Library -- Environmental Sciences Web Resources

Westfield State College Ely Library

Environmental Sciences Web Resources

Web Guides | Regulations | Laws | Organizations | Reference Materials

Special Topics A-Z:

Web Guides

Academic Info: Environment Studies

http://www.academicinfo.net/environst.html

A directory of Internet resources. Includes Meta-Indexes and General Directories; The Reference Shelf; Databases and Software; Libraries and Archives; Online Publications; Environmental Law; Global Warming and Climate Change; The Ozone; Chernobyl; Exxon Valdez Oil Spill, and Other Sites of Interest.

Amazing Environmental Organization Web Directory

http://www.webdirectory.com/
Besides having what it claims is the "Earth's biggest environment search engine," this site also is a web directory for all things environmental. Thirty categories are available to lead you to sites dealing with the environment.

EnviroLink

http://www.envirolink.org/

Claims to be "the largest online environmental information resource on the planet". Packed with info.

ECONET

http://www.igc.org/igc/econet/index.html

The world's first computer network dedicated to environmental preservation and sustainability and remains the best-known and most comprehensive online network of its kind.

Best Environmental Resources Directories

http://www.ulb.ac.be/ceese/meta/cds.html

A listing of over 500 'best' resources by subject.

EnviroInfo

http://www.deb.uminho.pt/fontes/enviroinfo/

A compilation of useful Internet resources on Environmental Science and Technology. This site maintains information on organizations, business, publications, online databases and software, research and education."

Environment & Society: An Environmental Resource Guide

http://www.rpi.edu/dept/environ/guide/

Topics include Subjects, Organizations, Regions, Disciplines, and Local Interest. Also includes journals, Treaties, discussion groups, general resources and more.

Environmental Resources on the Internet

http://www.southampton.liunet.edu/library/environ.htm

A very well organized and easy to use collection of links from Southampton College Library.

Regulations

EPA

http://www.epa.gov/

United States Environmental Protection Agency's Homepage

EPA Sector Notebooks - Industry Profiles

http://es.epa.gov/oeca/sector/index.html

Profiles on selected major industries from the EPA's Office of Compliance. Each notebook presents a comprehensive environmental profile including air, water, and land pollutant release data; industrial process information; pollution prevention techniques; regulatory requirements; compliance and enforcement history; government and industry partnerships; innovative programs; contact names; bibliographic references; and a description of research methodology.

Enviro$en$e
http://es.epa.gov/
Part of the U.S. EPA's web site, provides a single repository for pollution prevention, compliance assurance, and enforcement information and data bases. The search engine searches multiple web sites (inside and outside the EPA), and offers assistance in preparing a search.

European Environment Agency

http://www.eea.eu.int/

Home page of the Europan Environment Agency. A rich source of environmental information.

Laws

Environmental Law Net

http://www.environmentallawnet.com/lawsregs.html
Searchable direct links to federal and state environmental statutes and regulations, environmental laws of countries around the
world, international environmental treaties and agreements, and environmental laws of native american tribes.

MegaLaw.com

http://www.megalaw.com/top/environmental.php
Searchable legal database on Environmental subjects. National and international materials.

Massachusetts Executive Office of Environmental Affairs
http://www.state.ma.us/envir/
This is a good place to see what is going on at the state level in environmental affairs.

National Environmental Policy Act
http://www.epa.gov/Compliance/nepa/
The NEPA Document online with State and additional Federal information included.

Organizations

Environmental Organization WebDirectory

http://www.webdirectory.com/

With thousands of sites, it is the largest exclusively environmental organization directory on the Web and includes sites from over 100 countries.

National Environmental Directory

http://www.environmentaldirectory.net/
This is "a directory of more than 13,000 organizations in the United States concerned with environmental issues and
environmental education." You can search the entire U.S. or by region.

@SLE: Association for the Study of Literature and Environment

http://www.asle.umn.edu/

ASLE promotes the exchange of ideas and information pertaining to literature that considers the relationship between human beings and the natural world. Links include: Massive Full text Electronic Archives; Recent Additions to @sle ONLINE; Membership and Affiliated Organizations; Publications & Programs; Conferences & Events: Discussion Lists; plus Hundreds of Links Related to Literature and Environment.

Reference Materials

Natural Resources Research Information Pages (NRRIPS)

http://www4.ncsu.edu/~leung/nrrips.html

Internet resource guide for natural resources students, researchers and practitioners. Five major sections: Institutions and Organizations; Government Agencies; Databases and Literature; Conference and Research News; and Outdoor Recreation Research.

