In My Backyard (Part 1): Locally
Grown: Federal Information
Sources for your Neighborhood
Jennie Gerke, Head of White Business Library, University of
Colorado at Boulder
Lisa Nickum, Government Publications Librarian, Colorado
School of Mines
Barbara Whalen, Collection Specialist, Denver Public Library
Overview
• We will introduce some quick sites on local
information from a variety of agencies
• We will also go more in-depth on Climate.gov
and MyEnvironment from the EPA
U.S. Government and Local Data
• Federal government has
been collecting data for
decades in order to govern
effectively
• Government lacked
effective methods to
distribute massive amounts
of data to the public
• Technology over the past 510 years has allowed
greater dissemination of
this data, including
previously hard to find local
data
http://www.weather.gov
Weather.gov
• Everyday weather
site
• Local forecast by zip
code or by city, state
• Other local weather
features also
available
• Radar & Satellite
Images
• Hourly Weather
Graph
• National Digital
Forecast Database
http://www.weather.gov/informationcenter
Information
Center
• All-in-one current
weather source
• Data from multiple
agencies
• Fire Weather
• Hurricanes
• Space
• Aviation
• Marine
What’s new?
↑Data is FREE to all—including, as of the end of
the month Local Climatological Data.
↑Integrated Map Application shows weather
stations and available data.
But…
↓ Map interface can be daunting.
↓ Data retrieval and presentation differs
among products.
Integrated Map Application
CoCoRaHS stands for the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail & Snow network. It
is a unique, non-profit, community-based network of volunteers of all ages and
backgrounds working together to measure and map precipitation (rain, snow and
hail).
GHCN = Global Historical Climate Network. Most of the blue dots are NOAA
cooperative observer stations which provide temperature (usually maximum and
minimum) in addition to precipitation data. These include some automated
stations (ASOS stations) such as official stations at airports.
Some data, like these graphs are
available immediately
Runs of data from NCDC may take a
few minutes
Bonus: Daily past weather by zip code
Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy
• DOE initiative - encourage energy literacy
to understand energy and its interaction
with the economy and environment
• Help the public to discover if any energy
efficient financial assistance is available locally
• Energy Savers: Rebates, Tax Credits, & Financing
Energy Savers
http://www.energysavers.gov/financial/
• Valuable energy efficiency
information for all types
of places (home, vehicle,
workplace)
• Find Incentives ….. that
apply to you
• # of incentives by state
• Also has free search
widget
DSIRE – Database of
State Incentives for
Renewable Energy
• Select by state
• Gives number of
incentives
• List of incentives
organized by funding
source
• All types of funding –
Federal, state, and
local
• Also has free search
widget
• Beware!! – not all
funding is currently
available
http://www.dsireusa.org
My Environment from EPA
http://www.epa.gov/myenvironment OR
Enter your location on the EPA’s home page
What will you find?
• Maps, Air, Water, Energy, Health, Land,
Environmental Reports and Community Events
• Each page on the web site retains this bar
each icon corresponding to one of these
topics.
Commerce City, CO
Toxics from Suncor refinery spill still seeping into water; Colorado vows to "accelerate" response
Denver Post, January 21, 2012 http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_19787661
I want details!
Water
Trust me…it’s on the map
Whenever you get overwhelmed, see if there
is a map of the issue you are examining.
In this case “Toxic Releases to Water.”
Facility Information, Result 1
On the map you can find Suncor, this
links you to information on the facility
with queries from all the EPA databases.
This is not as useful as you imagine.
Note how
the results
are not in
date order.
Facility Information, Step 2
• If you click on EPA Facility information you will
get a list of all enforcement groups, as well as
information on the facility such as addresses,
alternative names, NAICS and contact
information.
• Here you can finally get some RELEVANT data :
– Toxic Release Inventory (number of toxins
released back to the 1990s)
– National Polluant Discharge Elimination System
National Polluant Discharge
Elimination System
Penalties:
Compliance:
Finally, this tiny note:
But…I didn’t get the actual violation!
In Colorado the agency that handles this issue is
the Colorado Department of Public Health and
the Environment. You can find more info by
searching Suncor on their web site.
http://www.cdphe.state.co.us/
Some other hidden treasures
Find this at the bottom of the compliance page (the
last page we visited in the Suncor demo)
Overlay data on Map
Superfund sites and cancer risk by tract
Compare
Sometimes you think your area is bad, but
maybe it is a statewide problem.
Bureau of Land Management
• Important agency for our six states for public land
management (large parts of all 6 states)
• All 6 states have their own separate BLM page
organized by the BLM state office
• Public land management includes energy, recreation,
grazing, fire, wild horses, planning, etc.
• State BLM sites are a better bet for state and local
information than overall BLM website
State BLM Websites
Arizona
Colorado
http://www.blm.gov/az/st/en.html
http://www.blm.gov/co/st/en.html
State BLM Websites (cont.)
New Mexico
Utah
http://www.blm.gov/nm/st/en.html
http://www.blm.gov/ut/st/en.html
U.S. Geological Survey
• Not just geologic data – agency also covers science topics
like climate change, invasive species, water quality,
energy, and minerals
• Due to wide range of activities, U.S.G.S.
often works with other agencies
• Desires to get agency data out to public and works
cooperative with partners in state and local governments
as well as with other entities
Science in Your Backyard
• U.S. Geological Survey database that covers geology, mineral,
and water resources by state
• Allows one place to find data
from an agency with such a
broad mission
• Available on main U.S. Geological Survey website – hard to
locate (bottom right)
• Libraries may want to highlight because of placement on
website
Science in Your
Backyard
•
•
All data for states organized
similarly
o New releases of interest
for state
o Real-time information for
water, floods, streamflow,
drought, earthquakes
o Highlighted state links
o Map with general
geographic data
Example of Wyoming News
Release
o Stream-water quality
changes from coalbed
gas development
o Easily found in the
Wyoming page
o Very difficult to find on
main agency page
http://www.usgs.gov/state/
Federal Cooperation on Data
• Some individual agencies worked on
creative dissemination methods to
distribute more of their data to citizens
• Most agencies are aware of the new demands
of data, data, data by the general public
• Some projects create central repositories for data from
multiple agencies
• This is a win-win situation for everyone involved
Questions?
Jennie Gerke, Lisa Nickum, and
Barbara Whalen