Earth Beat, 16 December 2011. Urban exploring in abandoned buildings, explosive underwater wrecks, what to do about the small problem of nuclear waste and coming back from the ashes of the Black Saturday bushfires. What we leave behind, and why. Comment on the show.

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The ship that could prove a blast from the past

Stranded on a sandbank off the coast of Kent in the UK, the SS Richard Montgomery ship is a disaster waiting to happen. More photos below.

The munitions vessel ran aground more than 65 years ago, but so far nobody has been able to remove its explosive cargo – more than 1,440 tonnes of live bombs.

Experts say a structural collapse could trigger an explosion that would cause a metre-high tidal wave.

Historian Colin Harvey lives on the Isle of Sheppey, which would be devastated by such a blast from the past.

Pictured left, the SS Richard Montgomery wreck is located near a busy shipping channel.

Still taken from a forthcoming documentary. For more information .

The story of the SS Richard Montgomery is told in Colin's documentary film 'The Wreck'.

Freedom of Information request - SS Richard Montgomery's condition and cargo contents.

Video - Wrecks Around Britain.

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Nuclear waste – a final solution

Into Eternity is the latest documentary from Danish director Michael Madsen. More photos below.

In it, he goes deep into the bowels of a bunker being built at the Olkiluoto Nuclear Power Plant in Finland, an attempt at a final solution to the problem of their nuclear waste.

The film takes the form of a message to future inhabitants who might happen to stumble across the facility, telling them about this place, if only to keep them away.

That’s because it’s a facility that needs to last for as long as the nuclear waste is toxic – about 100,000 years.

Into Eternity - Trailer

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Finding beauty in abandoned buildings

Urban explorer Martijn Zegwaard grew up in the ‘new’ Dutch town of Almere – like him, it’s just 33 years old – which may explain his fascination with history. More photos below.

He visits abandoned buildings across the world and takes photos of the faded glory he finds inside.

Martijn tells host Marnie Chesterton why he risks life and limb to record a snapshot of people’s past lives.

View more photos by Martijn Zegwaard on Flickr.

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Rising from the ashes

Dom and Celeste were living their dream in Australia’s bush, an hour away from Melbourne.

They’d built their own home and relished bringing up their young family in Strathewen.

But the summer of 2009 was sweltering. Temperatures rose and suddenly the inevitable happened, the bush was ablaze, moving at a ferocious speed through the valley and up onto the hillsides.

Their community was annihilated and 30 people died.

Dom and Celeste were one of the lucky ones, their home and family survived, but they still needed to make sense of the tragedy.

Celeste did what she did best and made a film called Then the Wind Changed, a documentary about their family and community’s recovery.

The couple speak frankly to Marnie about their decision to stay and rebuild their lives. More photos below.