Home Planet - 12/01/2010

We have a heady mix of energy, biology and a little bit of physics this week. First for the energy. You want to know if the ultra-green claims made for wood pellet burners really stand up to scrutiny. And then there's the issue of demand. Unless we have accurate ways of predicting future energy demand then any discussion on energy production is more or less pointless. At least that's what one listener contends, and the panel chews over the idea. Next up is the biology. Why do birds eat seeds that pass through their gut unchanged and what happens to us if we eat the same seeds? And what was the extraordinary worm that was seen emerging from a Nepalese praying mantis, which then flew away unharmed? For the physics one listener wants to know why a bottle of water he picked up from an icy car froze solid in a matter of seconds. Is there a simple explanation or does he have superhuman powers? Tackling this eclectic mix are ecologist Dr Lynn Dicks of Cambridge University, planning expert Professor Yvonne Rydin of University College, London and Professor Philip Stott, an environmental scientist from the University of London.