Laura Ling

Read the latest articles by Laura Ling at Seeker

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Space & Innovation

At just 22 years old, Komal Ahmad set out to create an app called Copia, which connects businesses with excess food to communities in need."Just as easily as you can use your phone to swipe right, or request an Uber," said Ahmad, "You could use that same piece of technology and know for 100% fact, that that food is actually going to be consumed by people who are in need."Copia currently operates in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Solving World Hunger Is Just A Matter of Logistics

At just 22 years old, Komal Ahmand set out to create an app called Copia, which connects businesses with excess food to communities in need."Just as easily as you can use your phone to swipe right, or request an Uber," said Ahmad, "You could use that same piece of technology and know for 100% fact, that that food is actually going to be consumed by people who are in need."Copia currently operates in the San Francisco Bay Area. Businesses sign up with the app and within minutes of a request, Copia will be there to take perishable food to people in need. Donations come from various places such as stadiums, arenas, grocery stores, and catering companies. Copia employs drivers, called Food Heroes, to transport and distribute the food to nonprofits around the city."They pick it up either in their personal vehicles or refrigerated vans and trucks, and if they're in their personal vehicles then it's in insulated bags so that it maintains cold temp as well as heat, and it's delivered within the hour. Food moves extremely quickly and they'll automatically be routed both to the pickup as well as the delivery drop offs.""A lot of our food heroes are actually veterans as well as previous recipients of our food," added Ahmad. "Now they come on as paid drivers and it's not just a handout, but a hand up."Ahmad is hoping that Copia's business model is an incentive for companies to participate. Copia charges participating businesses anywhere between 35 to 50 cents per pound of food. In turn, Copia diligently tracks and provides data so that companies can use a tax deductible write off, enabling the companies to receive money back."By our documentation, it ends up being 200 to 400% return, after our fees, and that's a cash benefit. It ends up paying you more to give away that food, and you also get money that you would have otherwise left on the table, or worse, in the trash," said Ahmad."It costs over $218 billion, and businesses pay $50 billion just in over producing, over purchasing, and the disposal of food. It costs money, and if food waste were a country, it would be the third largest producer of methane after the United States and China. It has ramifications beyond just financial implications."There are many businesses and nonprofits across the country focusing efforts to solve world hunger. However, creating an app and using technology as the answer is certainly a different approach."We want to create technology and solutions that actually solve the problem. We waste three times as much food as there are mouths to feed. Clearly it's not a scarcity issue, it is a logistics issue, and we're going to figure out that logistics solution," said Ahmad."We can also in the future license our technology to to other preexisting local organizations that are doing smaller scale food recoveries to help make their operations more efficient. Eventually we can also use this technology to help redistribute other resources so medicine, medical supplies, books, clothing. We could do that at scale all over the world."

At just 22 years old, Komal Ahmand set out to create an app called Copia, which connects businesses with excess food to communities in need.

Gadgets

Inside an abandoned Ford automobile factory in Northern California, a wall-mounted digital counter increases in numbers throughout the day.

Bionic Suits Are Real And They're Transforming Everyday Life

Inside an abandoned Ford automobile factory in Northern California, a wall-mounted digital counter increases in numbers throughout the day. Each change in the digits signifies a very modern achievement - a step has been taken with the Ekso Bionics exoskeleton suit.The suits are designed to help people with spinal cord injuries, or those who have suffered a stroke, stand and take steps again - something many are told they'll never be able to do again."Humans are amazing," said Russ Angold, Ekso Bionics' chief technology officer and co-founder. "I think the holy grail, really, is having these devices give them their own capability back, and that's probably the best end state."The exoskeletons are accessible around the country at hospitals for rehabilitative uses, in hopes that one day the patient will no longer need the suit to walk.While at Ekso Bionics, Seeker met Matt Tilford, who was only 18 years old and a few days away from high school graduation when he became paralyzed after a car accident.Four years later, Tilford got a life-changing opportunity to test out a new exoskeleton rehabilitation device for the first time."It felt absolutely amazing to be bearing my own weight, my legs holding myself up within the device. It was surreal," said Tilford. "It felt like I was floating in a sense."Given the scope of Matt's injuries, it's unlikely he'll ever walk without an exoskeleton. But that doesn't mean the suit doesn't have other major benefits."It gives them that sense of independence back a little bit," said Michael Glover. Michael Glover is a physical therapist with Ekso Bionics, and travels around the country introducing the technology to hospitals and rehabilitation centers. "There are other benefits just of being upright. You might have improvements of your bowel and your bladder function. Some people have some pain stemming from their nerves because they're just in that improper position. That sometimes goes away with some folks."Tilford credits the suit, which he assists Ekso Bionics in designing based on his feedback, with helping him readjust to many new aspects of his life."I think every time I go from sit to stand, a smile comes to my face, just knowing that I'm at eye level with everyone else," said Tilford. "It's going to give people the opportunity to do things that they weren't able to before. And it's cool to be on the forefront of it."

