MY-RTK Lets Users Probe Toxic Emissions from Their Smartphones [1]
myRTK lets you thumb in an address or ZIP code and get back a map or list of Toxics Release Inventory facilities on your feature phone or smart phone.
myRTK lets you thumb in an address or ZIP code and get back a map or list of Toxics Release Inventory facilities on your feature phone or smart phone.
This new tool allows any user online to create custom study areas based on a wide range of variables: address, ZIP code, county, city, township, facility, watershed, or geographic coordinates. Other environmental data can then be mapped onto that study area.
The beta tool allows anyone to compare TRI information from a facility to air pollution data from the same facility or a related one. For example, an investigator could find inconsistencies in the amount of pollution reported by a facility under the two separate laws.
This newly powerful, easy-to-use mapping tool can help environmental journalists find and report great local and regional stories.
The new record for getting raw data reported by industry to the general public: 28 days. Nearly 95 percent of reporting companies filed their reports electronically.
The WatchDog attended EPA's annual training conference for government workers on the Toxics Release Inventory, Nov. 1-3, 2010. See a preview of the showcased offerings, which have extra emphasis on environmental justice and EPA data tools ranging far beyond TRI.
"In the wake of Election Day, prepare for a new round of politicized skirmishes in the never-ending climate wars, with the battleground shifting once again to Capitol Hill hearing rooms."
"The coal industry, facing a host of new health and safety regulations, is spending millions of dollars in lobbying and campaign donations this year to influence the makeup of the next Congress in hopes of derailing what one industry official called an Obama administration 'regulatory jihad.'"
"The Interior Department has hired a Norwegian firm to inspect the giant subsea device that failed to prevent the Macondo oil and gas well from exploding on April 20, although the same firm earlier gave a thumbs-up to safety procedures on board the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig, which sank in the accident."
"Looks like Proposition 23, the attempt to torpedo California's landmark AB32 climate bill, is going down by a very large margin. According to the most recent tally, 61 percent of state voters said 'No' to the initiative."
Links
[1] https://www.sej.org/publications/chemicals/my-rtk-lets-users-probe-toxic-emissions-their-smartphones
[2] https://www.sej.org/publications/chemicals/epa-gives-public-environmental-justice-mapping-tool-ejview
[3] https://www.sej.org/publications/chemicals/tri-offers-new-comparative-query-tool
[4] https://www.sej.org/publications/chemicals/envirofacts-warehouse-gets-geographic-makeover-update
[5] https://www.sej.org/publications/chemicals/tri-goes-electronic-speed-records-fall
[6] https://www.sej.org/publications/chemicals/cool-tools-reporters-showcased-2010-tri-meeting
[7] https://www.sej.org/headlines/girding-republican-gavel-climate-hearings
[8] http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/11/02/girding-for-a-republican-gavel-at-climate-hearings/?ref=energy-environment
[9] https://www.sej.org/headlines/coal-industry-spending-sway-next-congress
[10] http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/30/us/politics/30coal.html?ref=energy-environment
[11] https://www.sej.org/headlines/interior-hires-firm-okd-failed-bp-device-do-autopsy
[12] http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/01/AR2010110106780.html
[13] https://www.sej.org/headlines/california-voters-uphold-climate-law-defeat-prop-23
[14] http://motherjones.com/blue-marble/2010/11/california-voters-uphold-climate-law
[15] https://www.sej.org/search_results
[16] https://www.sej.org/search_results?page=4323
[17] https://www.sej.org/search_results?page=4320
[18] https://www.sej.org/search_results?page=4321
[19] https://www.sej.org/search_results?page=4322
[20] https://www.sej.org/search_results?page=4325
[21] https://www.sej.org/search_results?page=4326
[22] https://www.sej.org/search_results?page=4327
[23] https://www.sej.org/search_results?page=4328
[24] https://www.sej.org/search_results?page=4879