CDC Fourth National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals

CDC Fourth National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals.

With its fourth and most ambitious edition of its National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals, released today, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) casts the issue of pollution in people in sharp focus.

The CDC has detected 212 contaminants in the blood and urine of thousands of people tested from 1999-2004, the most extensive survey of the American body burden ever published by the federal government.

Read more and download full report

2008 TRI National Analysis Public Data Release Data, Maps, Shapefiles

December 8, 2009 EPA makes available the 2008 TRI National Analysis.

12/13/09: This is the first year in TRI's over 20 year history that the data has been released during the same year that it was collected. Over the last few days, since the 8th, we have been working hard to bring all the relevant data, documents and information about the TRI National Analysis (formerly the TRI Public Data Release) together on these pages. At present, we have both the basis and basic-plus data available for download. We have also created state fact sheets in PDF format. We are working on ArcGIS shapefiles and plan on having them available by mid-week. We will also be adding relevant documentation and Google Earth and Google Map KML and KMZ data files.

Download 2008 TRI National Analysis Data and Fact Sheets

Free U.S. States ArcGIS Shapefile Map Layers to Download

Free U.S. States ArcGIS Shapefile Map Layers to Download. Several new ones will be added each day. Include administrative boundaries, parks, forests, water bodies, hospitals, churches, roads, highways, paths, trails .... more.

Download Free U.S. State ArcGIS Shapefiles

New Afghanistan ArcGIS Shapefiles Ready to Download

New Afghanistan ArcGIS Shapefiles are ready to download. Inludes map layers of rivers, provinces, airports, cultivated areas, irrigated areas and more.

Download Afghanistan ArcGIS Shapefile Map Layers

Updated Free and Open Source GIS Mapping Software Program Applications & Resources

Updated the free and open source GIS mapping software program applications and resources pages.

Download free and open source GIS mapping software

Natural Disaster Volcano ArcGIS Shapefile Map Layer

The first ArcGIS shapefile in our Natural Disaster Series is Volcanoes of the Northern Hemisphere. This will be followed with Dams, Floods, Tornadoes, Hurricanes, Landslides, Earthquakes, Faults ...

If you are new to GIS, you can take advantage of our free Learn2Map GIS Tutorial and Atlas and map these GIS shapefiles yourself.

Download the Natural Disaster Series: Volcano Shapefile

Maps of those without health insurance

State and County Maps of those without health insurance by race and age.

View or download health insurance maps of the uninsured

American Census Demographic & Statistical Maps

Just launched a new series of American census demographic and statistical maps. Includes: health insurance / uninsured, foreign born, population profile, ethnic and racial diversity ... more to come.

View and download free American census demographic and statistical maps

2009 Climate Impacts in the United States Maps, Charts & Tables

2009 Climate Impacts in the United States Maps, Charts & Tables. These are the high resolution images used in the 2009 United States Global Change Research Program Report, Climate Impacts in the United States.

View and download maps, charts and tables from Climate Impacts in the United States report

Climate Change Maps and Updates

We've added several news items, resources and maps to our climate change pages.

View or download climate change related resources and maps now

World Thematic Maps by Country

World Thematic Maps by Country - population, military, landuse, energy, industry, economy, ethnic, religion, climate ...

View or Download

Video of September 2009 Senate Hearing on Health Effects of Cell Phone Use

Video of 2009 Senate Hearing on Health Effects of Cell Phone Use. We also have free cell phone and other wireless tower/antenna shapefiles and google earth maps.

Video September 2009 Senate Hearing on Health Effects of Cell Phone

Cell Phone, Cell Tower and EMF News, Maps and Shapefiles

Cell Phone Safety, Cell Tower Maps & Shapefiles

Recently the Senate has taken another look at cell phone safety. You can learn more about this and also view video from the Expert Conference on Cell Phones and Health.

We have a Google Earth KMZ File that you can make use of. And, we have cell and other wireless tower shapefiles available for download.

Maps of the Nation’s 101 Most Dangerous Chemical Facilities. Millions at Risk.