Earth & Conservation

Known as the "Emperor's stone" in China, jade is not only prized for its beauty and durability, but is also seen as a reflection of health and strength, purity and virtue.

The Devastating Human Costs Of Jade

Known as the "Emperor's stone" in China, jade is not only prized for its beauty and durability, but is also seen as a reflection of health and strength, purity and virtue. For over 9000 years, the milky green gem has been deeply ingrained in Chinese art and culture. To the Chinese, jade is worth more than its monetary value. One popular saying goes, "Gold is valuable, but jade is priceless."Nowadays, a single green amulet can fetch tens of thousands of dollars or more. Jade remains a cherished gemstone in China, and the country's demand for it is booming. While jade mines in China have long-been depleted, the country has sought the treasured stone in other places, turning primarily to Myanmar. While jade represents luxury, luck and well-being for the Chinese, for the impoverished jade miners in Myanmar, the ornamental stone possesses a much darker underbelly. Jade exports account for half of Myanmar's GDP, but the mining system is corrupt and freelance miners suffer due to lack of safety measures, few profits and exposure to drugs and hardship. Seeker Stories partners with Minzayar Oo, a photojournalist who has been documenting the issue for three years, to understand more of the dark realities surrounding jade, showing that sometimes luxury comes with hidden costs - costs paid for by others.

Oyster reefs are a habitat for thousands of marine species.

Drinking Wine Could Help Save Underwater Ecosystems

Oyster reefs are a habitat for thousands of marine species. For instance, one oyster can clean 30 gallons of water per day. However, for the oyster reefs in the Hudson River Estuary, over-harvesting, dredging and pollution has led to the reefs' rapid decline over the years. In order to combat this issue, the Billion Oyster Project engineers the biological process of reef restoration by using commercially farmed oysters from New York restaurants. They collect empty oyster shells from these restaurants in order to use as a substrate for the reefs, which rely on empty shells to regrow.Seeker Stories visited Berlin Crystal Kelly, a young woman who's also making a change in this field. She left the world of finance to start her own wine-making company in order to help fund environmental programs. Berlin partners with the Billion Oyster Project by pairing her wine with oysters in restaurants, in order to redefine consumerism by encouraging millennials to support the local environment.

Learn More:CIA.gov: The World FactbookPolitifact: Huntsman says the U.S.

These Are The World's Oldest Countries

Learn More:CIA.gov: <a href="https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/sm.html" target="_blank">The World Factbook</a>Politifact:<a href="http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2011/aug/08/jon-huntsman/oldest-surviving-one-document-text/" target="_blank"> Huntsman says the U.S. Constitution is the oldest</a>

With thousands of employees and 189 member countries, the World Bank is one of the most powerful institutions in the world.

What Does The World Bank Actually Do?

