Identifying Local Opportunities

1. Brevard group's QR code system uses GPS to help track lost pets
Pets can easily get lost and go missing. Unfortunately the embedded chips often used are not readable by a regular person. So a QR code system has been implemented that allows anyone to scan the tags which provide information about the animal and sends an alert to the owner.
Existing electronic pet identification methods do not allow normal people to identify the owner.
Pet owners and their animals have this issue.

2. Brevard County leaders considering road funding
The roads in Brevard County have been in a very poor condition for a while. Unfortunately the officials can't agree on how they want to come up with the funds to pay for all the repairs. Some suggest making more budget cuts, because the system is inefficiently using money. While others feel that budget cuts would only hurt services for parks and library. Instead they want to raise sales or gas taxes, to the dismay of many citizens. They are having a conference in the near future to compromise on a solution.
Many of the roads are in need of a repair. They often cause damage to cars and create an unsafe environment.
Anyone who drives on the road or pays taxes in the area are affected by these issues.

3. NASA's spacwalk terminated after astronaut reports water in helmet

An astronaut discovered some water bubbles forming inside his spacesuit during an EVA. As a precaution they decided to cut short the repair and return to the ISS. A similar problem occurred in 2013, and since then extra precaution has been taken if water appears. 

The cooling systems on some space suits do leak occasionally.

This puts the astronauts who perform the EVA at extreme risks. 

4. 'Thin blood' and Florida winters: Is it too cold for you?

People who live in Florida for extended periods of time often find that their tolerance to cold is relatively diminished. So much so that it has become a common joke that Floridian's can't handle mildly cold temperatures. This is because when people live in warmer climates the capillaries in their skin dilate, and take longer to constrict to cold temperature. 

Many individuals living in Florida have less of a tolerance for colder temperatures. 

Anyone who has lived in Florida for an extended period of time.

5. 2016 Python Challenge starts Saturday in South Florida

Due to pythons killing many of the native animals in Florida, the wildlife services have started competitions to capture as many as possible. In previous years, even though over a thousand people participated, only sixty-eight snakes were captured. The organizers hope that continuing the challenge will get more people involved and get rid of more pythons.

There is a very large population of invasive pythons in Florida that are dangerous to native animals.

The snakes directly affect the animals they hunt, but also the wider ecosystem as a whole.