Air and Climate

Acid Rain Program
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Emissions Monitoring and Reporting
Under the Acid Rain Program, affected sources continuously monitor their emissions of SO2, NOx, and CO2, heat input and flow. They submit this hourly data in an electronic format to EPA, where the data is stored in the Emissions Tracking System. EPA makes this data publicly available as raw data, preliminary summaries, and annual publications.
http://www.epa.gov/acidrain/so2emis.html

AirData : Access to Air Pollution Data
United States Environmental Protection Agency
The AirData Web site gives you access to air pollution data for the entire United States. AirData produces reports and maps of air pollution data based on criteria specified by viewers. AirData presents annual summaries of air pollution data from two EPA databases:
*AQS (Air Quality System) database provides air monitoring data - ambient concentrations of criteria air pollutants at monitoring sites, primarily in cities and towns.
*NEI (National Emission Inventory) database provides estimates of annual emissions of criteria and hazardous air pollutants from all types of sources.
The NEI database in 2002 replaced two separate EPA databases for emissions of criteria air pollutants (National Emission Trends, or NET) and hazardous air pollutants (National Toxics Inventory, or NTI). In English.
http://www.epa.gov/air/data/index.html

Air Facility System
United States Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance
The Air Facility System (AFS) contains compliance and permit data for stationary sources regulated by the U.S. EPA and state and local air pollution agencies. AFS is used by some state and local government agencies to track permit data. In 2001, EPA changed the Aerometric Information Retrieval System (AIRS) to a database that is solely related to tracking the compliance of stationary sources of air pollution with EPA regulations: the Air Facility Subsystem (AFS). In English.
http://www.epa.gov/Compliance/planning/data/air/afssystem.html

Air Quality Standards for Smog (Ozone)& Particulate Matter
United States Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Air and Radiation
EPA's updated Air Quality Standards for Smog (Ozone)& Particulate Matter U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Air and Radiation EPA issued final air quality standards for particulate matter and ozone (otherwise known as soot and smog) on July 16, 1997. This page provides access to plain English fact sheets and the complete text of the rules. In English.
http://www.epa.gov/ttn/oarpg/naaqsfin/

Air Quality Subsystem, Aerometric Information Retrieval System (AIRS),
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
AQS contains measurements of ambient concentrations of air pollutants and associated meteorological data. The data is collected by thousands of monitoring stations operated by EPA, national, state and local agencies. EPA uses this data to assess the overall status of the nation's air quality and to prepare reports to Congress as mandated by the Clean Air Act. EPA also uses the data to identify areas where improvements in air quality are needed. Locations where air pollution exceeds federal standards are called Non-Attainment Areas.
http://www.epa.gov/airs/aqs.html

Airnow
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
This website's goals are to: 1) provide real-time air pollution data in an understandable, visual format, 2) provide information about the public health and environmental effects of air pollution, 3) provide the public with information about ways in which they can protect their health, and actions they can take to reduce pollution. It currently focuses on ground-level ozone (smog). Future plans for this website are to expand the geographic coverage of the current ozone maps and to include other pollutants.
http://www.epa.gov/airnow/

AIRS Graphics on the Web or AGWeb
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Access to maps and charts of air pollution information. Specify criteria, such as pollutant name and amount; AGWeb produces a map and displays it in your Internet browser. The data for AGWeb maps and charts comes from EPA's Aerometric Information Retrieval System (AIRS). There are two main types of data: air quality measurements and pollutant emissions estimates.
http://www.epa.gov/agweb/

Andean Botanical Information System, The (ABIS)
Links to the oceanic-climatic phenomenon El Nino are found on this site principally devoted to information from the floristic and systematic investigations of the phanerogams (flowering plants) of Andean South America.
http://www.sacha.org/

Campaign for Dark Skies
British Astronomical Association
Astronomers call the wasted light that goes up into the sky "Light Pollution". They would like to see BETTER lights which shine downwards where the light is needed and not upwards where it isn't. The energy implications of Light Pollution are among the topics addressed on this site. Includes satellite map of UK at midnight
http://www.dark-skies.freeserve.co.uk/