National Library for the Environment
http://www.ncseonline.org/nle/

Goal is to provide objective, scientifically sound information on environmental issues. Also provides 1496 Congressional Research Service Reports on environmental issues and related topics. The CRS Reports are brief, nontechnical reports. Searchable by keyword.

U.S. EPA Publications Search

http://www.epa.gov/epahome/publications.htm#search

Searchable Database of full text documents from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

World Resources Institute [Requires Internet Explorer]

http://www.wri.org/wr2000/index.html

World Resources Institute 2000-2001 is the definitive guide to the global environment. The latest edition, focusing on People and Ecosystems: The Fraying Web of Life, was presented to the world's environment ministers in Bergen, Norway, on September 15, 2000. Prepared by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the World Bank, and the World Resources Institute, the Millennial Edition presents a comprehensive assessment of five of the world's major ecosystems.

Special Topics A-Z

Air Quality

The National-Scale Air Toxics Assessment (NATA)

Reports from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's "ongoing comprehensive evaluation of air toxics in the U.S." Contains the results of an assessment of 1999 air toxics emissions (released in 2006), and an earlier report on 1996 toxic air pollutants. The 1999 assessment includes a summary of the findings, a FAQ on air toxics, a list of the over 170 air pollutants in the report, a glossary, data tables, maps, and tools to analyze the data.

Australia

Environment Australia

http://www.ea.gov.au/

Information of the Australian environment compiled by the Australia Department of the Environment

Biodiversity

Global Biodiversity Information Facility

http://www.gbif.org/

This web site provides first hand information about the current state of the Global Biodiversity Information Facility

(GBIF), an international initiative to be implemented during the course of this year. The GBIF will be an interoperable network of biodiversity databases and information technology tools that will enable users to navigate and put to use the
world’s vast quantities of biodiversity information to produce national economic, environmental and social benefits.

Virtual Library of Ecology and Biodiversity

http://conbio.net/vl/

A division of The Virtual Library Project that specializes in reviewing internet information sources pertaining to ecology and biodiversity based on their educational value.

Biodiversity and Conservation

http://darwin.bio.uci.edu/~sustain/bio65/Titlpage.htm

Hypertext book describing the "origin, nature, and value of biodiversity, the threats to its continued existence, and approaches to preserving what is left". (Peter J. Bryant, School of Biological Sciences, University of California, Irvine.

Defenders of Wildlife

http://www.defenders.org/

Defenders of Wildlife is dedicated to the protection of all native wild animals and plants in their natural communities with programs focused on what scientists consider two of the most serious environmental threats to the planet: the accelerating rate of extinction of species and the associated loss of biological diversity.

Community Information

EPA's "Window To My Environment"

http://www.epa.gov/enviro/wme

"Window To My Environment" (WME) ia a powerful new web-based tool that provides a wide range of federal, state, and

local information about environmental conditions and features in an area of your choice. Includes interactive maps with

locations of regulated facilities, monitoring sites, water bodies, population density, perspective topographic views and more with hotlinks to state/federal information on environmental issues such as air and water quality, watershed health, Superfund sites, fish advisories, impaired waters, as well as local services working to protect the environment in your area. This application is provided by U.S. EPA in partnership with federal, state and local government and other organizations.

Ecology

Virtual Library of Ecology and Biodiversity

http://conbio.net/vl/

The Virtual Library of Ecology and Biodiversity division of The Virtual Library Project specializes in reviewing internet information sources pertaining to ecology and biodiversity based on their educational value.

Ecoregions

Description of the Ecoregions of the United States

http://www.fs.fed.us/land/ecosysmgmt/ecoreg1_home.html

Describes the ecosystem geography of the U.S. including individual maps for ecosystem subdivisions such as Domains, Divisions, and Provinces.

Ecotoxicology

Pollutuion in Your Community

http://www.scorecard.org/

Provides information and reports on which pollutants are impacting a community and who is responsible for them. Searchable by zip code, the site present information in four categories: air, waste, land, and water. Included are lists of Superfund sites and water quality problems, an environmetal justice report for each county, maps, ways to compare a community with others, and methods for taking action to rectify pollutuion problems. Created by the Environmental Defense Fund, an independent not-for-profit scientific and advocacy group supported by more than 300,000 members.