Map of the Nation’s 101 Most Dangerous Chemical Facilities. Millions at Risk.

This map shows the locations of the nation’s 101 most dangerous chemical facilities, each of which threatens some 1 million or more people. The vast majority of these facilities could convert to safer, more secure chemicals or processes.

Interactive Google Maps of Nation’s 101 Most Dangerous Chemical Facilities.

Chemical Terrorism, Security and our Right-to-Know

Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Act of 2009 (H.R. 2868), Drinking Water System Security Act (H.R. 3258) both have the potential of decreasing our risk of exposure to dangerous toxic chemicals where we live, work and play.

Articles, Maps, Resources and Background about chemical terrorism, security and out right-to-know about chemical risks where we work, live and play.

Renewable Energy Atlas of the West

Renewable Energy Atlas of the West: A Guide to the Region's Resource Potential. Nicely done atlas with many maps in PDF format ready for download.

The Renewable Energy Atlas of the West is designed as a resource for policy makers, advocates, landowners, developers and others interested in furthering the production of electricity from renewable wind, solar, geothermal and biomass energy resources. Utilizing state-of-the-art GIS technology.

View or download the Renewable Energy Atlas of the West

High Resolution Renewable Energy ArcGIS Shapefiles - Solar, Wind, Biomass, Hydrogen

High Resolution Renewable Energy ArcGIS Shapefiles - Solar, Wind, Biomass, Hydrogen - U.S. and International.

Download Solar, Wind, Biomass and Hydrogen Renewable Energy Shapefiles

Renewable Wind Energy GIS Shapefile Map Layers

Renewable Wind Energy GIS Shapefile Map Layers. Determine wind density and speed.

Download Free Wind Energy Shapefiles.

Huge Hikes in Allowable Radioactivity in Drinking Water, Air and Soil

Huge Hikes in Allowable Radioactivity in Drinking Water, Air and Soil

In a parting shot, the Bush administration ordered the EPA to radically increase the allowable amounts of nuclear radiation in our water, air and soil. The Obama administration suspended the action temporarily.

According to PEER, "The new draft standards have been promulgated in secrecy despite sharp controversy about allowing public exposure to radiation levels vastly higher than those EPA had previously deemed unacceptably dangerous."

Three articles about this issue and supporting documents follow:

PEER files suit: EPA yet to object to Bush administration's radically higher radiation exposure levels.

MARKEY URGES EPA NOT TO WEAKEN RADIATION PROTECTION STANDARDS.

Huge Hikes in Allowable Radioactivity in Drinking Water, Air and Soil.

Free Download EPA Criteria Pollutant ArcGIS Shapefile Map Layers

Free Download EPA Criteria Pollutant ArcGIS Shapefile Map Layers. Includes facility name, address, amount released and more for CO, carbon monoxide, NOx, nitrous oxide, SO2, sulfur dioxide, VOC, volatile organic compounds, NH3, ammonia, PM10, particulate matter 10 micrometers or less, PM2.5, particulate matter 2.5 micrometers or less.

Download EPA Criteria Pollutant Shapefiles.

If you are new to GIS, you can learn more and easily create maps using the above free GIS layers with our free Learn2map GIS Tutorial and Atlas.

Free National Transportation Atlas Database (NTAD) 2009 ArcGIS Shapefiles

National Transportation Atlas Database (NTAD) 2009 ArcGIS Shapefiles include Public-Use Airports, Alternative Fuels Stations, Amtrak Stations, Automatic Traffic Recorder Stations, Highway-Rail Grade Crossings, Intermodal Terminal Facilities, National Bridge Inventory, National Populated Places, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Ports, Weigh in Motion Stations, Freight Analysis Network, Hazardous Material Routes, Highway Performance Monitoring System, National Highway Planning Network, Railway Network, Fixed-Guideway Transit Facilities, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Navigable Waterway Network, Bureau of the Census Urbanized Area Boundaries, The 111th Congressional Districts Boundaries, U.S. County Boundaries, Hydrographic Features, U.S. Military Installations, Metropolitan Planning Organization, Core Based Statistical Areas, Non Attainment Areas, carbon monoxide, lead, nitrogen dioxide, ozone, particulate matter 10, particulate matter 2.5, sulfur oxides, National Park System Boundary Dataset, U.S. State Boundaries.

