Karla Lant
Freelance Writer and Editor
Karla Lant focuses on science, technology, politics, education, and technical writing. Browse by publication below.
PROJECTS
fondriest.com
Acid Rain Data Helping Scientists Tackle Water Quality Issues
Since the 1980s, scientists from the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation (VT DEC) have been sampling water from acid-impaired ponds and lakes and tracking data related to acidity. The line of inquiry began in response to concerns about acid rain, but DEC scientists now find that the long-term monitoring is not only proving the efficacy of the Clean Air Act but also improving local water quality.
fondriest.com
Advanced Oxidation Processes for Wastewater Treatment
In the ongoing quest for better wastewater treatment, a team of researchers from the University of California, Riverside (UCR) have developed a technique to improve the way Advanced Oxidation Processes (AOPs) remove pollutants from wastewater dramatically. AOPs remove organic materials from water using oxidation. These AOP reactions take place when hydrogen peroxide, a powerful oxidizing agent, decomposes, leaving hydroxyl radicals along with oxygen and water behind.
fondriest.com
Bacterium Breaks Down Ammonium in Sewage and Runoff Without Oxygen
Wetlands are one of nature’s plans for treating water. Home to a host of different microbes, riparian wetland soils play matchmaker to nutrient-rich runoff and bacteria that feast on nutrients and other environmental toxins. Princeton University researchers have discovered one such bacterium—Acidimicrobiaceae bacterium A6—that can break down ammonium, part of both fertilizer and sewage runoff, without oxygen. This ability could mean wastewater treatment without expensive aeration machinery.
fondriest.com
Monitoring and Tracking Ocean Microbes with LRAUVs
In March and April of 2018, researchers from the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa (UH Mānoa) and the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) deployed a small fleet of long-range autonomous underwater vehicles (LRAUVs) in the waters of the Pacific near Hawaii. These LRAUVs automatically collect and archive samples of seawater, enabling scientists to study and track ocean microbes with a level of detail that is unprecedented.
99designs.com
How to use an infographic to promote your business
Images alone are eye-catching and easy to understand at a glance, but they often lack information. Words offer more detail, but are more time-consuming to process. Enter: the infographic! In a TMI world, infographics are the beautiful, bite-sized chunks of information that almost everyone still has time to digest. They combine the strengths of both words and graphics to communicate in a powerful way with just about any audience—and that’s why you should use infographics to support your business. Here's how.
99designs.com
Brilliant sticker design ideas to make your message stick
Whether you want them for your product packaging or a trade show booth, your customers’ laptops or just anywhere people feel like slapping them, great looking branded stickers are an awesomely versatile way to get brand exposure and—you guessed it—make your message stick. To create a sticker that really works for you and your brand, a custom look is your best bet. Give your creativity a boost with these fun and inspirational sticker design ideas, and then get to work designing your own.
99designs.com
Job description of a graphic designer: What does a designer do?
Are you torn between your love for creating art and your drive to learn every new technology that comes down the pike? Have you never been satisfied working on a single project, favoring instead many varied projects to keep your interest? If so, those interests might just lead you to a career in graphic design. First things first: Graphic designers combine their creativity and artistic talent with their mastery of technologies to create text and images for a variety of clients—from the designing of one small logo to the creation of an entire branding package.
99designs.com
32 tools for agencies to be more productive and scale their businesses
There are so many tools out there for digital marketing agencies to choose from—in fact, that bumper crop can become a little annoying. Since we’re all in this together for the shared goal of saving time and working smarter, we’ve curated a master list of tools for digital agencies. These tools will help you and your team be more productive, whether you’re creating ads or managing your agency’s social presence.
99designs.com
20 amazing designers to follow on Instagram
Instagram is no longer just the social platform for sharing your brunch pics or cute pet photos (like Pinterest, but with a little less wedding). Now it’s an actual tool for anyone in the creative arts to share their portfolio and a place where anyone can find creative inspiration. Here’s your list (in no particular order) of the hottest Instagram designers that’ll bring beauty, drama and creativity to your day.
fondriest.com
Toxic Chemicals in Plastic Pollution Littering Freshwater Habitats
When we consider the glut of plastic rapidly accumulating all over the world, it’s easy to see the problem of pollution and disposal of substances that don’t biodegrade. However, it’s not always as apparent to us that plastic pollution also means a growing number of toxic chemicals in the environment, many of which can be harmful to ecosystems. Plastic polymers and the products made from them are wildly diverse as to chemical properties, composition, and range of potential applications, although most plastics are made from petrochemicals...
fondriest.com
CO2 Cacophony in Acidified Oceans Will Confuse Baby Fish
Ocean acidification is a simple process that has complex effects. Increasingly acidic ocean waters create a cascading series of changes and problems for marine life, as each response to the changing conditions prompts other crises. Recent research from the University of Adelaide reveals a novel problem: baby fish will have more trouble finding and reaching shelter in the acidified oceans of our shared future, placing populations of various fish at risk.
fondriest.com
Grand Lake St. Marys Management Practices Improving Water Quality
What does it take for a lake to go from being the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) poster child for cyanobacteria to genuinely being in recovery and improving year by year? It takes a concerted community effort, best water quality management practices, and patience. At least, that’s what it’s taken for those working to improve the water quality of Grand Lake St. Marys—and recent research proves that all of the effort and patience is paying off.
fondriest.com
Treating Wastewater and Producing Clean Energy with Microalgae
On a planet that feels a little smaller every day, scientists are always looking for sustainable sources of food, low-impact and low-cost ways to produce clean water, pollution mitigation strategies, and sources of clean energy. Researchers from University of Eastern Finland have recently found a solution to multiple problems in using Chlorella vulgaris, a universal freshwater microalga.
“Wastewater treatment is energy demanding and requires the use of expensive toxic chemicals, which cause secondary pollution,” explains University of Eastern Finland Associate Professor Amit Bhatnagar. . .
fondriest.com
Atlantic Ocean Overturning Circulation Weakening with Warming
If you’ve visited both Newfoundland and the UK, you’ve experienced the practical effect that the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) has on weather. As the warmer currents in the Atlantic Ocean move north with the Gulf Stream following the United States coast, they cool and sink into deeper regions of the ocean. Eventually making their way south, pushing past the UK and eventually heading toward Antarctica near the ocean’s floor.
fondriest.com
Climate Change Rapidly Warming World’s Largest High Arctic Lake
One of the more difficult aspects of educating people about climate change is how remote its consequences can sound. However, as the pace of warming accelerates, this is less true—and recent research results from an interdisciplinary team focused on the largest High Arctic lake in the world reveal just how quickly a warming climate can change an ecosystem. Lake Hazen on Canada’s Ellesmere Island is undergoing a massive series of changes—all because of a temperature increase of a single degree.