Problem

Every summer, a “dead zone” covering thousands of square kilometres appears in the sea off Louisiana: the water holds so little oxygen that fish swim away and shellfish die. The cause is more than 1,000 km upstream, on the farms of the Midwest. Fertiliser washes off the fields into the Mississippi, feeds huge blooms of algae in the sea, and when the algae die and rot, they use up the oxygen.

Eutrophication

too many nutrients in the water, so algae grow out of control

Hypoxic zone

water with too little oxygen for most sea life: the “dead zone”

Product idea

Rain-aware fertiliser timing: an app that tells Midwest farmers when not to spread nitrogen, so less of it washes into the river.

Problem

About three quarters of what humanity eats comes from just 12 plants and 5 animals. Breeding for high yields, seed patents and supermarket standards have narrowed what farmers grow. With so little variety, one disease or one bad season can wipe out a whole crop, as potato blight did in Ireland in the 1840s.

Hybrid variety

a plant or animal bred from two parents to combine their best traits

Genetic diversity

the variety of genes within a crop: the more there is, the more likely some plants resist a new disease

Product idea

Crop concentration risk: a dashboard that shows food companies how much of their supply hangs on a handful of varieties, and what one disease would cost them.

Problem

In a world with more than enough food, why do some people still go hungry? This map follows the Maasai, semi-nomadic herders of Kenya and Tanzania. Colonial rule took most of their grazing land, and the herding system that had fed them for centuries stopped working, just as their population grew.

Pastoralism

living from herds that move with the seasons to find grass and water

Food security

reliable access to enough nutritious food

Product idea

Shared grazing map: herders share where the grass and water are, spread their herds out and negotiate passage across fenced land, all from a basic phone.

Problem

In January 2025, several wildfires burned around Los Angeles at the same time, destroying thousands of homes. Wet years had grown the vegetation, a long dry spell dried it out, and strong winds did the rest. The map follows the fires from what set the scene to what they left behind in the air, the water and nature.

Santa Ana winds

hot, dry winds blowing from inland towards the coast in autumn and winter

Chaparral

dense shrubland adapted to drought, typical of Southern California

Product idea

Ember-ready home: homeowners photograph their house, get an ember-resistance score and a prioritised fix list, and use it to stay insurable.