1. ENGL 500: English Practicum Sources of Geographic and Environmental Data

2. Why these data? A knowledge of geography is vital to understanding the natural and cultural world around us. Location affects many more phenomena than just business. The environment figures in many of the most vexing issues facing society today. The list that follows is far from exhaustive… 13 October 2010Geographic and Environmental Data2

3. Focus of this talk Geographic resources Weather and climate resources Geological resources Chemical resources Emergency resources Scientific societies Non-governmental organizations Journalism organizations 13 October 2010Geographic and Environmental Data3

4. Geographic resources U.S. Census Bureau: American Factfinder -- http://factfinder.census.gov/home/saff/main.html http://factfinder.census.gov/home/saff/main.html –Population, housing, economic, and other data U.S. Census Bureau: International Data Base -- http://www.census.gov/ipc/www/idb/ http://www.census.gov/ipc/www/idb/ –Demographic data, population pyramids U.S. Board on Geographic Names -- http://geonames.usgs.gov/ http://geonames.usgs.gov/ –National and international place names 13 October 2010Geographic and Environmental Data4

5. Geographic resources U.S. National Atlas -- http://www.nationalatlas.gov/http://www.nationalatlas.gov/ U.S. Census Bureau: Topologically Integrated Geographic Encoding and Referencing system (TIGER) -- http://www.census.gov/geo/www/tiger/http://www.census.gov/geo/www/tiger/ –A geographic information system (GIS) that allows users to display Census and other data U.S. Census Bureau: LandView 6 -- http://www.census.gov/geo/landview/ http://www.census.gov/geo/landview/ –Allows users to view U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Census Bureau, and U.S. Geological Survey maps 13 October 2010Geographic and Environmental Data5

6. Geographic resources Central Intelligence Agency (CIA): The World Factbook -- https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/ the-world-factbook/index.htmlhttps://www.cia.gov/library/publications/ the-world-factbook/index.html U.S. Geological Survey (USGS): Maps, Imagery, and Publications -- http://www.usgs.gov/pubprod/http://www.usgs.gov/pubprod/ –Allows users to search for, and in some cases download, USGS maps and other products 13 October 2010Geographic and Environmental Data6

7. Geographic resources National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA): Earth Observatory -- http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/ –While far from comprehensive, it is a treasure trove of satellite and other remotely sensed imagery NASA/NOAA: Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES) -- http://rsd.gsfc.nasa.gov/goes/ http://rsd.gsfc.nasa.gov/goes/ –Satellite imagery from the GOES program 13 October 2010Geographic and Environmental Data7

8. Geographic resources NASA/NOAA: Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES) -- http://rsd.gsfc.nasa.gov/goes/ http://rsd.gsfc.nasa.gov/goes/ –Satellite imagery from the GOES program NOAA: National Geophysical Data Center -- http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/ngdc.html http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/ngdc.html –A smorgasbord of geophysical data, including topographic and bathymetric data Google Earth -- http://www.google.com/earth/http://www.google.com/earth/ –Explore the world from the safety of your computer 13 October 2010Geographic and Environmental Data8

9. Weather and climate resources World Meteorological Organization (WMO) -- http://www.wmo.int http://www.wmo.int –United Nations agency responsible for climate, atmosphere, and oceans WMO: World Weather Information Site -- http://worldweather.wmo.int/ http://worldweather.wmo.int/ –Official weather data and forecasts from around the world 13 October 20109Geographic and Environmental Data

10. Weather and climate resources National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) -- http://www.noaa.govhttp://www.noaa.gov –U.S. agency responsible for oceans, atmosphere, and climate NOAA: National Weather Service -- http://www.weather.gov http://www.weather.gov –Weather data and forecasting NOAA: National Center for Environmental Prediction -- http://wwwt.ncep.noaa.gov/http://wwwt.ncep.noaa.gov/ –Lots of cool imagery and forecast products 13 October 201010Geographic and Environmental Data