Download the National Transportation Atlas Shapefiles

U.S. Transportation Shapefiles Free Downloads

I've added U.S. transportation shapefiles to the North American set. New shapefiles include states, airports, ports, intermodal, auto ramps, highways and railroads.

Download U.S. Transortation Shapefiles

News, Hard-to-Find Documents Archived on MapCruzin.com

Over the last 13 years online, MapCruzin.com has collected thousands of news articles and documents. Many of these are difficult and, in some cases, impossible to find online. We are searching our pages and archives to create an all-in-one page on our website.

Go to the news and hard-to-find document archive.

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Maps

Recently Shell Oil was given the go-ahead to drill for oil in the Beaufort Sea adjacent to ANWR, the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge. It seems it is a constant fight to make the government keep its promise to maintain ANWR as a REFUGE rather than a place to be exploited for oil.

In 2002, a Fish and Wildlife employee was fired for putting caribou calving location maps on the ANWR website. I was able to archive this website before it was totally scrubbed from the internet and have had it, in its entirety, on MapCruzin.com ever since.

I'll have more on this as it unfolds. But it looks as though the government, once again, may be closing in on ANWR.

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Maps, Descriptions and Issues

Most Popular Maps, GIS, Tools at MapCruzin.com

To help you better find what you need at MapCruzin.com I've added a "most popular" group at the top right of each page. Recent entries include U.S. Economy Maps, Afghanistan Maps, Free GIS, U.S. Shapefiles, Climate Change, Toxic Chemical Accidents & Releases, TOPO Maps, MapCruzin Blog, Google Earth Maps.

Most popular at MapCruzin.com

Download U.S. Economy Maps - Unemployment, Recession, Jobs... more

New U.S. economy map resource page. Maps about unemployment, credit card debt, general motors, federal reserve, recession, jobs, mortgage, gas prices, well-being, job market...

View and download U.S. economy maps

Free National Park, Monument, Historic Site, Recreation Area, Scenic River Maps

Download Free National Park, Monument, Historic Site, Recreation Area, Scenic River Maps in high resolution format. Hundreds beautifully detailed maps. Download Park Maps Here

New Topographic and Terrain Maps for Downloading

We've added some new topographic and terrain maps. Many thousands of maps categorized alphabetically. Download topographic and terrain maps here.

Free United States ArcGIS Shapefiles by State

Free United States State ArcGIS Shapefiles, GIS Maps, Data and Resources.

Download U.S. Shapefiles.

Free Wireless ArcGIS GIS Shapefile Map Layers

Free FCC wireless shapefiles - cell towers and antennas, mobile, cell boundaries, fm, am, tv ntsc, tv digital and more.

Download the free FCC shapefiles.

Terrorism & Industrial Chemicals - Determine Your Risk

I've updated the Worst Case Scenarios: Terrorism & Industrial Chemicals resouce pages. EPA has brought back their "Vulnerable Zone Locator" feature and you can access it here.

You can locate toxic chemical facilities anywhere in the U.S. with ToxicRisk.com. Also, you can access reports about the worst case scenario of chemical accidents in your neighborhood

American Community Survey 2008 Release New & Notable

The U.S. Census Bureau continuously makes improvements to the American Community Survey (ACS) in an ongoing effort to best meet the needs of its data users. In 2008, this included several changes designed to improve the content and data quality of the ACS and provide new tools and resources for data users.

Here is a summary of what is new since the 2007 data release

Download Census Economic Briefs from the American Community Survey

Download Free Census Economic Briefs from the 2008 American Community Survey 1 year estimates. Released Late September, 2009 and include housing costs, property value, construction, earnings, food stamp recipients, median household income, poverty...

Download the ACS Economic Briefs.

