Series overview -Series 2
A brand-new series of What Planet Are You On? returns with presenter Maia Dunphy to RTÉ One on Sunday evenings at 18.30.
The world is heating up at a dangerous pace.
So four Irish families are taking on ONE BIG challenge. To change the way they live and reduce their carbon footprint. The family that reduces its impact on the environment the most wins 5000 euro.
Our dedicated team of data experts will monitor all four families, around the clock, over four weeks. We’ve fitted each house with cameras, counters and meters. We’ll also be tracking the mileage they build up on the roads.
There is no hiding place as we measure the environmental impact of their water, waste, energy and food consumption.
We’ll count their toilet flushes, investigate their bins, analyse their every meal and count the energy used by all of their domestic appliances.
At the end of every week, all four families face a panel of experts and discover how much they’ve contributed to saving the planet.
Our experts are: Dr. Brian Kelleher [Waste], Professor Fiona Regan [Water], Professor JJ Leahy [Energy] and Dr. Marco Springman [Food].
This year’s studio is located at Bord na Móna’s plant in Littleton, Co. Tipperary. Until recently, peat was brought here from surrounding bogs and turned into briquettes. The bog was slowly disappearing and losing its capacity to store carbon.
Bord na Móna is now restoring those bogs and, by removing the co2 from the atmosphere, the bogs will now become a refuge for native wildlife. We’ve set up base in the former briquette factory, which is now recycling thousands of tonnes of plastic from farms. Can this brown to green transformation inspire our four households to make small, domestic changes that can help to save the planet ?
What Planet Are You On? is produced by Vision Independent Productions for RTÉ. The series is co-funded by RTÉ and Science Foundation Ireland.
Episode One Synopsis
McNamara Family
First up, we’re off to Pallaskenry, Co. Limerick, and the home of the McNamara family.
With five children under 13 – including baby Louis, who’s just six months old – this house just doesn’t standstill. And that’s beginning to take its toll. Since lockdown, IT manager, Barry, now works from home. So there’s no escape from the daily goings-on of the rest of the family.
Mum, Louise manages the shopping, the washing, the cooking and the cleaning for everyone else. The family doesn’t manage its waste properly and disposes of everything into a general waste bin. With five kids and a technology specialist in the one house, it’s no surprise that electricity use here is through the roof.
Can the McNamaras get their busy house under control and do their bit to save the planet?
Yeboah Family
In Kinsealy, Co. Dublin, to meet the Yeboah family.
Dad Fred, Mum Denise, & their two children Annabelle & George.
Fred is a manager with a large supermarket chain and Denise is a lecturer in further education. From Ghana, Fred’s family has a cocoa farm that is directly affected by Climate Change. However, both Fred & Denise are largely unaware of the household- related emissions creating greenhouse gases in their own home.
The prominence of protein in the Ghanaian diet can also be seen in Kinsealy. It’s clear that one food, in particular, is popular – meat. And lots of it.
Can the Yeboah’s sacrifice the things they love most in a bid to save the planet?
Mulvihill Family
The Mulvihills are from Co. Longford.
Dad, Gary, works in construction and built the family home. He even dug a private well. Mum Sile works in education and minds daughters Shauna [7] and Lauren [5].
They live in the heart of a rural farming community. Which is why they love beef and dairy. As our cameras pick up the Mulvihills in Week One, its clear they have several bad habits.
As our cameras record breakfast, lunch and dinner time, it’s clear that milk is the drink of choice in this house. And lots of it.
Reilly O’Neill Family
Karen Reilly and her son, Mack [7], live in a large house in rural Longford. At nearly 3,000 square feet, this home has lots of space. Which is great because, since lockdown, Karen has been working from home.
So what do our cameras uncover in Week One?