11. Weather and climate resources NOAA: National Hurricane Center -- http://www.nhc.noaa.gov http://www.nhc.noaa.gov –Subdivision of the National Weather Service responsible for tropical weather data and forecasts NOAA: National Climatic Data Center -- http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov –NOAA center responsible for archiving many types of climate data and climate proxy data NOAA: Daily Weather Maps -- http://www.hpc.ncep.noaa.gov/dailywxmap/ http://www.hpc.ncep.noaa.gov/dailywxmap/ 13 October 201011Geographic and Environmental Data

12. Weather and climate resources NASA: Global Climate Change -- http://climate.nasa.gov http://climate.nasa.gov –I am probably the only person in the room who had e-mails released in the Climate Gate affair, so I may be biased, but climate change is occurring and NASA has a lot of data here to help you learn about those changes. USGS: Water Data Discovery -- http://water.usgs.gov/data/ http://water.usgs.gov/data/ –Primary national repository for water resources data 13 October 201012Geographic and Environmental Data

13. Weather and climate resources Weather & Climate Data -- http://wxmaps.org/http://wxmaps.org/ –Very nice maps and other graphics developed from NCEP data and model results Weather Underground -- http://www.wunderground.com http://www.wunderground.com –One of the coolest Web sites in the world World Climate -- http://www.worldclimate.comhttp://www.worldclimate.com –Climate (not weather) data from locations around the world Weatherbase -- http://www.weatherbase.com/http://www.weatherbase.com/ –Weather and climate data from locations around the world 13 October 2010Geographic and Environmental Data13

14. Geological resources U.S. Geological Survey -- http://www.usgs.govhttp://www.usgs.gov USGS: Natural Hazards site -- http://www.usgs.gov/natural_hazards/ http://www.usgs.gov/natural_hazards/ –Main USGS portal to all sorts of natural hazard (earthquakes, volcanoes, coastal storms, etc.) information USGS: Earthquake Hazards Program -- http://earthquake.usgs.gov http://earthquake.usgs.gov USGS: Volcano Hazards Program -- http://volcanoes.usgs.gov http://volcanoes.usgs.gov 13 October 201014Geographic and Environmental Data

15. Geological resources Smithsonian Institution (SI): Global Volcanism Program -- http://www.volcano.si.eduhttp://www.volcano.si.edu NOAA: Tsunami Program -- http://www.tsunami.noaa.gov http://www.tsunami.noaa.gov NOAA: Pacific Tsunami Warning Center -- http://www.weather.gov/ptwc/ http://www.weather.gov/ptwc/ 13 October 201015Geographic and Environmental Data

16. Chemical resources U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA): Envirofacts -- http://www.epa.gov/enviro/http://www.epa.gov/enviro/ –Environmental data from localities across the U.S. USEPA: National Priorities List -- http://www.epa.gov/superfund/sites/npl/ http://www.epa.gov/superfund/sites/npl/ –Sites that are listed in or being considered for listing in the Superfund program USEPA: Toxics Release Inventory -- http://www.epa.gov/tri/ http://www.epa.gov/tri/ –Data on releases of toxic and other hazardous substances 13 October 201016Geographic and Environmental Data

17. Chemical resources USEPA: Integrated Risk Information System -- http://www.epa.gov/IRIS/ http://www.epa.gov/IRIS/ –Toxicological data on substances regulated or considered for regulation by the USEPA Centers for Disease Control & Prevention: Agency for Toxic Substances & Disease Registry -- http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov –Authoritative scientific reviews of toxicological data on substances that are regulated or considered for regulation by USEPA and other agencies 13 October 2010Geographic and Environmental Data17

