EPA has unveiled a user-friendly Internet program that connects the public to a broad array of environmental data for any community by simply typing in a Zip code or a city/state location and clicking the mouse button.
The prototype program called, "Window to My Environment," is part of an EPA initiative that uses maps and queries to integrate local and national environmental information.
Window to My Environment is now accessible for communities in EPA''s mid-Atlantic region (Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia), and will eventually be expanded to serve the entire country.
Computer users can access the site by going to EPA''s home page a www.epa.gov and selecting the "Your Community" link.
"The user chooses a location and can learn about environmental issues affecting the air, water and land in that community, as well as information on how governments are working to protect their environment," said Michael McCabe, deputy administrator for EPA. "This pilot project is only in its early stages and eventually will become more user-friendly with greater geographic coverage. We are currently moving toward a full production of the mid-Atlantic elements of the Web site, and plan a region-by-region rollout of Window to My Environment over the next several years."
EPA developed Window to My Environment in partnership with state environmental agencies to organize the vast amounts of environmental information available.
by Virginia Sutcliffe