Environment Writer: Chemical Backgrounder Index

http://www.environmentwriter.org/resources/backissues/chemicals/

Provides chemical backgrounders on more than 100 chemicals and chemical groups. The backgrounders give a description, chemical and physical properties, health effects of industrial uses and releases, and U.S. regulations for widely used chemicals.

ToxSeek

http://toxseek.nlm.nih.gov/toxseek/ui8/searchfr.jsp?selectedcategory=Allcat

A meta-search engine that enables simultaneous searching of many different information resources on the World Wide Web. The ToxSeek user interface allows selection of resources from a wide range of authoritative sources in these categories: TOXNET (NLM): Databases on hazardous chemicals, toxic releases and environmental health from the National Library of Medicine (NLM) ; NLM: Additional selected resources from the National Library of Medicine (NLM), including PubMed; NIH: Resources from other institutes of the National Institutes of Health (NIH); U.S. Government: Toxicology/environmental health information from other United States government agencies; International: Other selected international resources, such as the World Health Organization (WHO); and Resources/Societies: Other topic-specific information resources

Toxmap

http://toxmap.nlm.nih.gov
This geographic information system (GIS) uses U.S. maps to pinpoint the location of toxic and hazardous materials listed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)'s Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) and Superfund Program. Users can create local maps that show the location of facilities that release toxic substances (into the air, ground, or water) and identify both the substances released and the facilities releasing them. From the National Library of Medicine.

TOXNET

http://toxnet.nlm.nih.gov/
The National Library of Medicine''s grouping of searchable databases on toxicology, hazardous chemicals, and related areas. Includes references to toxicology literature from TOXLINE, EMIC (Environmental Mutagen Information Center), and DART/ETIC (Developmental and Reproductive Toxicology and Environmental Teratology Information Center); data from HSDB (Hazardous Substances Data Bank), CCRIS (Chemical Carcinogenesis Research Information System), IRIS (Integrated Risk Information System), and GENE-TOX; and other resources.

Pesticide Information Profiles
http://pmep.cce.cornell.edu/profiles/extoxnet/index.html
From Extension Toxicology Network, this site provides an overview of more than one-hundred commonly used insecticides, fungicides, and herbicides and their toxic effects and expected actions in the environment. This site is from Cornell University.

Center for Research on Occupational and Environmental Toxicology
http://www.ohsu.edu/croet/
A one-stop Web site dedicated to occupational and environmental health issues. Covers a wide range or subjects, from organic solvents, latex allergy, lead, and mold to teen workers, shift work, EMF and cell phones, and MSDS resources.

Endangered Species / Wildlife

Endangered Species Page

http://endangered.fws.gov/wildlife.html#Species

Identifies Endangered or threatened species that are listed as endangered or threatened under Section 4 of the Endangered Species Act. These species have been determined to be at risk for extinction if measures are not taken to protect them. Includes list of endangered species by state and by country. Maintained by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service..

Endangered Species Act

http://www.fws.gov/endangered/ESA/content.html
The entire document online.

IUCN Red List - The World Conservation Union

http://www.redlist.org/

Provides a searchable database of The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species that identifies taxonomic, conservation status and distribution information on taxa that have been globally evaluated using the IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria. The main purpose of the IUCN Red List is to catalogue and highlight those taxa that are facing a higher risk of global extinction (i.e. those listed as Critically Endangered, Endangered and Vulnerable). The IUCN Red List also includes information on taxa that are categorized as Extinct or Extinct in the Wild; on taxa that cannot be evaluated because of insufficient information

NatureServe Explorer: An Online Encyclopedia of Life

http://www.natureserve.org/explorer/

A source for authoritative conservation information on more than 50,000 plants, animals, and ecological communities of the

United States and Canada. NatureServe Explorer provides in-depth information on rare and endangered species, but includes

common plants and animals too. NatureServe Explorer is a product of NatureServe and its network of natural heritage
programs.

World Wildlife Federation

http://www.worldwildlife.org/

Home page of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) which is dedicated to protecting the world's wildlife and wildlands. The largest privately supported international conservation organization in the world, WWF has sponsored more than 2,000 projects in 116 countries and has more than 1 million members in the U.S. alone. WWF directs its conservation efforts toward three global goals: protecting endangered spaces, saving endangered species, and addressing global threats.

Species 2000

http://www.sp2000.org

The goal of Species 2000 is enumerating all known species of plants, animals, fungi and microbes on Earth as the baseline dataset for studies of global biodiversity. It will also provide a simple access point enabling users to link from here to other data systems for all groups of organisms, using direct species-links.