Free 2009 Census Tiger/Line Shapefiles

Free Census Tiger/Line shapefiles are now available. County-by-state and 15 new national shapefiles are available. Shapefiles include: roads, places, school districts, zipcodes, census tracts, census blocks, census block groups and various other point, line and polygon features. An extremely rich data source.

Download 2009 Tiger/Line shapefiles

New Reports About Cell Phone Risks

Environmental Working Group recently released a new report about the health risks, especially to children, of cell phone use. Also, there was a recent congressional hearing about this. Read news about this and download the EWG report about cell phone risks.

Cutler, CA - School drinking water contains toxins

Source

Posted on Fri, Sep. 25, 2009

AP IMPACT: School drinking water contains toxins
GARANCE BURKE

The Associated Press

CUTLER, Calif. - Over the last decade, the drinking water at thousands of schools across the country has been found to contain unsafe levels of lead, pesticides and dozens of other toxins.

An Associated Press investigation found that contaminants have surfaced at public and private schools in all 50 states , in small towns and inner cities alike.

But the problem has gone largely unmonitored by the federal government, even as the number of water safety violations has multiplied.

"It's an outrage," said Marc Edwards, an engineer at Virginia Tech who has been honored for his work on water quality. "If a landlord doesn't tell a tenant about lead paint in an apartment, he can go to jail. But we have no system to make people follow the rules to keep school children safe?"

The contamination is most apparent at schools with wells, which represent 8 to 11 percent of the nation's schools. Roughly one of every five schools with its own water supply violated the Safe Drinking Water Act in the past decade, according to data from the Environmental Protection Agency analyzed by the AP.

Read full article

A Quota of Daily Pollution - EPA Delays and Lack of Enforcement

Source

Published on Tuesday, August 25, 2009 by CommonDreams.org

A Quota of Daily Pollution
by Evaggelos Vallianatos

From the moment of its inception, in December 1970, the Environmental Protection Agency was caught in a trap. It could not honestly protect “human health and the environment” from the perpetual onslaught of toxins and outright pollution of the industrial behemoth of the United States.

The federal government organizations that tried to protect human health and the environment before 1970 were the giant Departments of Agriculture; Interior; and Health, Education and Welfare. They had failed miserably, which was the real reason for the establishment of EPA.

The most EPA could do was to learn from its predecessors by “regulating” pollution, i.e., allowing factories a quota of pollution every day and prohibit the most life-threatening practices of those making poisons and other dangerous products.

Read full article

Free Disease & Injury Mortality Maps

Just adding some new free disease and mortality maps for you to download. Maps of all cancers, lung cancer, breast cancer, prostate cancer, flu, liver disease, heart disease, HIV, homicide, suicide and more are included. Maps come from age-adjusted data and include breakdowns by race and gender. Download the new mortality maps here.

NGS National Geodetic Survey Free PC Software

Download NGS National Geodetic Survey Free PC Software. Visit our free GIS website and download now.

GIS Training, Careers and Jobs Updated

Our GIS / GPS Training, Careers and Jobs page has been updated. Many new opportunities. Click here to access.

World Military, Religion, Ethnicity, Landuse, Energy and more thematic maps to download

New Free Maps: World Military, Religion, Ethnicity, Landuse, Energy and more - thematic maps to download. Click here to download now.

Canada, Mexico, United States Transportation ArcGIS Shapefile

Just uploaded Canada, Mexico and U.S. transportation shapefiles. The sets include border crossings, railroads, highways, province and state boundaries, terminals, ports and more. These were converted from the native Bureau of Transportation Statistics format.

If you are new to GIS, you can learn to make digital GIS maps with these with the free Learn2Map GIS Tutorial and Atlas.

Click here to download the shapefile map layers.

Download Free Middle East Region Maps

I've added many new Middle East regional maps to MapCruzin.com. Click here to download now.

Free Middle East Country Atlas Maps

I've added hundreds of new maps of the Middle East including those for Bahrain, Cyprus, Egypt, Gaza, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Occupied Territories, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, West Bank, and Yemen. Download Now.

