14:49 > 0:14:52to the tulip fields of Holland,
0:14:52 > 0:14:56Europe's agriculture is big business.
0:14:58 > 0:15:04Each year three billion tulips are harvested in Holland and sent all around the world.
0:15:08 > 0:15:14The continent produces around 250 billion euros worth of crops.
0:15:26 > 0:15:30Where does all this leave wild nature?
0:15:30 > 0:15:36In the days of traditional farming, hares were a frequent sight, but heavy use of chemicals
0:15:36 > 0:15:40and radical landscaping drove them from the fields.
0:15:40 > 0:15:44But now there's a greater awareness of the needs of wildlife.
0:16:05 > 0:16:10Hares are making a healthy comeback across much of Europe's farmland
0:16:10 > 0:16:13but they've still got to watch their backs.
0:16:22 > 0:16:27For roe deer, some fields make important fawning grounds.
0:16:28 > 0:16:34But thousands fall victim to agricultural machinery during the summer harvest.
0:16:42 > 0:16:49Pink-footed geese use the farms of western Europe as valuable stopovers.
0:16:49 > 0:16:54Here they refuel during their long journey to Europe's remotest corners.
0:17:01 > 0:17:04The untamed north -
0:17:04 > 0:17:08an arctic wilderness...
0:17:08 > 0:17:13stretching from Scandinavia to the Pole.
0:17:18 > 0:17:24It's one of the world's most inhospitable climates,
0:17:24 > 0:17:29only the hardiest can live here all year round.
0:17:31 > 0:17:38But come summer, under the midnight sun, the skies are alive with visitors.
0:17:54 > 0:18:01Europe's remote northwest fringes are peppered with islands and bathed by the Gulf Stream.
0:18:01 > 0:18:05These ice-free waters are among the most productive in the world.
0:18:28 > 0:18:34But it's not just Europe's highest latitudes that have remained beyond our easy reach.
0:18:51 > 0:18:53The Alps...
0:18:54 > 0:18:59..a wilderness towering over the very heart of the continent.
0:18:59 > 0:19:04Europe's tallest and most extensive mountain range.
0:19:16 > 0:19:20The Alps are flanked by sprawling forest
0:19:20 > 0:19:25but Europe's most prolific woodlands are found further east...
0:19:33 > 0:19:38..here, among the Carpathians and Balkans.
0:19:38 > 0:19:43Traditional farming persists, more in harmony with nature.
0:19:46 > 0:19:49For centuries, little has changed.
0:20:03 > 0:20:05In Europe's wild east,
0:20:05 > 0:20:12farmers and herdsmen have always lived peacefully alongside big predators.
0:20:12 > 0:20:17In the west, these same animals were feared and persecuted.
0:20:19 > 0:20:23These forests are now crucial reservoirs for animals
0:20:23 > 0:20:26that have vanished from much of the rest of Europe.
0:20:26 > 0:20:33Slovakia and Romania are home to the greatest numbers of bears, wolves and lynx on the continent.
0:20:48 > 0:20:53For half a century, this thriving eastern forest was largely cut off
0:20:53 > 0:20:56from the remaining pockets of woodland in western Europe.
0:21:04 > 0:21:09From the Baltic to the Black Sea, Europe was split in two -
0:21:09 > 0:21:15the dividing line 3,000 kilometres long.
0:21:18 > 0:21:22The Iron Curtain was a border of death...
0:21:24 > 0:21:26..inhumane and unnatural.
0:21:30 > 0:21:34Secured with mines, booby traps...
0:21:35 > 0:21:38..electric fences, watchtowers, attack dogs
0:21:38 > 0:21:44and thousands of military troops and border police with the order to kill.
0:21:44 > 0:21:46DOG BARKS
0:22:00 > 0:22:05Day and night, guards watched for any movement along the border.
0:22:14 > 0:22:19Inside the fence was a five-kilometre-wide strip of land -
0:22:19 > 0:22:22for decades, a no-go zone.
0:22:30 > 0:22:37When the Iron Curtain eventually came down, the fence was demolished, minefields were cleared
0:22:37 > 0:22:39and watchtowers levelled.