Carbon Watch
The Sustainable Energy and Economy Network (SEEN)
Institute for Policy Studies (Washington, DC) and the Transnational Institute (Amsterdam)
SEEN works in partnership with citizens groups globally on environment and development issues with a particular focus on climate change, human rights, energy, gender equity, and economic issues. SEEN also provides information resources to a global network of citizens groups, non-governmental organizations, government officials, and the media. SEEN's research focuses on investments made by international financial institutions and government agencies in developing countries and economies in transition as well as in economically disadvantaged regions of the U.S. "Carbon Watch" is the Sustainable Energy and Economy Network's bulletin on fossil fuel projects in the "pipeline" not yet approved by the directors of development lending institutions like the World Bank. This bulletin is intended to give activists around the world basic information about energy issues in developing countries. In English.
http://www.seen.org/

Clean Air Markets (USA)
United States Environmental Protection Agency
Clean air markets programs include various market-based regulatory programs designed to improve air quality. The most well-known of these programs is EPA's Acid Rain Program, which has the overall goal of achieving environmental and public health benefits through reductions in emissions of sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx).compounds produced by fossil fuel combustion that adversely affect air quality, the environment, and public health. Also information on other programs that employso-called "cap-and-trade" mechanisms. In English with some content also in Spanish.
http://www.epa.gov/airmarkets

Comets and Meteor Showers
Historic data and calendars. The 2nd link is to the mirror site recommended for European netizens.
http://comets.amsmeteors.org/ http://www.maa.mhn.de/Comet/index.html

Earth Observatory
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), The U.S.
Earth Observatory provides a freely-accessible publication on the Internet where the public can obtain new satellite imagery and scientific information about our home planet. The focus is on Earth's climate and environmental change. Materials published on the Earth Observatory are freely available for re-publication or re-use, except where copyright is indicated. The site includes images and data on Biosphere, Chlorophyll, Cloud Fraction, 1km (sq.) Fires, 4km (sq.) Fires, Land Cover Classification, Outgoing Heat Radiation, Vegetation, Ozone, Rainfall, Sea Surface Temperature, Incoming Solar Radiation, and Surface Temperature. An 'Experiments' section allows students to operate in a virtual Laboratory, where they can learn how and why the Earth changes through the use of interactive computer models and the art and science of space-based remote sensing. Experiments include oil spill, earthquake, and hurricane activities, and the effects of siting an oil refinery in a coastal harbor.
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/

Earthwatch
United Nations System-Wide Earthwatch
United Nations Environment Programme
The mission of Earthwatch is to coordinate, harmonize and integrate observing, assessment and reporting activities across the UN system in order to provide environmental and appropriate socio-economic information for national and international decision-making on sustainable development and for early warning of emerging problems requiring international action. Includes links to sources of near-real-time information on the state of the planetary environment, including Atmospheric Aerosols, Fires, Oceans, and Coral Reefs. In English.
http://www.unep.ch/earthw/introd.htm
http://www.unep.ch/earthw.html

Enforcement and Compliance History Online (ECHO)
United States Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance
This tool provides the public with compliance, permit, and demographic data from approximately 800,000 facilities regulated under the Clean Air Act stationary source program, the Clean Water Act direct discharge program and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act hazardous waste facilities with violations. Integrated reports present inspections, violations, enforcement actions, penalties, and locate facilities on demographic maps. In English.
http://www.epa.gov/echo/index.html

FEMA
U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency
Contains flood, storm and fire preparedness and damage prevention, and mitigation information. Includes popular "FEMA for Kids", Winter Storm Watch, Maps.
http://www.fema.gov/fema/sanitatf.html

Global Change (electronic edition)
Pacific Institute for Studies in Development, Environment, and Security (Oakland, California)
Global Change seeks to familiarize the public with the issues associated with climate change and ozone depletion. Global Change has been published since July 1996 as a public service by the Pacific Institute, an independent, non-profit center created in 1987 to do research and policy analysis in the areas of environment, sustainable development, and international security. Underlying all of the Institute's work is the recognition that the pressing problems of environmental degradation, regional and global poverty, and political tension and conflict are fundamentally interrelated, and that long-term solutions must consider these issues in an interdisciplinary manner. The Pacific Institute's program areas are 'Economic Globalization and the Environment'; 'Global Change', 'Environment & Security'; 'Community Strategies for Sustainability and Justice'; and 'Water and Sustainability'. The Global Change site has an extensive set of links to governmental, NGO, and scientific climate change sites.
http://www.globalchange.org/gcintro.htm
http://www.pacinst.org/

