Choosing Where You Live

Listed below are a variety of data sources to help you learn more about the issues discussed with this guide. The Internet World Wide Web sites listed are correct as of March 31, 1997. Users should note that the Internet is constantly changing and that sites and site addresses may change as well.

1. Weather and Climate and Surroundings
2. Population and Auto Congestion
3. Water Quality
4. Industrial Land Uses (Manufacturing Processes)
5. Agricultural Land Uses (Pesticides, Herbicides, Fertilizers, Livestock)
6. Wetlands
7. Major Pollutants and Nonattainment Areas
8. Odor Sources (Industrial and Agricultural)
9. Trash and Hazardous Waste Incineration
10. Solid Waste Disposal Landfills
11. Superfund and Brownfields Sites
12. Other Health and Environment Concerns

1 Weather and Climate and Surroundings

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Weather Service
The National Weather Service provides weather data through its home page.

Web site: http://www.nws.noaa.gov

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Center for Environmental Statistics
The EPA Center for Environmental Statistics contains environmental data for individual U.S. states on a broad range of topics, including weather.

Web site: http://www.epa.gov/ces

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, The United States Historical Climatology Network
The U.S. Historical Climatology Network (USHCN) is a moderate-sized data set of monthly average maximum, minimum, and mean temperature and total monthly precipitation developed to assist in the detection of regional climate change. The USHCN is composed of 1221 stations from the U.S. Cooperative Observing Network within the 48 contiguous states. An additional set containing 46 stations for Alaska is also available. The period of record varies for each station but generally includes the period 1900-1995. Data are available as raw (no adjustments), TOB (time-of-observation adjustments), adjusted (all adjustments except urban heat adjustments), and urban (all adjustments including urban heat adjustments). Currently, USHCN data are available on the Web through the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) home page.

Web site: http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov

Earthquakes, Tornadoes, Hurricanes, and Floods
Executive Office of the President, Council on Environmental Quality. Environmental Trends, 143-147. Washington, D.C., 1989
This publication provides explanations and summaries of natural phenomena. Although the western states are generally associated with the occurrence of earthquakes, most of the United States is at some risk. A map of the United States projects the degree of damage expected if an earthquake occurs. Tornadoes are most likely to occur in the center of the country, although a substantial portion of the United States is at some risk. A map of the United States illustrates historical data of the occurrence of tornadoes during a 10-year period. Generally, hurricanes form in the Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean Sea, and Atlantic Ocean between the months of June and October. The Gulf and Atlantic coasts are at risk of hurricanes entering their coastal zones. A map of this region illustrates the probability of hurricane occurrence in any year within a 50-mile segment of coastline.

Approximately six percent of the land area of the contiguous United States is susceptible to stream flooding. Additionally, low-lying areas of the Nation's coastline are also susceptible to flooding from coastal storms and floods. Development of floodplains and changes in land use affect the magnitude of floods. Flood-control projects may create a sense of security and may handle most occurrences; however, complete protection from floods is never achieved. Flooding waters may overtop or break levees and may exceed upstream reservoir capacity. Flooded structures that are improperly cleaned after waters subside can encourage the growth of mold and mildew that affect indoor air quality.

FEMA Map Service Center Flood Data
Flood data for almost 900 counties across the U.S. is available on the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Map Service Center (MSC) Web site. These data will be available in a variety of formats for use with desktop mapping and geographic information systems. The digital Flood Data are provided through the Internet and on CD-ROM as part of MSC's distribution and customer support services.

Web site: http://www.fema.gov/home/MSC/

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2 Population and Auto Congestion

U.S. Census Bureau
On its home page, the U.S. Census Bureau provides population statistics for the World, the United States, U.S. states and territories, and counties within the U.S.

Web site: http://www.census.gov

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards,
National Air Quality and Emissions Trends Reports.

According to the Trends Report, air quality has improved over the last 10 years. The Trends Report includes information on nonattainment, with a list of cities designated as nonattainment areas. Visit the Air Now website for real time air data.
State Environmental Offices
Many states have Internet home pages that provide links to World Wide Web sites, including state air pollution agencies.

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3 Water Quality

Leadership Directories, Inc., State Yellow Book, published quarterly.
Available at many public libraries, this book provides detailed information on every state, including the addresses and telephone numbers of environmental offices.