18. Chemical resources Department of Transportation (DOT): Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration -- http://phmsa.dot.gov/ http://phmsa.dot.gov/ –Agency regulates pipelines and transport of hazardous materials Emergency Response Guidebook -- http://wwwapps.tc.gc.ca/saf-sec-sur/3/ erg-gmu/erg/ergmenu.aspx http://wwwapps.tc.gc.ca/saf-sec-sur/3/ erg-gmu/erg/ergmenu.aspx –User-friendly guide to characteristics of hazardous materials transported on highways and railways 13 October 2010Geographic and Environmental Data18

19. Emergency resources World Health Organization (WHO): Emergency Preparedness and Humanitarian Action -- http://www.emro.who.int/eha/ http://www.emro.who.int/eha/ U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) -- http://www.dhs.gov http://www.dhs.gov Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) -- http://www.fema.gov http://www.fema.gov Occupational Health & Safety Administration (OSHA) -- http://www.osha.govhttp://www.osha.gov 13 October 201019Geographic and Environmental Data

20. Emergency resources CDC: Emergency Preparedness & Response -- http://www.bt.cdc.gov/cdc/orgs_progs.asp http://www.bt.cdc.gov/cdc/orgs_progs.asp National Response Framework -- http://www.fema.gov/pdf/emergency/nrf/ nrf-core.pdf http://www.fema.gov/pdf/emergency/nrf/ nrf-core.pdf National Contingency Plan -- http://www.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_00/ 40cfr300_00.html http://www.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_00/ 40cfr300_00.html 13 October 201020Geographic and Environmental Data

21. Emergency resources Virginia Department of Emergency Management (VDEM) -- http://www.vaemergency.comhttp://www.vaemergency.com Virginia Department of Health (VDH): Emergency Preparedness & Response Programs -- http://www.vdh.state.va.us/epr/ http://www.vdh.state.va.us/epr/ Emergency and Disaster Information Service (EDIS): AlertMap -- http://hisz.rsoe.hu/alertmap/index2.phphttp://hisz.rsoe.hu/alertmap/index2.php 13 October 201021Geographic and Environmental Data

22. Scientific societies American Association of Geographers – http://www.aag.org http://www.aag.org American Geophysical Union -- http://www.agu.orghttp://www.agu.org American Meteorological Society -- http://www.ametsoc.org http://www.ametsoc.org Society for Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry -- http://www.setac.orghttp://www.setac.org Society for Risk Analysis -- http://www.sra.orghttp://www.sra.org Society of Toxicology -- http://www.toxicology.orghttp://www.toxicology.org 13 October 201022Geographic and Environmental Data

23. Non-governmental organizations International Committee of the Red Cross -- http://www.icrc.org/eng/ http://www.icrc.org/eng/ American Red Cross -- http://www.redcross.orghttp://www.redcross.org Doctors without Borders -- http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org 13 October 201023Geographic and Environmental Data

24. Journalism organizations National Association of Science Writers -- http://www.nasw.org http://www.nasw.org Society of Environmental Journalists -- http://www.sej.org http://www.sej.org 13 October 201024Geographic and Environmental Data

25. Ecological resources The Encyclopedia of Earth: Biome – http://www.eoearth.org/article/Biome/ http://www.eoearth.org/article/Biome/ World Wildlife Fund: Terrestrial Ecoregions – http://www.worldwildlife.org/science/ecoregions/ item1267.html http://www.worldwildlife.org/science/ecoregions/ item1267.html World Wildlife Fund: Marine Ecoregions of the World – http://www.worldwildlife.org/science/ ecoregions/marine/item1266.htmlhttp://www.worldwildlife.org/science/ ecoregions/marine/item1266.html 13 October 2010Geographic and Environmental Data25

26. Ecological resources World Wildlife Fund: Freshwater Ecoregions of the World – http://www.worldwildlife.org/science/ ecoregions/freshwater.htmlhttp://www.worldwildlife.org/science/ ecoregions/freshwater.html The Nature Conservancy: Freshwater Ecoregions of the World – http://www.feow.orghttp://www.feow.org 13 October 2010Geographic and Environmental Data26