Global Change Data and Information System (GCDIS), The
US Global Change Research Information Office (GCRIO), The
Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN) at Columbia University, The
The US Global Change Research Information Office (GCRIO) provides access to data and information on global environmental change research, adaptation/mitigation strategies and technologies, and global change related educational resources on behalf of the US Global Change Research Program and its participating U.S. Federal Agencies and Organizations. The Global Change Data and Information System (GCDIS) is the set of individual agency data and information systems that support global change research supplemented by a minimal amount of crosscutting new infrastructure, and made interoperable by the use of standards, common approaches, technology sharing, and data policy coordination. Through the GCDIS, users are able to learn about the existence and location of relevant data and information resources, have key holdings available in useful forms, and be assured of their quality and continued availability.
http://www.gcrio.org/gcdis.html
http://www.gcrio.org/

Global Climate Observing System (GCOS), The
World Meteorological Organization, Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO,
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the International Council for Science (ICSU)
GCOS provides an operational framework for integrating observational systems of participating countries and organizations into a comprehensive system focussed on the requirements for climate issues. GCOS builds upon, and works in partnership with, other existing and developing observing systems such as the Global Ocean Observing System, the Global Terrestrial Observing System, and the Global Observing System and Global Atmospheric Watch of the World Meteorological Organization. In English.
http://www.wmo.ch/web/gcos/gcoshome.html

Global Fire Monitoring
NASA (USA)
The purpose of this site is to explain and illustrate current and future global fire monitoring capabilities. The data links section is being expanded to increase accessibility to current data. The Regional Emissions page links to satellite images of fires by country and region. http://modarch.gsfc.nasa.gov/fire_atlas/regions.html

Global Fire Monitoring Center
Fire Ecology Research Group
Freiburg University, Germany
The Global Fire Monitoring Centre provides access to near-real-time reports on the status of forest and wildfires around the world. Includes Global Fire Inventories and Models, Fire Literature, Databanks and extensive links. In English.
http://www.uni-freiburg.de/fireglobe/

Global Observing System Information Center (GOSIC), The
University of Delaware, College of Marine Studies
US National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
The Global Observing System Information Center (GOSIC) provides information on the observing requirements, the operational data systems, and the access procedures for finding and obtaining data and products of the G3OS. The G3OS consists of the Global Climate Observing System (GCOS), the Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS), and the Global Terrestrial Observing System (GTOS). In English.
http://www.gos.udel.edu/

Global Resource Information Database (GRID)
UNEP Division of Environmental Information Assessment and Early Warning
Contributing towards post-Hurricane Mitch reconstruction efforts in Central America, a set of maps entitled Natural Hazards in Central America: Consequences to People and the Environment have been prepared. This series of maps, depicting vulnerability of people and the environment to storms, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, floods, fires and tsunamis, were prepared using the best available scientific data and methodology. The material was published and distributed at the Consultative Group Meeting for the Reconstruction and Transformation of Central America in Stockholm, Sweden in May 1999. These maps can be viewed by to the publication map page as indicated on the left menu bar. An interactive map is available for manipulation and querying, and the data sources used to complete this project are also listed.
http://grid2.cr.usgs.gov/

Max Planck Society for the Advancement of Science
Max Planck Institutes carry on basic, interdisciplinary research in service to the general public in the areas of natural science, social science and the arts and humanities. Theoretical Climate Modelling, Physics of the Atmosphere, Physics of the Oceans & Climate Dynamics are treated along with impacts of climate to economic and social systems. In German with English summaries.
http://www.mpg.de/