EPA Geospatial Data in ArcGIS shapefile, KML and KMZ formats

The EPA Geospatial data provides locations for all the facilities that they regulate including NPL (superfund), RCRA (hazardous waste), TRI (toxic release inventory), PCS (water pollution permit compliance), RMP (risk management plans), ACRES (brownfields) and more in ArcGIS shapefile and KMZ / KML suitable for Google Earth and Google Maps.

Learn More and Access the Data.

Precipitation Maps for States in Conterminous U.S. in GIF and PDF formats

Just added precipitation maps for states within the conterminous U.S. in GIF and PDF formats. Click here to download now - they are free!

Indian and Federal Lands Maps in GIF and PDF formats

Just added Indian and Federal Lands maps in GIF and PDF formats. Click here to download now - they're free.

Free War in Afghanistan Maps to Download

Just finished adding a new page of maps of the war in Afghanistan. Click here to view and download.

And More International ArcGIS Shapefiles Available for Download

07/13/2009 - Just added Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and Ukraine ArcGIS shapefiles. In Great Britain, added England (along with Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire) as well as Scotland and Wales. DOWNLOAD NOW. Check back often, more added each day.

More New Countries & Places of the World ArcGIS Shapefiles Ready for Download

07/12/2009 - Over the weekend I've added the following free shapefiles to MapCruzin.com: Alps, Azores, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Faroe Islands, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Isle of Man, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Poland and Columbia. Click here to begin your downloads. Many more to come so stay tuned. Thanks.

New Countries of the World ArcGIS Shapefiles Ready to Download

I've just added several new country and place Arc GIS shapefiles including: Canary Islands, Madagascar, South Africa, Gaza, Gaza Bbox, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Australia, Pakistan, Albania, Andorra, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus plus many continent shapefile map layers as well. Included in each set are separate gis map layers for: roads, buildings, natural features, places, points of interest, railways, and waterways.

Click Here to download now.

Free Download 250K 1:250000 Topo Maps

1,400+ 250K USGS Topo Maps are online. These are exceptional highly detailed, high resolution maps. Click here to download.

Download Free U.S. Neighborhood Boundary ArcGIS Shapefile Map Layers

New U.S. Neighborhood Boundary ArcGIS shapefile map layers are online at MapCruzin.com. Click Here for free downloads.

New Free GeoViewer 3.0 for Mr Sid, JPEG2000, GeoTiff and more

LizardTech recently released their free GeoViewer 3.0.

GeoViewer 3.0, now offered as a free, standalone application for viewing geospatial imagery and vector overlays.

GeoViewer 3.0 enables users to view and export layers from varied sources, such as local repositories, Express Server catalogs, and WMS and JPIP servers. GeoViewer supports a wide range of input formats and exports to GeoTIFF, PNG and JPEG. It's the most efficient means of viewing MrSID and JPEG 2000 images.

Download GeoViewer 3.0 Here.

New Renewable Energy Potential & Oil and Gas Field Maps

Just added new renewable energy potential and oil and gas field maps. There are both Acrobat PDF maps and ArcGIS shapefiles. Free download at MapCruzin.com.

New Satellite and Aerial Photo and Map Resources Listed

Just added some new resources for Satellite and Aerial Photos and Maps. Click here to access.

Download Free National Park, Monument, Trail, Recreation Area, Historic Site Maps

Hundreds of free National Park, monument, trail, preserve, scenic river, recreation area, historic site maps are ready to be downloaded. Click here to download now.

World Country Maps Updated - Free Downloads

Just finished the first round of filling in all the blank slots in our world country map series. Feel free to download any of these you like. Click here to download.

06/23/2009 - Several New H1N1 Novel Swine Flu Shapefiles & Data Available for Download

Several New H1N1 Novel Swine Flu Shapefiles & Data Available for Free Download. Click here to download the ArcGIS shapefiles and spreadsheets.

Free Download Updated Novel H1N1 Swine Flu ArcGIS Shapefile and Spreadsheet

Free Download Updated Novel H1N1 Swine Flu ArcGIS Shapefile map layer and Excel spreadsheet. Download here.

