Environment, Natural Resources, and Weather

• Major Agency Sites
• Major Statistical Agency Site
• Air Quality
• Chesapeake Bay
• Climate Change/Global Warming
• Environmental Enforcement
• Natural Resources
• Water Quality
• Weather

Major Agency Sites

• Environmental Protection Agency
  Responsible for protecting the natural environment-air, water, and land.  Collects information on the condition of the environment and issues regulations to enforce environmental laws.  Issues the Toxic Release Inventory, policy documents, and many research studies
• Fish and Wildlife Service
  Manages national wildlife refuges, protects endangered species, and conserves fish, wildlife, and their habitats.  Publishes wetlands inventories, periodicals, surveys, and other wildlife-related reference materials.
• Geological Survey
  Carries out topographic mapping, conducts scientific studies, and examines the geological structure and mineral resources of the nation.  Prepares maps, collects digital and cartographic data, and issues technical reports.
• Interior Department
  Protects and provides access to the nation's natural and cultural heritage.
• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
  Parent agency for services which forecast weather, monitor condition of ocean waters and species, operate environmental satellites, and investigate atmospheric phenomena such as global warming, El Nino, and ozone depletion.
• National Weather Service
  Provides daily forecasts and special warnings for severe weather events.

Major Statistical Agency Site

• National Climatic Data Center
  World's largest archive of weather data.

Air Quality

• Air
  Resources on air pollution, air pollutants, air pollution monitoring and control, air quality, atmosphere, indoor air pollution and legal aspects of air pollution. From the EPA.
• Air Trends
  The annual "report card" on the status of air quality and air pollutant emissions from the Environmental Protection Agency.  Now includes air quality statistics by city and county.
• Clean Air Act
  Offers text of the Clean Air Act as amended in 1990 legislation. Also offers a Plain English Guide to the Clean Air Act. From EPA
• EPA's Updated Air Quality Standards for Smog (Ozone) and Particulate Matter
  Regulation texts, fact sheets, court rulings and other information on implementation.

Chesapeake Bay

• Bay Journal [Chesapeake Bay]
  News and information about efforts to clean up the Chesapeake Bay and implement the Chesapeake Bay Agreement. From the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay.
• Bibliography of Chesapeake Bay Grey Literature: Chesapeake Bay Scientific Literature
  Consists of more than 94,000 pages of documents published by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, and the Chesapeake Research Consortium. Also includes citations to thousands of other publications on the science of the Bay.
• Chesapeake 2000 Agreement
  Highlights of the latest Chesapeake Bay Agreement, background materials, text of previous Chesapeake Bay Agreements, and a calendar of events.
• Chesapeake Bay Program
  The home page of the regional partnership between Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and the District of Columbia to carry out their commitments to the 1983 Chesapeake Bay agreement.
• Chesapeake Bay Program (EPA)
  The home page of the Environmental Protection Agency's Chesapeake Bay Program Office, located in Annapolis, Maryland.
• State of the Bay Report 2006
  Annual report on the health of the Chesapeake Bay expressed in terms of a numerical score based on 13 factors.  From the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. Latest is 2006.
• State of the Chesapeake Bay
  Annual report from the Chesapeake Bay Program Office in Annapolis on the health of the Bay, its tributaries, abitats, and creatures. 

