New On-Line Map Allows Users to Explore Pollution Data From Across North America
The North American Commission on Environmental Cooperation (CEC) unveiled a powerful new mapping tool that connects citizens with point-specific industrial pollutant data in Canada, Mexico and the United States, empowering ordinary people to monitor environmental compliance and participate in citizen enforcement.
Using the Google Earth mapping service - an innovative and free computer program that allows users to explore geographic data projected over satellite images and aerial photography - the CEC's map layer plots over 33,000 North American industrial facilities that reported releases and transfers of pollutants in 2004, the most recent data available from all three countries.
| Features of the CEC'S mapping tool |
| Quickly find facilities in your area using search functions of Google Earth - by postal code, city name, etc. - or just zoom in using the navigation tools. |
| Clicking on a facility displayed in Google Earth generates an information balloon with the name and address of the facility, along with a direct hyperlink to full details on pollutant releases and transfers on the corresponding national PRTR website. |
| Explore industrial pollution placemarks in conjunction with other map layers developed by the Google Earth community of interest. |
This mapping tool allows anyone in the three countries to find industrial facilities located near their homes, their workplaces, or their schools.They can learn about the pollution profile of each facility, including which pollutants they generate and how the facility handles them. Users can also compare the performance of facilities in their community to similar facilities locally, nationally, and, now, across North America. This tool has the capacity to empower citizens to monitor compliance and effectively participate in citizen enforcement actions.
Information used in the mapping tool comes from publicly accessible "pollutant release and transfer registers," or PRTRs, maintained separately by the three North American countries: the National Pollutant Release Inventory (NPRI) in Canada, the Registro de Emisiones y Transferencias de Contaminantes (RETC) in Mexico, and the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) in the United States.
Each year, using these same data as a starting point, the CEC publishes Taking Stock - a highly anticipated report that provides a unique "apples-to-apples" picture of North American industrial emissions and trends. For the first time in its 10 years, the current Taking Stock will be able to feature a detailed analysis of comparable pollutant data from all three countries.
The CEC is an international organization created by Canada, Mexico and the United States under the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC). It was established to address regional environmental concerns, help prevent potential trade and environmental conflicts, and to promote the effective enforcement of environmental law. The NAAEC was a side agreement to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
For more information on the CEC's Pollution Release and Transfer Register map layer visit this address or contact Cody Rice, Program Manager, Environmental Information, at .
In addition, visit the Taking Stock website for more information on the CEC's associated industrial pollution data for North America.
|