0:22:41 > 0:22:46Today, only a few traces of the Curtain still linger,
0:22:46 > 0:22:49like the odd patrol track.
0:22:49 > 0:22:54But what does remain is a green corridor across the continent.
0:22:54 > 0:22:58And here, wild Nature is quick to reclaim abandoned buildings
0:22:58 > 0:23:01and derelict military bases
0:23:01 > 0:23:06creating a new kind of wilderness.
0:23:12 > 0:23:17For the first time in a century, wolves are back in Germany.
0:23:17 > 0:23:21They have made their own way from the east.
0:23:23 > 0:23:31A former Soviet military base not far from Berlin is now a refuge for returning wildlife.
0:23:42 > 0:23:44The old border of death
0:23:44 > 0:23:47has become a new corridor of life.
0:23:50 > 0:23:56Along its length, countries have united to help create a string of new national parks.
0:23:56 > 0:24:00There are few places on the continent where Nature now has such free reign
0:24:00 > 0:24:04and already wildlife is on the move.
0:24:37 > 0:24:43Lynx thrive in the vast woodlands of Poland and Slovakia,
0:24:43 > 0:24:48but for the past century they've been on the brink of extinction in western Europe.
0:24:48 > 0:24:53Now, Europe's big cats are slowly making a comeback.
0:25:04 > 0:25:12The wild back country of former Yugoslavia has always boasted a healthy population of brown bears.
0:25:12 > 0:25:17Some have already made their way back to the west, reaching as far as the Alps.
0:25:17 > 0:25:20But even with the help of new green corridors,
0:25:20 > 0:25:24they and many others face serious obstacles.
0:25:34 > 0:25:40Road accidents account for about half of the all the animal fatalities on the continent -
0:25:40 > 0:25:44most of them on the smaller country lanes.
0:25:48 > 0:25:56With five million kilometres of tarmac, Europe's roads could wrap around the equator
0:25:56 > 0:25:58a hundred times.
0:26:12 > 0:26:15There are 110 million cars in Europe.
0:26:15 > 0:26:20On some carriageways, tens of thousands streak by every day.
0:26:22 > 0:26:27Roads like these are totally impassable.
0:26:34 > 0:26:39With more and more roads under construction, what chance do animals have?
0:26:45 > 0:26:49What's happening here and elsewhere across the continent
0:26:49 > 0:26:52is actually a glimmer of hope...
0:27:06 > 0:27:09..a green bridge 200m wide
0:27:09 > 0:27:12and spanning motorway.
0:27:12 > 0:27:15It's carefully planted with shrubs and trees
0:27:15 > 0:27:18and positioned to reopen an old migration route.
0:27:27 > 0:27:34And there's another means of access across the continent from east to west - waterways.
0:27:34 > 0:27:37They've always been important corridors for wildlife.
0:27:53 > 0:27:58Thousands of trees are being felled along these backwaters of the Danube.
0:28:03 > 0:28:05The loggers -
0:28:05 > 0:28:06beavers.
0:28:15 > 0:28:19After endless persecution they'd all but disappeared
0:28:19 > 0:28:23from central and western Europe by the end of the 19th century.
0:28:25 > 0:28:29But since their reintroduction near Vienna just a decade ago,
0:28:29 > 0:28:32they're busily reclaiming their old territory.
0:28:39 > 0:28:45These sheltered wetlands along the former Iron Curtain are ideal,
0:28:45 > 0:28:48and beaver numbers are rising fast.
0:28:48 > 0:28:52It's one of Europe's most successful homecomings.
0:28:52 > 0:28:57Now, thanks to reintroduction programmes in several countries,
0:28:57 > 0:29:03the population across the continent has recovered to over 250,000.
0:29:06 > 0:29:13So few western Europeans have ever seen a truly pristine riverscape.
0:29:17 > 0:29:23Only 2% of all the waterways on the continent are still natural.
0:29:28 > 0:29:32And this is a river delta in its natural state -
0:29:32 > 0:29:34the Danube -
0:29:34 > 0:29:39meandering its way through Ukraine, Bulgaria and Romania
0:29:39 > 0:29:43a vast expanse of wetland.