Climate Change/Global Warming

• Climate Information and Services
  A multi-agency site which offers resources related to climate prediction, data, and research. Also offers links to international global climate sites and weather-related degree programs.
• Climate Change
  News, reports, and information about climate change and global warming from the EPA.
• Climate Change
  A portal for information about climate change including key issues, news announcements, major initiatives by international bodies and more. From the United Nations Environment Programme.
• Climate TimeLine Information Tool: Exploring Weather and Climate Change Through the Powers of 10
  An online tool that allows users to examine climate change as scientific processes (Climate Science) and meteorological events (Climate History) at different time scales. From the National Geophysical Data Center.
• Climate of 2006 Annual Review
  Reviews current year weather phenomena on national and global basis, including temperature, precipitation, regional and seasonal variations, and extreme events. Documents global mean surface temperature anomalies.  Sponsored by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
• Gateway to Global Change Data
  Offers global change news and research data for researchers, businessmen, educators, and the general public.  Sponsored by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and other agencies.
• Global Change Master Directory
  A comprehensive directory of Earth Science and global change data. Describes data sets available, the nature of the data and where the data is stored.  Sponsored by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
• Global Warming: State by State Impacts
  Covers effects on natural resources, wildlife, health and the economy of each state
• Intergovernment Panel on Climate Change
  Established by the World Meterological Organization and the UN Environment Programme to assess scientific, technical, and socioeconomic information relevant for the understanding of climate change. Awarded the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with Al Gore.
• Our Changing Planet: The U.S. Climate Change Science Program for Fiscal Year 2006
  Describes the administration's global change research program priorities and funding.  Sponsored by the National Science and Technology Council.
• United States Climate Change Science Program
  Integrates federal research on climate and global change from the perspective of the White House.
• United States Climate Change Technology Program
  Multi-agency effort to develop climate change technology focused on the president's climate change goals.
• United States Global Change Research Program
  Joint effort of several federal agencies to support research on the interactions of natural and human-induced changes in the global environment and their implications for society. Issued Climate Change Impacts on the United States: The Potential Consequences of Climate Variability and Change, Overview, and Foundation Document, the most detailed attempt to predict U.S. climate change over the next 100 years.

Environmental Enforcement

• Citizens' Guide to Radon, 4th Edition
  Information on radon including what it is, how to test the radon level in your house, and how to reduce radon levels. From the Environmental Protection Agency.
• Cleanup
  Resources on brownfields, storage tanks, superfund, cleanup technology, and legal aspects of cleanup. From EPA.
• Compliance and Enforcement
  Resources on civil and criminal enforcement, voluntary standards, and environmental liability. From EPA.
• Congressional Research Service Reports (Environment)
  A collection of CRS reports dealing with environmental topics maintained by the Committee for the National Institute for the Environment. Updated on regular basis.
• E Cycling: Electronics Recycling
  A partnership of several mid-Atlantic states, including Virginia, to promote the recycling of televisions, computers, and other electronic products.  Includes information about collection activities in the states.
• ECHO: Enforcement and Compliance History Online
  Offers enforcement and compliance information for over 800,000 regulated facilities subject to EPA/state enforcement of environmental regulations. Information drawn from various Environmental Protection Agency databases.
• Envirofacts Warehouse
  Retrieve information from databases about environmental activities in your area or generate maps. From the Environmental Protection Agency.
• Enviromapper
  Interactive mapping site which allows user to identify hazardous waste, toxic discharge, and Superfund sites in his/her community.  Also offers links to text reports with more information.  Sponsored by the Environmental Protection Agency.
• Environmental Health Perspectives and Environmental Health Perspectives Supplements
  A monthly journal of peer-reviewed research and news on the impact of the environment on human health. From the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.
• Environmental Industry of the United States: Overview by State and Metropolitan Statistical Area
  Statistical profiles of the U.S. environmental industry's revenues, jobs, and exports for each of the 50 states and for 49 metro areas. 4th edition.  From the International Trade Administration.
• Environmental Management
  Resources on Best Management Practices, environmental impact statements, environmental indicators, environmental policy, risk assessment, and smart growth. From EPA.
• EPA Projects and Programs
  A directory of the agency's programs by type of "media" affected (air, water, land), by region, and other categories.
• European Pollutant Emission Register
  Information on the annual emissions of approximately 9,200 industrial facilities in the 15 member states of the European Union as of 2001 and 12,000 facilities in 25 member states + Norway as of 2004. From the European Commission.
• National Environmental Data Index
  Serves as a "yellow pages" for environmental information, regulations, and data of 12 federal agencies. Sponsored by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
• National Environmental Publications Information System (NEPIS)
  Offers a database of over 9,000 Environmental Protection Agency documents to order or print online.
• Pesticides
  Resources on pest management, pesticide types, effects and legal aspects, and A Citizen's Guide to Pest Control and Pesticide Safety. From EPA.
• Pollution Prevention
  Resources on recycling, waste reduction, and other modes of conservation. From EPA.
• Radiation and Radioactivity
  Resources on radiation exposure, effects, emergencies, protection, types, and waste disposal. From EPA.
• RCRA Online
  Offers a database of publications and other "outreach materials" on the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, the main federal conservation legislation.
• Recycling
  Resources on municipal solid waste recycling including electronics, glass, paper, plastics, and other products. Also includes methodology for measuring recycling rates and data on recycling at the national and state levels. From EPA.
• Risk Assessment Portal
  Provides basic information about environmental risk assessments for the public, including what they are, who evaluates the risks, how risk assessments are conducted, and where they can be located. From the Environmental Protection Agency.
• Science Inventory
  A searchable database of current or recently completed EPA sponsored activities at research labs, program or regional offices, and universities.
• Superfund
  Covers the most hazardous contaminated sites which pose threats to human and environmental health. Includes list of sites, risk assessment techniques, frequently asked questions and more. From the Environmental Protection Agency.
• Tox Map: Environmental Health E-Maps
  Explore the location of hazardous toxic chemicals released into the environment in the U.S. by the chemical name, city, state, and zip code. Maps allow for zooming in for more detailed look. Also, add Census population data for affected areas. From the National Library of Medicine.
• Tox Seek
  A federated search engine that enables searching across many different information resources on environmental health and toxicology including PubMed, ToxNet and other resources from the National Library of Medicine, the National Institutes of Health and the World Health Organization. From the National Library of Medicine.
• Toxics Release Inventory: Community Right-To-Know
  Information regarding toxic chemicals manufactured, used, created, transported, or released into the environment.  Offers complete annual data report, state fact sheets, and capability of searching for toxic release data by industrial or government facility by zip code area. From the Environmental Protection Agency.
• Wastes
  Resources on a variety of waste topics including animal, hazardous, medical, radioactive, and solid waste. Also covers waste disposal, generation, storage, transportation, and treatment. From EPA.