Download Free World ArcGIS Shapefile Map Layers

We've begun a new series of ArcGIS shapefiles. It includes feature layers such as buildings, points of interest, places, railways, roads and waterways for the continents and countries of the world. Africa is online now and the balance of the continents and some countries will be online for you to download over the next few days. We'll be updating these pages as the geodata becomes aviailable. Click here for free downloads.

05/31/2009 - More Free Country and Regional Maps for Dowload

We've completed our series of world country maps through countries beginning with the letter "P." We'll be finishing them all over the next few days - thousands of free maps for you to use in reports, presentations, websites and projects of all sorts. Click here to download now.

05/31/2009 - More free Novel H1N1 Flu ArcGIS shapefile downloads

You can download H1N1 Novel (swine flu) flu ArcGIS shapefiles and spreadsheet data for 05/29/2009 and 05/31/2009 here.

05/28 Novel H1N1 Flu (swine flu) Free Shapefile Download

Available for free download now - 05/28/09 and 05/26/09 Novel H1N1 (swine) Flu Shapefiles and data added to the Mapcruzin.com archive.

Download Free H1N1 Novel Swine Flu Arc GIS Shapefile Map Layers

05/24/09 11:33 PM - Uploaded 2 recent H1N1 Novel Swine Flu ArcGIS shapefile map layers. Download for free at MapCruzin.com.

05/22/2009 More New Swine Flu ArcGIS Shapefiles & Spreadsheets added

Just added 05/21 and 05/22 ArcGIS H1N1 Swine Flu shapefile map layers and Excel spreadsheets. Download here.

05/20/09 New Swine Flu Shapefiles

Two new sets of H1N1 Swine Flu ArcGIS shapfiles and spreadsheets are ready. Click here to download.

Help with MapCruzin

Hi - MapCruzin has been a work of love for the past 13 years. With too little time and too much to do, it has grown - rather haphazardly at times - to well over 10,000 pages. I recently received a comment that it is "like a dog chasing its tail." I'm hoping that some of you will take the time to take a look at MapCruzin.com and give me some feedback. My aim is to present free GIS shapefiles, maps, software, tools, news and resources in a manner that is as easy as possible for folks to get the most out of it. Your comments are very much appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Mike

Several Updates to the State ArcGIS Shapefiles

I've made several updates to the U.S. state ArcGIS shapefile map layers at www.mapcruzin.com/free-state-gis-maps-shapefiles.htm. Enjoy!

H1N1 Swine Flu Arc GIS Shapefile Updates Available

Over the last few days several updated ArcGIS H1N1 Swine Flu shapefiles have been added along with Excel spreadsheets. Click here for most recent shapefiles and archives. If you are new to GIS, please make use of our free Learn2Map GIS Tutorial to view these GIS shapefiles.

Updated the H1N1 ArcGIS Shapefiles and Spreadsheet.

Updated the H1N1 ArcGIS Shapefiles and Spreadsheet. These are derived from the map data provided by FluTracker. Click here for the most recent additions plus archives.

Free Download H1N1 Swine Flu ArcGIS Shapefile & Data

Free Download H1N1 Swine Flu ArcGIS Shapefile & Data. We'll be updating these several times per day. We are archiving as well so that you can track the swine flu virus over time and space. Click here to download now.

Download Free Census 2008 Tiger / Line Data in ArcGIS Shapefile Format

Amazingly, some vendors are charging high prices for the Census 2008 Tiger / Line Data in ArcGIS Shapefile Format. It's amazing because they are FREE. Click here to download.

Pandemic Flu Imminent - Phase 5 Alert Issued

April 29, 2009 World Health Organization says Pandemic Imminent and Issues Phase 5 Alert for Swine Flu.

GENEVA — The World Health Organization raised its pandemic alert for swine flu to the second highest level today, meaning that it believes a global outbreak of the disease is imminent.

Click here for complete story, swine flu google maps and news.