With thousands of employees and 189 member countries, the World Bank is one of the most powerful institutions in the world. Each year they funnel billions of dollars into ending global poverty.But as the World Bank has grown larger, it has also become more dysfunctional. High-budget projects with little oversight have reportedly led to corruption, cover-ups and severe unintended consequences.What exactly is the World Bank and how did it get so powerful? Watch today's Seeker Daily video to find out.  Learn More: The World Bank: <a href="http://www.worldbank.org/en/about/what-we-do">What We Do</a> NPR: <a href="http://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2015/04/17/399816448/when-the-world-bank-does-more-harm-than-good">When The World Bank Does More Harm Than Good </a>The Huffington Post: <a href="http://projects.huffingtonpost.com/worldbank-evicted-abandoned/worldbank-projects-leave-trail-misery-around-globe-kenya">Burned Out: World Bank Projects Leave Trail Of Misery Around Globe</a>

At facilities around the country, medical schools employ standardized patients, who are often professional actors, to give students an education in the real world

Why Hospitals Hire People To Fake Being Sick

At facilities around the country, medical schools employ standardized patients, who are often professional actors, to give students an education in the real world.Watch today's Seeker Stories video to get a glimpse inside their world.

Pollution, disease, corruption, terror attacks and some of the worst traffic in the world - all of this can be found in Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh.

The Least Livable Cities In The World

Pollution, disease, corruption, terror attacks and some of the worst traffic in the world - all of this can be found in Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh. The city is marked with high unemployment and inadequate infrastructure, and more than thirty percent of its population is living below the poverty line.It may come as a surprise that even Dhaka doesn't qualify as one of the Economist's five least livable cities in 2016. So, which cities do? Watch today's Seeker Daily video to find out. Learn More:The Economist: <a href="http://www.economist.com/blogs/graphicdetail/2016/08/daily-chart-14">The world's most liveable cities </a>CNN: <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2016/08/18/travel/most-livable-city-2016/">World's most livable city in 2016 is ... </a>The Guardian: <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2016/dec/08/building-liveable-cities-loneliness-affordability-green-spaces-air-pollution-rooftop-gardens-community-cycling">Loneliness, affordability and green space: the challenge of building liveable cities</a>

"I think on day hikes it's really easy just to go out and sort of be wowed by how big the world is and how beautiful it is, but when you're on the PCT and you're doing this day after day after day, everything sort of gets boiled down to the most simple parts of your life."When Kira Sandiford hiked the Pacific Crest Trail, she set out to prove to herself that she could actually complete the entire 2,000 mile trail.

Hiking Through Tragedy On The Pacific Crest Trail

"I think on day hikes it's really easy just to go out and sort of be wowed by how big the world is and how beautiful it is, but when you're on the PCT and you're doing this day after day after day, everything sort of gets boiled down to the most simple parts of your life."When Kira Sandiford hiked the Pacific Crest Trail, she set out to prove to herself that she could actually complete the entire 2,000 mile trail. The experience she had ended up meaning so much more than that. Watch today's Seeker Stories video to see Kira tell her amazing account of conquering the PCT.

Laura Ling

Latest Posts From Laura

Solving World Hunger Is Just A Matter of Logistics

Copia is trying to prevent food waste by using it to feed people in need

Solving World Hunger Is Just A Matter of Logistics

Copia is trying to prevent food waste by using it to feed people in need

Bionic Suits Are Real And They're Transforming Everyday Life

Engineers are pioneering new technology to not only help paralyzed patients walk, but also transform life for industrial workers.

The Devastating Human Costs Of Jade

In China, jade has long-been prized for its durability and beauty, but what are the hidden dark realities surrounding the milky green gem?

Drinking Wine Could Help Save Underwater Ecosystems

This young woman is producing wine in order to help save oyster reefs and protect marine life.

These Are The World's Oldest Countries

China celebrates its founding year as 221 BC, but there might be a country that's even older. What are the world's oldest countries?

What Does The World Bank Actually Do?

After World War II, the World Bank was founded to reconstruct Europe and build up the developing world. But has it kept its promises?

What Does The World Bank Actually Do?

After World War II, the World Bank was founded to reconstruct Europe and build up the developing world. But has it kept its promises?

Why Hospitals Hire People To Fake Being Sick

How can employing professional actors to act as sick patients in hospitals impact the way medicine is taught?

The Least Livable Cities In The World

The Economist recently came out with a survey of the most and least livable cities. So which areas round out the bottom of the list?

The Least Livable Cities In The World

The Economist recently came out with a survey of the most and least livable cities. So which areas round out the bottom of the list?

Hiking Through Tragedy On The Pacific Crest Trail

Kira Saniford completed the 2,000 mile Pacific Crest Trail despite facing a great personal loss.