National Atmospheric Deposition Program/National Trends Network (USA)
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Illinois Department of Natural Resources
The National Atmospheric Deposition Program/National Trends Network (NADP/NTN) is a nationwide network of precipitation monitoring sites. The network is a cooperative effort between many different groups, including the State Agricultural Experiment Stations, U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and numerous other governmental and private entities, and covers over 200 sites spanning the continental United States, Alaska, and Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands . The network collects data on the chemistry of precipitation for monitoring of geographical and temporal long-term trends, which is then analyzed for hydrogen (acidity as pH), sulfate, nitrate, ammonium, chloride, and base cations (such as calcium, magnesium, potassium and sodium). The National Atmospheric Deposition Program has also expanded its sampling to two additional networks: the Mercury Deposition Network and the Atmospheric Integrated Research Monitoring Network. In English.
http://nadp.sws.uiuc.edu

Operational Significant Event Imagery (OSEI)
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (USA)
The Operational Significant Event Imagery (OSEI) team produces high-resolution, detailed imagery of significant environmental events which are visible in remotely-sensed data available at the NOAA Science Center in Suitland, Maryland. OSE's Daily Operational Significant Event Imagery Report (DOSEIR) outlines the events captured in satellite imagery and provides a direct link to each image. The images are described with short narratives. Significant events include Dust Storms, Fire Events, Flood Events, Iceberg Events, Ocean Events, Severe Weather, Snow Cover, Storm Systems, Tropical Cyclones, Volcanoes, and Unique Imagery. In English.
http://www.osei.noaa.gov/

Russian Ecological Federal Information Agency (REFIA)
This site contains official information on the state of natural resources and environment in Russia. Information is grouped into the following media: air, water, mineral resources, forests, terrestrial biodiversity, water biodiversity, recreational resources, protected areas, state of environment. Under each main heading the information is grouped into the following sections: a state management system, general review, periodicals, legislation and documents. Each following level contains indepth of information regarding each specific subject. Also contained is a link to the "Spaseniye" (Salvation) electronic newsletter (in Russian only). In English and Russian.
http://www.refia.ru

Silicon Valley Environmental Partnership (SVEP)
Silicon Valley Environmental Partnership promotes environmentally sound business and community practices through collaboration and education. Publishers of the "Silicon Valley 2003 Environmental Index," the Partnership promotes sustainability indicators as a method of enhancing regional environmental performance. The Silicon Valley Environmental Index summarizes high-level trend information in 19 areas, including resource use, population, air and water quality, species and habitats, and hazardous materials, in Silicon Valley, California. Includes a "How To" Manual for communities developing their own sustainability index, Electronics Recycling Map and Directory. In English.
http://www.svep.org

South African Bucket Brigade
South African Exchange Program on Environmental Justice, The (SAEPEJ)
This Boston-based non-profit organization focuses on the effects of toxic chemicals and the deteriorating environment on the health and daily lives of communities in South Africa, and aims to bridge communities in the US with their counterparts in South Africa around environmental justice. SAEPEJ provides resources to South African community, developmental, and environmental groups in order to address the neglected environments in which black South Africans live, and assist in the building of a strong environmental justice movement which will network closely with the US movement. Working collaboratively with groundwork (Pietermaritzburg, South Africa), and the California-based Communities for a Better Environment, SAEPEJ has organized the South African Bucket Brigade. The Brigade's members monitor air emissions from oil refineries. The site contains additional information about the impact of mining on the South African environment.
http://www.igc.org/saepej/
http://www.igc.org/saepej/bucket.html

TOMS Global Aerosol Hot Spots
Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS)
National Space and Aeronautics Administration, U.S.
TOMS provides global measurements of total column ozone on a daily basis. TOMS Global Aerosol Hot Spots page shows the location of smoke from global fires in near real-time. The site also contains a complete data set of daily ozone from November 1978 - December 1994. Continuous observation of the global ozone past the year 2000 will monitor the expected recovery of ozone as levels of chloroflourocarbons (CFCs) decrease from their current maximum as a result of the Montreal Protocol limits. Data products include Ozone, Aerosols, Erythemal UV, and Reflectivity. With map image files, quicktime videos of the Antarctic Ozone Hole, and its historic expansion from 1979-1997. With additional educational material.
http://toms.gsfc.nasa.gov/
http://toms.gsfc.nasa.gov/aerosols/today_plus.html

United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
Includes the Kyoto Protocol in English, French, Russian and Spanish, and Kyoto Protocol Introduction text.
http://www.unfccc.de/

Windows to the Universe
http://www.windows.umich.edu/