Energy

Energy Information Administration: Country Analysis Briefs

http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/

Provides Reports on the sources and use of energy (such as oil, natural gas, and electricity) for dozens of countries. Reports includee general background and a country profile, data and analysis on energy production and use, and links to related material. The site also includes special reports and chronologies on special topics such as on oil prices (1970-2004), energy activities from1996 onward, etc. Provided by the Energy Information Administration (EIA), a statistical agency of the U.S. Department of Energy.

DSIRE: Database of State Incentives for Renewables and Efficiency

http://dsireusa.org/
"DSIRE is a comprehensive source of information on state, local, utility, and federal incentives that promote renewable energy and energy efficiency." Includes summary maps (showing contractor license requirements, income tax incentives, property tax exemptions, rebate programs, and other topics), summary tables, reports and presentations, a glossary, and link to related sites. A project of the North Carolina Solar Center, North Carolina State University, and the Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC).

Ethics

Subject Bibliographies for Environmental Ethics

http://www.ecoethics.net/bib/

The Subject Bibliographies in Environment Ethics are published by Timothy C. Weiskel for the Center for the Study of Values in Public Life at Harvard Divinity School. The Subject Bibliographies are for The Harvard Seminar on Environmental Values and The Environmental Ethics and Public Policy Program

Europe

The European Environment Agency
http://www.eea.eu.int/
The EEA aims to support sustainable development and to help achieve significant and measurable improvement in Europe's environment through the provision of timely, targeted, relevant and reliable information to policy making agents and the public.

EIONET – the European Environment Information and Observation NETwork

http://www.eionet.eu.int/

The main vehicle of the European Environment Agency to collect data, information and knowledge for the process of reporting on the state of environment. EIONET is a co-operative activity between EEA and the Member Countries.

Forests

State of the World's Forests 2001

http://www.fao.org/forestry/fo/sofo/sofo-e.stm

The latest edition of the biennial FAO overview of the State of the World's Forests. Presents information on the current status of the world's forests, major developments over the reporting period (1999-2001), and recent trends and future directions in the forestry sector. Inlcudes links to prior editions.

Forest History Society

http://www.foresthistory.org/
The society explores the "history of interactions between people, forests, and their related resources - timber, water, soil, forage, fish and wildlife, recreation, and scenic or spiritual values. The focus is from a North American perspective." Affiliated with Duke University, the site features photographs (located in "Special Projects"), a list of oral histories, and several searchable databases including:

A bibliography of 34,000 annotated descriptions of books, articles, and dissertations.
A guide to archival collections in the fields of forest, conservation, and environmental history that are housed in over 450 repositories across North America and throughout the world.
Catalog of the holdings of the U.S. Forest Service Headquarters History Collection
Catalog of a special collection of nearly 400 twentieth-century novels documenting Forests in Fiction.
A specialized bibliography on vegetation change in South and Southeast Asia.

Geology

Geology and the Environment

http://www.uh.edu/~jbutler/anon/anoncoursessub.html

A resource guide to 19 categories of geology information on the internet along with maps and other links.

Health

National Center for Environmental Health (NCEH)

CDC's National Center for Environmental Health (NCEH) strives to promote health and quality of life by preventing or controlling those diseases or deaths that result from interactions between people and their environment. Provides direct links to environmental health information in NCEH data resources, programs, campaigns, publications, products, emergency response, and training.

Recognizing Waterborne Disease And The Health Effects of Water Pollution

http://www.waterhealthconnection.org/index.asp

This site, maintained by the American College of Preventive Medicine, explains contamination and waterborne illnesses. "Water consumers are frequently unaware of the potential health risks associated with exposure to waterborne contaminants and often consult practicing physicians who are unfamiliar with water pollution issues and their subsequent impact on human health. " The site also features the "Physician Readiness for Acts of Water Terrorism", a guide that provides health-care practitioners with streamlined access to resources for recognizing, managing, and preventing water-related disease from intentional acts of water terrorism.

International

CIESIN

http://www.ciesin.org/

Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN) works at the intersection of the social, natural, and information sciences. The center specializes in on-line data and information management, spatial data integration and training, and interdisciplinary research related to human interactions in the environment.

The Living Planet Report

http://www.panda.org/livingplanet/

Presents a quantitative picture of the state of the world's natural environment and the human pressures upon it. Specifically, it presents the World Wildlife Foundation's Living Planet Index (LPI), a measure of the change in the health of the world's natural ecosystems since 1970, focusing on the earth's forest, freshwater, and marine biomes as these contain most of the earth's biodiversity. The report also analyses global consumption patterns to calculate Global Consumption Pressure - a measure of the burden placed upon the environment by humanity.