Toxic Risks Chemical Releases Linked to Scorecard

Last week we added schools to the Toxic Release Inventory based ToxicRisk.com Google Maps. Today we created Scorecard.org links to each chemical a facility released. Following this link you will be able to find out much more about the chemical released near your schools and in your neighborhoods. Details include such things as: human health hazards, hazard rankings, chemical use profile, ranking of chemicals by reported environmental releases in the United States, regulatory coverage, basic testing to identify chemical hazards, and information still needed for safety assessment. Go to ToxicRisk.com and learn more about toxic chemical releases near your schools and in your neighborhoods.

Swine Flu Spreads: Plot Thickens

Turns out the same company - Baxter - who awhile ago sent out live flu samples that may have contributed to the pandemic - is now going to reap megaprofits selling vaccines. Another winner is Donald Rumsfeld - a large stockholder in the company that produces Tamiflu. See www.mapcruzin.com/swine-flu/ for more.

Swine Flu Outbreak Google Maps and News

We've updated our news and added Google Maps of the recent U.S. / Mexico (an now Canada it seems) swine flu outbreak. Click here to access.

Mike

Schools and Toxic Chemical Facilities - 2007 Toxic Release Inventory

Update: April 20, 2009 P.M. - Schools Added to ToxicRisk.com maps

We have added schools to the maps. The maps are now a bit faster and easier to navigate. As you zoom in you will see a change in the icons of the facilities near the center of the map - these are the ones that you can click on and find the facility name, number of schools within 1 mile and number of schools within 5 miles of the facility plus a link to a database about the toxic history of the facility. The schools will appear as you zoom in. As you zoom in further, you will see the school icon change - at that point you can click on the school to view its name. Click here for a graphical mini-tutorial.

We'll also be adding the total number of schools within 1/2 mile, 1 mile and 5 miles of a toxic chemical facility. Click here for the updated 2007 Toxic Release Inventory maps with schools added.

Should Obama Control the Internet?

Should Obama Control the Internet? A new bill would give the President emergency authority to halt web traffic and access private data... Read article and download bill.

Find Toxic Chemical Risks in Your Neighborhood

We have overlayed Google Maps with toxic chemical facilities obtained from the latest EPA Toxic Release Inventory (released 03/19/2009). You can drill down through the maps or search by zipcode, state, city or place to find toxic chemical facilities in your neighborhood. ToxicRisk.com is a project of MapCruzin.com.

Chemical Accident Resources Updated

There has been controversy over the posting of EPA Risk Management Plans (RMP) and their associate Offsite Consequence Analysis ("worst case scenarios"> on the internet. It's as though the information itself poses the threat in our communities rather than the chemical facilities themselves. We have been following this for years and have collected all of our archived material in one place. Click to access.

EPA Criteria Pollutants mapped with Google Earth

Maps include facilities and tons released to the air for carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, volatile organic compunds, ammonia, sulfur dioxide and particulate matters... more

U.S. Cell Tower Map with Google Earth

We created these from FCC data released 03/11/2009. When viewed with Google Earth there are links to relevant information... more

Google Earth Helping the Terrorists?

It regularly comes as a surprise to people that our own infrastructure can be used against us. And in the wake of terrorist attacks or plots, there are fear-induced calls to ban, disrupt or control that infrastructure. According to officials investigating the Mumbai attacks, the terrorists used images from Google Earth to help learn their way around. This isn't the first time Google Earth has been charged with helping terrorists... more.

Access to EPA Air Pollution Data & Maps

The AirData Web site gives you access to air pollution data for the entire United States. Want to know the highest ozone level measured in your state last year? Ever wonder where air pollution monitoring sites are located? Are there sources of air pollution in your town? Find out here.

Renewable Energy Wildlife and Wildlands in the West

Renewable energy sources don’t have to conflict with preserving wildlife and wildlands in the Western U.S.

Lovers of the American West will tell you that it's blessed -- and they're right. It's home to significant sources of renewable energy, such as solar, wind and geothermal power... more.

FDA Unwilling to study mercury in corn syrup

High-fructose corn syrup doesn’t just deliver a jolt of sweetness to thousands of processed food items consumed by tens of millions of Americans each day. It also may add a touch of mercury, a powerful neurotoxin that may not be safe to consume at any level... more.