Consumers Union of U.S., Inc. "Beaches," Consumer Reports, August 1996
This report reviews U.S. beaches and provides information on beach monitoring, the consequences of pollution, and advice on keeping up with beach conditions. The report includes information on nonprofit organizations that are trying to improve beach water monitoring and safety, and state and local sources for identifying current conditions.

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4 Industrial Land Uses (Manufacturing Processes)

Toxic Release Inventory (TRI)
The Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) is a database of information about releases and transfers of toxic chemicals from manufacturing facilities. TRI data are reported to EPA on an annual basis by individual facilities meeting certain criteria. Reporting sectors include the chemical industry, hazardous waste treatment facilities, the mining industry, petroleum refineries, and the paper mill industry. An annual national "data release," or summary, of TRI data are available from the TRI Hotline (800-535-0202). TRI data are available online through the National Library of Medicine's literature search site, Internet Grateful Med. EPA provides TRI-US (TRI User Services) with a 2-3 week turnaround on information requests (202-260-1531). TRI data is also available for purchase through National Technical Information Service (NTIS). The TRI Databases (located at the Right-to-Know Network Web site) offers an Area TRI Report, Facility TRI Report, Industry TRI Report, Parent TRI Report, and Offsite Transfer TRI Report. Internet Grateful Med offers assisted searching in MEDLINE and other online databases of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. MEDSCAPE also offers free access to MEDLINE.

National Library of Medicine Web site	http://www.nlm.nih.gov/
TRI Databases (located at the Right-to-Know Network Web site)	http://www.rtk.net
The Toxic Release Inventory User Support Service (TRI-US)

RTK Net Databases

The Right to Know Web site contains links to several relevant environmental databases, including the ARIP (EPA Accidental Release Information Program), Census Data by Zip Code, CERCLIS, CUS (EPA TSCA Inventory of Chemical Production Database), FINDS (EPA Facility Index System), NPL (Superfund National Priority List), RCRIS (Hazardous Waste Permits), TRI, USGS Water Use Database, and others.

Web site: http://www.rtk.net/rtkdata.html

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5 Agricultural Land Uses (Pesticides, Herbicides, Fertilizers, Livestock)

National Pesticide Telecommunications Network
Oregon State University, Department of Agricultural Chemistry, National Pesticide Telecommunications Network (NPTN), is a cooperative effort with EPA.

NPTN is a national service accessible at 800-858-7378 (general public) or 800-858-7377 (medical and government personnel). NPTN provides a variety of information on all pesticides.

Web site: http://ace.ace.orst.edu/info/nptn/nptn.html

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6 Wetlands

Office of Wetlands, Oceans and Watersheds
EPA's Office of Wetlands, Oceans and Watersheds (OWOW) integrates the protection and management of our Nation's watersheds, coastal and marine waters, and wetlands. OWOW combines the Agency's responsibilities for abating nonpoint source pollution; restoring and protecting wetlands, lakes, rivers, coastal and marine environments; and providing leadership for surface water monitoring and water quality assessment activities.

Web site: http://www.epa.gov/owow/

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7 Major Pollutants and Nonattainment Areas

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards,
Your National Air Quality

The State and Territorial Air Pollution Program Administrators (STAPPA) and the Association of Local Air Pollution Control Officials (ALAPCO) are the two national associations representing air pollution control agencies in the 54 states and territories and over 150 major metropolitan areas across the United States. STAPPA and ALAPCO's member directories, along with a directory of state and local organizations, are available on its Web site.

Phone:	(202) 624-7864
Fax:	(202) 624-7863

Web site: http://www.4cleanair.org

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Air and Radiation,
The Plain English Guide to the Clean Air Act, April 1993 (EPA 400-K-93-001)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards,
, February 1994 (EPA 451/K-94-001)

The Livable Cities Almanac; Marlin, John Tepper; Harperperennial Library, 1992

State Environmental Offices
Many states have Internet home pages that provide links to World Wide Web sites, including state air pollution agencies.

Leadership Directories, Inc., State Yellow Book, published quarterly.
Available at many public libraries, this book provides detailed information on every State, including the addresses and telephone numbers of environmental offices.