0:29:46 > 0:29:50The lower Danube is now the only place on the continent where,
0:29:50 > 0:29:52far from being a disaster,
0:29:52 > 0:29:55annual flooding is welcomed.
0:30:00 > 0:30:05The flood plains sustain a wealth of aquatic life -
0:30:05 > 0:30:09some 80 kinds of fish and as many molluscs.
0:30:09 > 0:30:13They, in turn, support one of the richest congregations of bird life
0:30:13 > 0:30:17on the continent - nearly 300 different species.
0:30:32 > 0:30:39For Dalmatian and white pelicans, the world's largest reed beds are crucial breeding grounds.
0:30:43 > 0:30:49But wildlife does not have this special river all to itself.
0:30:55 > 0:30:59This is the same river in the west,
0:30:59 > 0:31:03cut off from its natural floodplains.
0:31:06 > 0:31:10Both the Danube and the Rhine rivers have been radically straightened,
0:31:10 > 0:31:15deepened and narrowed, dyked and dammed.
0:31:15 > 0:31:18As road networks are overloaded,
0:31:18 > 0:31:23traffic turns to these rivers as alternative highways.
0:31:23 > 0:31:28200,000 vessels a year cross the Dutch-German border,
0:31:28 > 0:31:32making the Rhine the world's busiest waterway.
0:31:34 > 0:31:39By the mid-20th century, industrial waste and domestic sewage
0:31:39 > 0:31:42polluted Germany's biggest river.
0:31:42 > 0:31:46A chemical disaster in the '60s was the coup de grace.
0:31:46 > 0:31:49It killed off the last fish.
0:31:58 > 0:32:02Until the 1920s, the Rhine supported commercial fishing
0:32:02 > 0:32:06all the way from the North Sea to the Alps.
0:32:12 > 0:32:18Most prized of all was salmon, but now, the tales of monster catches
0:32:18 > 0:32:20sound like fishermen's yarns.
0:32:27 > 0:32:29In recent years,
0:32:29 > 0:32:32the tide has turned.
0:32:32 > 0:32:35Rather than forcing the river to accommodate big ships,
0:32:35 > 0:32:39they're being replaced by smaller vessels.
0:32:41 > 0:32:45Strict anti-pollution laws are now in force -
0:32:45 > 0:32:49rivers and lakes across western Europe are significantly cleaner
0:32:49 > 0:32:51than they were 50 years ago.
0:33:11 > 0:33:15While some wildlife is returning to the Rhine by its own accord,
0:33:15 > 0:33:18the Atlantic salmon hasn't found it easy.
0:33:18 > 0:33:21It needs a helping hand.
0:33:37 > 0:33:41Each summer for almost 20 years, millions of youngsters are bred
0:33:41 > 0:33:45and released into the tributaries of the river.
0:33:53 > 0:33:59If just one in 10,000 of these survives, it's counted a success.
0:34:07 > 0:34:11Young salmon face all sorts of hazards along the way
0:34:11 > 0:34:14both natural and man-made.
0:34:18 > 0:34:24Just a few adults get back to Germany each year from their feeding grounds in the north Atlantic.
0:34:30 > 0:34:34They're given an official welcome by the press and politicians.
0:34:47 > 0:34:51Some of these re-introduced salmon are now spawning,
0:34:51 > 0:34:55raising the hope this busy river will return to its former glory.
0:35:03 > 0:35:07Each year, more and more visitors come to Cologne,
0:35:07 > 0:35:10to attend the River Rhine festival.
0:35:10 > 0:35:14They now have good reason to celebrate.
0:35:39 > 0:35:45Like the Rhine, only a decade ago, the Elbe was poisoned and dead.
0:35:45 > 0:35:47Here, too, a clean up is underway
0:35:47 > 0:35:50and wildlife is returning.
0:35:55 > 0:35:59But with the return of life have come surprises.
0:35:59 > 0:36:03The fishermen are netting more than just fish.
0:36:14 > 0:36:17It's eels they're after
0:36:17 > 0:36:19and it's a good haul
0:36:19 > 0:36:24but their catch is being plundered by a stranger to Europe's waterways.
0:36:32 > 0:36:34Mitten crabs.