Natural Resources

• Census of Mineral Industries
  Statistics about mining establishments and activities including total revenue, number of establishments/employees and payroll. Data issued by industry, subject and geographic area every five years. From the Census Bureau.
• Ecosystems
  Resources on aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems including wetlands, ecological monitoring and restoration, landscaping, mines, soils, and endangered species. From EPA.
• Endangered Species Bulletin
  Bimonthly periodical of the Fish and Wildlife Service with information on changes in species' status, regulatory changes, recovery plans and activities, new ecological threats, and changes in listings/delistings/reclassification.
• GeoCommunicator
  Offers maps and other geographic resources related to land management and land records and promotes sharing of geographic data and events among federal, state, local, and private organizations.  From the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service.
• IUCN Red List of Endangered Species
  Information and data on more than 11,000 endangered plant and animal species from the World Conservation Union's Species Survival Commission.
• Mineral Industry Surveys
  Offers statistical data on production, distribution, stocks, and consumption of mineral commodities. From the U.S. Geological Survey.
• Minerals Yearbook
  Information on production, prices, distribution and other topics relating to mineral resources worldwide. University of Wisconsin site includes annual Minerals Yearbooks for 1932/33-1993 on their Ecology and Natural Resources Digital Collection
• National Wetlands Inventory
  Text and data on the extent and status of the nation's wetlands. Features a Wetlands Interactive Mapper Tool which allows users to view wetlands areas and wildlife refuges, lists of plant species that occur in wetlands, and status/trends reports. From the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
• Wetlands
  What they are, what their value is, and how they are protected.

Water Quality

• Beach Watch
  Look up the water quality of a nearby beach.  Site allows user to pick a state and then a locality from a map or a list.  Tells whether beach is monitored for water quality, by whom, and whether closures have been ordered.  Covers nearly 1,900 U.S. beaches.  From the Environmental Protection Agency's National Health Protection Survey of Beaches.
• Clean Water Act
  Offers history, introduction, and snapshot of the language of the act from 2002. From EPA.
• Local Drinking Water Information
  A collection of annual drinking water quality reports online. From local water utilities and the Environmental Protection Agency. 
• National Water Conditions
  Information on the quality and levels of water in streams and lakes. Also covers quality of ground water and acidity of precipitation. From the U.S. Geological Survey.
• Ocean Portal
  Describes itself as a directory of more than 5,000 ocean data and related web sites. Includes ocean associations, agencies, societies, conventions, treaties, laws, and other information resources. From the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO
• River Watch
  Focuses on major midwestern river basins but offers links to information about river streamflow conditions in all states.  From the National Weather Service.
• USGS Water-Resources Data of the United States
  Access to data on levels, stream flow, and quality of surface water and ground water at sites in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. From the U.S. Geological Survey.
• Water
  Resources on drinking water, ground water, storm water, wastewater, water pollution, water pollutants, and water quality monitoring. From EPA.
• Water Quality Standards Database
  A new release (5.0) of this Environmental Protection Agency database which provides information about federal and state numeric water quality criteria and waterbody names.
• Water Resources of the United States
  Major starting point for information about water conditions, drought, water use, and water data. From the U.S. Geological Survey.
• WaterWatch
  Offers current flood and drought information and real-time streamflow activity. Also offers historical maps and graphs on streamflow and explanations of how streamflow data is compiled and analyzed. From the U.S. Geological Survey.