Publications

Our Planet

http://www.ourplanet.com/imgversn/planethme.html

OurPlanet is a web-based bimonthly magazine covering topics on the environment and dustainable development. Maintained by the United Nations Environmental Program. Contains back issues to the May 1996 inaugural issue.

Sustainable Development

Sustainable Development Timeline

http://www.iisd.org/rio+5/timeline/sdtimeline.htm

History of the sustainable development movement since the publication of Silent Spring by Rachel Carson in 1962. Provides links to th web sites of key organizations in the movement.

Environmental Sustainability Index (ESI)

http://ciesin.columbia.edu/indicators/ESI/

The ESI is a project of the World Economic Forum's Global Leaders for Tomorrow Environment Task Force in collaboration with CIESIN and the Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy. The Index measures environmental sustainability along five major axes. CIESIN contributed to all aspects of the ESI's development, including design phases and data compilation, analysis and processing.

Renewable Resource Data Center

http://www.nrel.gov/rredc/

The RReDC provides information on several types of renewable energy resources in the United States, in the form of publications, data, and maps. An extensive dictionary of renewable energy related terms is also provided. The News section announces new products on the RReDC. Links to other sources of renewable resource and related information on Biomass, Geothermal, Solar, Ultraviolet Solar Radiation, and Wind Energy.

Nature Conservancy

http://nature.org/

The Nature Conservancy web site. Information on their mission, programs, and links to other sites. Since 1951, they have protected more than 98 million acres around the world.

World Conservation Monitoring Centre

http://www.unep-wcmc.org/species/dbases/about.cfm

Provides information services on conservation and sustainable use of the world's living resources,. This site contains five searchable databases. users can search by country for threatened animals and plants (plants are available for Europe only), protected areas of the world, forest statistics and maps, marine statistics and maps, and national biodiversity profiles (twelves countries to date).

Treaties

Environmental Treaties and Resource Indicators (ENTRI)

http://sedac.ciesin.org/entri/#bqs

A comprehensive online search service for finding information about environmental treaties and national resource indicators. The ENTRI system is unique in allowing you to construct queries that integrate these different types of data.

Watershed Information

WATERS (Watershed Assessment, Tracking & Environmental ResultS)

http://www.epa.gov/waters/

WATERS (Watershed Assessment, Tracking & Environmental ResultS) unites water quality information that was previously available only from several independent and unconnected databases. EPA gathers water quality information to address public concerns such as: How healthy is my watershed? Can I drink the water?
Can I eat the fish? Is it safe to swim in the water? Massachusetts Watershed Information

The New England Water Treatment Technology Assistance Center (NE-WTTAC)
http://www.unh.edu/erg/wttac/index.htm
Located at the University of New Hampshire, the NE-WTTAC focuses on four major areas: innovative technology, engineering training, evaluation of non-aligned technologies, and costing summaries. NE-WTTAC is one of eight technology assistance centers (TACNET) in the United States funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The mission of the Technology Assistance Centers is to form a network with the common goal to protect public health, improve water system sustainability, and enhance compliance. The TACs address the needs of small public water systems, including systems that serve Indian tribes, by applying university resources in the following areas: Technology verification, Pilot and field testing of innovative technologies, and Training and technical assistance.

National Environmental Services Center (NESC)
http://www.nesc.wvu.edu
Pronounced "nessie," provides technical assistance and information about drinking water, wastewater, environmental training, and solid waste management to communities serving fewer than 10,000 individuals. Links to National Small Flows Clearinghouse (NSFC)--wastewater; National Drinking Water Clearinghouse (NDWC)--drinking water; National Environmental Training Center for Small Communities (NETCSC)--training; and National Onsite Demonstration Program (NODP)--wastewater projects.

Sustainable Infrastructure
http://efc.boisestate.edu/efc/SustainableInfrastructure/tabid/149/Default.aspx
Features information, tools, and case studies designed to assist community leaders and decision makers in managing their utilities in a manner that will leave them in a better financial situation for future generations. From the Environmental Finance Center at Boise State University.

Wetlands

National Wetlands Research Center

http://www.nwrc.usgs.gov/

The National Wetlands Research Center (NWRC) of the U.S. Geological Survey produces information on the characteristics, extent, and status of the Nation’s wetlands and deepwater habitats.

Page Maintained by Brian Hubbard
Last Updated 3-18-09