Entries by Kaye LaFond

Infographic: Indoor Water Use in the United States, 1999 and 2016

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Better technology is helping U.S. households conserve water. It is a conservation success story. Indoor water use in U.S. households dropped by 22 percent between 1999 and 2016, according to a study from Aquacraft, a consultancy. Three-quarters of the decline is attributable to the wider adoption of efficient toilets and clothes washers. Toilets represent the […]

Infographic: Syria Drought and Climate Change

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Winter rainfall in the Fertile Crescent has declined 13 percent since 1931. By Kaye LaFond, Circle of Blue In March 2015, a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences laid out an argument for a climate-conflict link in Syria in three parts: First, a severe drought occurred that was made more likely […]

Infographic: Water and Security Hot Spots 2016

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Kaye LaFondis both a scientist and a journalist, she holds an MS in Environmental Engineering from Michigan Technological University, and she brings proficiency in ESRI’s ArcGIS mapping software. greatlakeskaye.wordpress.com

Infographic: Nitrogen Pollution Is Killing Long Island Ecosystems

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Seagrass, shellfish, wetlands, and fish are dying in the Peconic Estuary and other Long Island bays. One million people in Suffolk County, on Long Island, New York, use sewage ponds or tanks buried underground in the backyard to dispose of their toilet waste. It is a colossal number of people for such a small area. […]

Infographic: Plan to Change Lake Ontario Water Level Regulations Considered by Canada, U.S.

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Simulations using 20th-century climate data compare Lake Ontario water levels under Plan 2014 and the current regulation plan. Plan 2014 is a proposal to change water level regulations on Lake Ontario to help restore coastal wetland biodiversity that has been lost over the past 60 years. The plan is the culmination of more than two […]

Infographic: America’s Septic Systems

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Nearly one-fifth of U.S. households are not connected to a public sewer. More than 21 million households in the United States use septic systems — not a public sewer — to trap and filter their toilet waste. The underground tanks are most common in rural areas, especially in New England and the Deep South. They […]

The Stream, September 21: Cholera Outbreak Hits West Baghdad

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The Global Rundown At least six people have died from a cholera outbreak in the western outskirts of Iraq‘s capital. A group of scientists are recommending a ban on plastic microbeads in the United States. India is relying less and less on its monsoon rains. “The dependency on the monsoon has been decreasing over the […]

The Stream, September 21: Cholera Outbreak Hits West Baghdad

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The Global Rundown At least six people have died from a cholera outbreak in the western outskirts of Iraq‘s capital. A group of scientists are recommending a ban on plastic microbeads in the United States. India is relying less and less on its monsoon rains. “The dependency on the monsoon has been decreasing over the […]

The Stream, September 4: Radar Instrument Aboard NASA Soil Moisture Satellite Fails

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The Global Rundown An important instrument aboard a NASA satellite that measures soil water has failed. The United States Forest Service is burning through its wildland firefighting budget. Los Angeles is looking a lot more drought-prepared than Sao Paulo in the eyes of investors. “The project will do all it can to meet the expectations […]

The Stream, September 3: Disease Looms with Syria’s Water Infrastructure on the Brink

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The Global Rundown A group of scientists from Yale spent three years counting the world’s trees. Public water in Flint, Michigan is picking up lead as it travels through old pipes and fixtures. Syria‘s water infrastructure is reaching a tipping point. “Over the next two years we will begin to see in cities like Aleppo […]