EPA’s EnviroAtlas: Identifying Nature’s benefits, deficits, and opportunities for equitable distribution to support public health
Citation:
Jackson, L. EPA’s EnviroAtlas: Identifying Nature’s benefits, deficits, and opportunities for equitable distribution to support public health. Environmental Public Health Tracking Virtual Conference, N/A, N/A, April 05 - 06, 2017.
Impact/Purpose:
Invited plenary presentation to demonstrate EnviroAtlas capabilities to participants in a national, annual, virtual conference with a focus this year on chronic disease
Description:
Cities, towns, and Tribes rely on clean air, water and other natural resources for public health and well-being. Yet natural infrastructure and its benefits are not always fully understood or considered in local decisions. EnviroAtlas is a free, online, easy-to-use mapping toolkit designed for citizens, analysts, and decision-makers to assess the status of local and regional “green” assets, their relevance to society, current threats, and future opportunities. Research-based maps, analysis tools, and descriptive information address seven environmental benefit categories: - Clean air - Clean and plentiful water - Natural hazard mitigation - Climate stabilization - Recreation, culture, and aesthetics - Food, fuel, and materials - Biodiversity conservation More than 300 datasets for the coterminous U.S. summarize ecosystem processes, stressors, and end users at the spatial scale of sub-watersheds (n = ~90,000). A fine-scale component for selected communities features one-meter resolution landcover data and ~100 “green infrastructure” maps summarized by census block-group. Demographic data and built environment metrics are integrated into some of these maps, and are also provided by block group for overlays and other analyses. Numerous pixel-level maps are available as well. Map layers are consistent across EnviroAtlas communities; 18 of these are currently online, with six communities added annually. EnviroAtlas community maps and information address the following issues: - Extreme heat events - Ambient and near-road air pollution - Quality of downstream drinking and recreational waters - Opportunities for physical exercise, outdoor experience, and play - Disproportionate population vulnerabilities & unequal distribution of natural assets The Eco-Health Relationship Browser allows users to explore evidence published in the scientific literature linking ecosystems, their societal benefits, and more than 30 health issues. EnviroAtlas helps identify how and where natural infrastructure supports community needs and where supply falls short. In addition to viewing online, users can retrieve EnviroAtlas data via web services and direct download.