Weather

• Answers at NOAA.GOV
  Offers answers to frequently asked weather questions such as historical weather information for particular cities, global warming, etc.
• Climatological Data and Related Publications
  Monthly and annual publications on temperature, precipitation, and storm data from the National Climatic Data Center.  Online access is free to users within educational domains.
• Climatology and Extreme Events
  Offers access to a list of weather-related databases including U.S. Storm Events Database, Extreme Weather and Climate Events, U.S. Climatological Averages and Normals, Climate Maps of the United States, and U.S. Climate Normals. From the National Climatological Data Center.
• Enso Cycle
  Explains the difference between El Nino and La Nina cycles and their effect on North American weather patterns.
• Federal Disaster Declarations
  Lists disaster declaration number, date issued, state, cause, and counties involved. Also links to declared disasters by year or state and major disaster declarations. From the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
• Historical Hurricane Tracks
  An interactive mapping application that enables search and display of data and tracking of Atlantic and Pacific basin hurricanes. Search for hurricanes by name, year(s), or category of storm. Also allows tracking of storms by vicinity to selected zip code. From the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
• National Weather Service Interactive Weather Information Network
  Covers U. S. weather conditions with warnings about special weather conditions such as hurricanes or droughts.
• National Weather Service Internet Weather Source
  Forecasts, watches, warnings, and the most recently observed weather conditions for locations throughout the U.S.
• Natural Hazard Statistics
  Data on fatalities, injuries, and amount of damage caused by weather-related phenomena since 1995.  Also offers access to a 60+ year list of severe weather fatalities.  From the National Weather Service.
• Natural Hazards Gateway
  Offers educational information to citizens, emergency managers, and lawmakers about seven natural hazards which could strike various parts of the nation: earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, landslides, tsunamis, volcanoes, and wildfires. Each section covers recent occurrences, news, and resources for coping. From the U.S. Geological Survey.
• Natural Hazards Support System
  Monitors, responds to, and analyzes natural hazard events such as hurricanes, fires, earthquakes, and other weather watches and warnings. From the U.S. Geological Survey.
• NOAA Storm Tracker
  Offers links to advisories, tracking maps and satellite images of a particular storm that is projected to strike the United States or other nations in a storm’s path. Draws data from satellite imaging, ocean buoys, and affected airports into a small, automatically updating browser window. From the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
• NowCoast
  A web mapping portal that provides interactive access to "real-time coastal observations and NOAA forecasts for major U.S. estuaries and seaports, coastal regions and the Great Lakes." Four dropdown menus allow users to select location, type of observation/forecast, variables that vary with the type of data you're requesting (e.g., precipitation, water level, cloud cover, etc.), and time. From the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
• U.S. Daily Weather Maps
  Provides access to daily U.S. weather maps since 2003. From the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
• U.S. Daily Weather Maps Project
  Provides access to daily historical weather maps for the U.S. from 1871 through 2002. Requires DjVu Browser plugin. From the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
• Virginia State Climatology Office
  Offers weather forecasts and conducts weather research for Virginia. Explores the impact of weather and climate on economic and ecologic systems in the state. Based at the University of Virginia.
• Wind and Sea: The Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences Internet Locator
  Indexes over 1,000 links to science and policy sites dealing with weather, climate, oceanography, coastal lands, and the marine environment. From the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
• World Weather Information Service
  Weather forecasts and climatological data from nearly 1,000 cities around the world. From the World Meteorological Organizations.