0:36:34 > 0:36:39These voracious invaders pose a serious threat to resident wildlife.
0:36:54 > 0:36:57Mitten crabs are not native to Europe.
0:37:00 > 0:37:02So how did they get here?
0:37:08 > 0:37:11Europe's big coastal ports -
0:37:11 > 0:37:16Dover, Hamburg, Rotterdam, Bilbao, Folkestone
0:37:16 > 0:37:21are all gateways for intercontinental shipping and trade.
0:37:21 > 0:37:26A port like this might deal with three million containers a year.
0:37:26 > 0:37:29That's over 300 every single hour,
0:37:29 > 0:37:34day and night, arriving from every part of the globe.
0:37:38 > 0:37:42Although measures are taken to keep out pests,
0:37:42 > 0:37:47the overwhelming volume of goods makes it nigh on impossible.
0:37:47 > 0:37:51Every year, 150 new alien species make it ashore.
0:37:51 > 0:37:53Most will not survive.
0:37:53 > 0:37:56Others find a small niche.
0:37:56 > 0:38:00But some become massive invaders.
0:38:03 > 0:38:07Mitten crabs first arrived from Asia decades ago.
0:38:08 > 0:38:12Ironically, it was the cleaning up of Europe's rivers
0:38:12 > 0:38:16that allowed them to advance inland and wreak havoc.
0:38:21 > 0:38:26But as invaders go, the mitten crab is not the most destructive.
0:38:28 > 0:38:34The killer that could cut a swathe through Europe does not arrive in spectacular swarms.
0:38:34 > 0:38:39Finding one is like looking for a needle in a haystack.
0:38:44 > 0:38:49It may be hidden in any wood product from East Asia.
0:38:59 > 0:39:01It's a deadly monster -
0:39:04 > 0:39:07the Asian longhorn beetle.
0:39:13 > 0:39:18Most wood parasites specialise in certain trees.
0:39:18 > 0:39:22Their populations only explode under rare conditions.
0:39:22 > 0:39:27But the larvae of the Asian longhorn beetle can feed on any wood.
0:39:30 > 0:39:35If they escape into the wild and reproduce freely,
0:39:35 > 0:39:37Europe's forests may look like this.
0:39:59 > 0:40:03A graveyard in Swansea, Wales.
0:40:05 > 0:40:09British cemeteries often look wild,
0:40:09 > 0:40:12but this one is different.
0:40:12 > 0:40:14For years,
0:40:14 > 0:40:18the local authority has battled against an overwhelming onslaught.
0:40:26 > 0:40:31It's a struggle against a seven-headed hydra.
0:40:31 > 0:40:34Japanese knotweed, imported from Asia long ago
0:40:34 > 0:40:38to grace Europe's gardens, has jumped the fence.
0:40:38 > 0:40:42Its poisonous roots can reach three metres down
0:40:42 > 0:40:47and its powerful shoots will outgrow any native competitor.
0:41:04 > 0:41:08Even if all the trees are killed off by alien beetles,
0:41:08 > 0:41:12at least the countryside will still be green
0:41:12 > 0:41:14thanks to alien plants.
0:41:23 > 0:41:26If ever there is a lack of greenery in Europe
0:41:26 > 0:41:29it's probably man-made.
0:41:29 > 0:41:32Just consider this landscape.
0:41:32 > 0:41:35It looks like some future fantasy,
0:41:35 > 0:41:38but this is Europe today.
0:41:39 > 0:41:43The Mar de Plastico, the Sea of Plastic
0:41:43 > 0:41:47in Almeria, south-eastern Spain.
0:41:50 > 0:41:52It's visible from the moon.
0:41:58 > 0:42:03Below the surface, optimum growing conditions.
0:42:03 > 0:42:07Computers regulate the water and nutrients,
0:42:07 > 0:42:11the temperature, humidity and the carbon dioxide.
0:42:11 > 0:42:15400 truckloads of peppers, cucumbers and tomatoes
0:42:15 > 0:42:18are packed every day of the year.
0:42:18 > 0:42:24Climate control has made Spain's poorest region, Europe's richest.
0:42:24 > 0:42:30But all this depends on one thing - the sun.
