New EPA Map Establishes a Connection Between Pollution and Poverty

This Map Shows the Frightening Overlap Between Pollution and Poverty
This Map Shows the Frightening Overlap Between Pollution and Poverty
Photo: Gizmodo

EJSCREEN is a new interactive mapping tool released by the Environmental Protection Agency which lets you visualize tons of location data the agency has collected on both pollution and poverty, on top of clickable, draggable and zoomable maps.

EJSCREEN, which anyone can use through the EPA's website, pulls in the agency's pollution data and intersects it with census data, so users concretely see where groups and industries are being particularly destructive to the environment, and where people are being disproportionately exposed to pollution. It overlays 12 environmental indicators, such as air particulate matter, lead paint and proximity to waterway dischargers, with six demographic indicators, including low income populations and percent minority.

The EJSCREEN maps are color coded to show different levels of pollution, with grey representing low levels of pollution and and bright red for the highest levels. On the poverty map, gray represents low levels of poverty, red high.

Matt Coneybeare

Matt Coneybeare

Editor in Chief

Matt enjoys exploring the City's with his partner and son. He is an avid marathon runner, and spends most of his time eating, running, and working on cool stuff.

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