Roadkill Moose Fed Alaska Families for Years. Then Came COVID-19.

To protect the heads of football players, it might be advisable to have them occasionally practice without head protection, according to a counterintuitive new study of a successful Division I football program.

To address the food insecurity problem among its low-income students, Columbia University launched Swipes, a meal sharing app in which students with a surplus of “meal swipes” could donate them to students in need. But when that app struggled to function and roll out properly, Columbia looked downtown to New York University, where student Jon Chin launched a similarly purposed but more effectively designed app, Share Meals. So far, the app has enabled over a thousand meal donations, and is hoping to work with Columbia to share its code and expand its donor services.

At the Fujitsu factory in Japan, a significant decline in demand for semiconductor computer chips meant the company had large empty factory space sitting unused. A new business approach allowed them to dually address both the need to evolve their business model with a global decline of viable agricultural space needed to grow the world's food. Now, the factory houses indoor vegetable gardens, soil free and less resource-heavy than traditional farmland.

Refugio, Texas was ravaged by Hurricane Harvey, leaving behind damaged houses, schools and businesses and people who can not afford to rebuild their lives. However, this town has used its community and found strength in their love of football and their support of one another to keep moving forward.

As Beijing grapples with pollution caused in large part by the increase in cars on the roads, a tech-based solution has appeared in the form of forward-thinking bicycles. The Chinese bike-sharing system, spearheaded by several startups, allows commuters to find a bike using GPS, pay for it using an app, and drop it off upon arriving to their destination, wherever that may be. A mix of private investment and government support has allowed this market to thrive.

The consumption of meat and dairy has long been deemed a leading cause of climate change, yet production continues to rise. To contribute to environmental sustainability, Dale Vince – owner of the U.K.’s Forest Green Rovers soccer team – has achieved the status of having the world's first carbon neutral team. From vegan-only menus to a solar-powered grass-cutter, the organization is bringing light to this topic in front of a new audience.

Figure Skating in Harlem is a group working to help young girls of color in New York learn teamwork, dedication, and hardwork - and the art of figure skating, a sport that is often perceived as inaccessible and overwhelmingly white and Asian-American. But the program doesn't just stop there; the program also includes academic and leadership development.

The rapid development of emerging economies across Asia and Africa is lifting hundreds of millions of people out of poverty - but there is much debate as to how to best structure this growth. If these economies evolve in the same way as in the West - with unchecked, excessive resource consumption and heavy pollution - the planet may be on the fast track to disaster. Earthrise explores how these nations can grow sustainably using improved, eco-conscious technologies like renewable energy and eco-friendly farming practices.

The Ajo Center for Sustainable Agriculture has helped the town of Ajo in Arizona distribute affordable and nutrient-dense food to the community after the coronavirus pandemic created a significant financial strain on many families. Additional support has come from the town's participation in the Environmental Protection Agency's program Local Food, Local Places which "provides technical support and expertise to help towns leverage food systems to boost economic development."

A community organization in Indiana called Cultivate "rescues" food from local caterers, hospitals, casinos, and businesses to then be packaged into take-home meals for students at Woodland Elementary School that come from food-insecure homes. Cultivate is in its second year of existence, has three staff and 400 volunteers, and hopes to expand beyond their pilot program to reach all 21 schools in the district.