AB 255 Anderson Bill to Censor Google Earth

ANDERSON BILL TO BLUR GOOGLE EARTH IMAGES SPARKS NATIONAL CONTROVERSY

By Miriam Raftery

March 18, 2009 (San Diego)—Assemblyman Joel Anderson (R-Alpine) has introduced AB 255, a bill that seeks to prevent terrorist acts by blurring online images of schools, government buildings, churches and medical facilities through Google Earth and other online aerial mapping technologies... more.

ToxicRisk.com EPA Risk Management Plans

The U.S. responded to the tragic release of chemicals by Union Carbide in Bhopal, Indian that killed thousands by implementing the Toxic Release Inventory (TRI). The TRI tells us the amount of various toxic chemicals that are released to the air, water and land but says little about the amount of life and health threatening chemicals that are onsite at tens of thousands of facilities across the U.S. In 1999 facilities in the U.S. filed their Risk Management Plans (RMP) with EPA. These plans, though much more informative and useful to us in protecting our health and lives, are not nearly as readily available to us as the TRI.

We have created ToxicRisk.com so that you can search for risks in your community and neighborhoods and encourage facilities and local governments to make life and health protective changes.

Soon we will followup the 1999 data with the latest 2004 data and interactive maps as well. Click here for more.

Mike
Right-To-Know-More
MapCruzin.com

2007 Toxic Release Inventory on Google Earth

EPA released the latest Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) data on 03/19/09. We have made Google Earth maps of this data. Reports show chemical name and amount plus there is a link to RTK Net for a complete facility report for all years since the beginning of the TRI in 1987. Click here for the maps.

Mike
Right-To-Know-More
MapCruzin.com

A Proposal for National Economic Recover

A Proposal for National Economic Recovery: An Investment in Geospatial Information Infrastructure

Jack Dangermond, ESRI, jdangermond@esri.comAnne Hale Miglarese, Booz Allen Hamilton, Miglarese_anne@bah.com

Summary

America’s financial crisis, the worst since the end of World War II, will force difficult actions and deci-sions. Large expenditures of taxpayer money must be designed to yield products of long-term benefit to the country. America has an information economy, and a robust geospatial infrastructure (system of digital maps and tools) is just as vital to its continued development as was the physical infrastructure to the industrial economy. A National GIS, properly designed and effectively implemented, providing public access and using best technologies, will speed economic recovery by produc-ing jobs and putting shovels in the ground more quickly. It will also leave the country with a public utility, a modern geospatial information sys-tem, that itself can become a founda-tion for new generations of industries and technologies in the future... more

Free World Country and Region Maps for Download

We've begun to compile our lists of Free World Country and Region Maps and make them available for download. We're beginning at A and working our way to Z, one page per letter of the alphabet. We've got thousands of maps to list so it will take a week or so to accomplish. Visit MapCruzin.com and view or download the new maps.

GIS Career and Job Positions

We've added a new page bringing together links to GIS and related Career and Job positions. Visit the new page for more information.

Renewable Energy Potential Maps

I've added more free maps including: Renewable Energy Potential Maps of the United States, Terrorism Maps and War Maps. More to come on a daily basis so check MapCruzin.com often.

Free Weather Maps now available

I've added weather maps to the inventory of free maps.

Desparately Seeking Power Plant Data

Hi - Normally I post things here that I have found for you, but in this case, I'm hoping that you can help me find something to share with the rest. I'm looking specifically for GIS shapefiles or data that lists all types of power plants in the U.S. along with their address, type of generation (oil, natural gas, wind, etc) and production. Any help appreciated.

New GIS and Map Atlases for 2009

Welcome back - the holidays always seems to mean less time on the internet and more time doing other things. For 2009 we have several new GIS and Map Atlases for you including our Climate Change and Severe Weather, Energy, Demographics, Disaster, Hydrology, Ecology and Biology, Toxics and Transportation.

Look for the first two in the next couple of days.

As always, I'm eagerly awaiting your requests for maps that you'd like to see on MapCruzin.com so send them to me.

Thanks