0:42:36 > 0:42:42Life on our planet is driven by energy sent in from space,
0:42:42 > 0:42:45from 155 million kilometres away.
0:42:45 > 0:42:50The amount of energy the Earth gets from the sun is unimaginable,
0:42:50 > 0:42:54but you can get a glimpse of it here in Spain,
0:42:54 > 0:42:57at Europe's first solar power station.
0:42:57 > 0:42:59In a ballet of perfect synchrony,
0:42:59 > 0:43:04200 mirrors concentrate their reflections on a single receiver.
0:43:06 > 0:43:11The operating temperature here reaches 1,000 degrees Celsius.
0:43:11 > 0:43:16Even a slight variation in solar power reaching the Earth
0:43:16 > 0:43:19can radically change our living conditions.
0:43:19 > 0:43:23Across the continent, we can already see this happening.
0:43:23 > 0:43:26Europe is heating up
0:43:26 > 0:43:29with dramatic consequences.
0:43:35 > 0:43:40In recent years, Alpine resorts have taken matters into their own hands.
0:43:40 > 0:43:45Tens of thousands of snow cannons bombard the slopes.
0:43:45 > 0:43:50Without them, the tourist industry would already be in meltdown.
0:44:00 > 0:44:04Chillingly, from now on, the most dramatic transformations
0:44:04 > 0:44:09on this continent will be driven by climate change.
0:44:13 > 0:44:17When glaciers melt, sea levels rise.
0:44:17 > 0:44:22And as oceans warm up, they expand, drowning coastlines.
0:44:24 > 0:44:28The Thames barrier was built to save London from exceptional tides.
0:44:31 > 0:44:35Already, the barrier is proving too low.
0:44:39 > 0:44:44It's not certain how much longer the sea can be kept at bay.
0:44:44 > 0:44:49A rise of a metre per century is entirely possible.
0:44:49 > 0:44:54At the next millennium, London might still look like this...
0:44:54 > 0:44:57but not when the tide comes in.
0:45:02 > 0:45:05If global warming persists,
0:45:05 > 0:45:09England's capital would be completely swamped.
0:45:09 > 0:45:13But then the pattern of the last two million years has been a seesaw
0:45:13 > 0:45:18of cold and warm periods, with the Gulf Stream changing its course.
0:45:23 > 0:45:28And that could put an entirely different spin on things.
0:45:29 > 0:45:32London and Berlin.
0:45:32 > 0:45:36Both stand where the last ice sheets ended.
0:45:36 > 0:45:42During the next ice age, life might only be possible under glass.
0:45:48 > 0:45:51At the peak of the last glacial period,
0:45:51 > 0:45:55everything north of Berlin was a white, windy waste.
0:45:59 > 0:46:02This would be nothing new.
0:46:02 > 0:46:07It's happened countless times before.
0:46:13 > 0:46:16Equally possible -
0:46:16 > 0:46:19Paris might become a tropical forest again
0:46:21 > 0:46:24or be swallowed by desert sands.
0:46:40 > 0:46:45There's no reason to think that climate change will ever end.
0:46:45 > 0:46:48Nor will any of the more fundamental forces
0:46:48 > 0:46:52that have shaped the continent come to rest.
0:46:52 > 0:46:55250 million years from now,
0:46:55 > 0:47:00Europe is destined to merge with Africa,
0:47:00 > 0:47:02forming a new super-continent.
0:47:10 > 0:47:16But for now, this is a continent of living treasures - abundant,
0:47:16 > 0:47:22but not infinite, to be shared by humans and wild nature.
0:47:25 > 0:47:28Europe's treasures...
0:47:28 > 0:47:31its teeming cities...
0:47:31 > 0:47:33its pleasant farmland...
0:47:33 > 0:47:37and its raw wilderness.
0:47:37 > 0:47:40They're all worth keeping.
0:47:40 > 0:47:43They're all worth sharing.
0:47:43 > 0:47:47They all combine to make this continent unique.
0:48:03 > 0:48:06Subtitles by BBC Broadcast 2005
0:48:06 > 0:48:08E-mail us at subtitling@bbc.co.uk