FEATURE
ENVIRONMENT ON-LINE A Guide to Internet Resources The new medium is gradually establishing itself as an essential tool for environmental professionals. TONY REICHHARDT
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s veteran Internet users and now millions of newcomers have discovered, the Internet is both a fascinating and a frustrating new information medium. Despite the omnipresent hype that has surrounded the Internet in the past two years, the medium can be plagued by inexplicable technical glitches and delays, and the "information" itself is often mundane or tedious. As a result, many remain skeptical of what the Internet has to offer. Among environmental professionals, the general level of Internet familiarity is "typically very low," obAlan Schueler of North Carolina State University who is working with EPA to distribute environmental training materials on the Internet's ^Vorld Wide Web That perception may soon change, however, as the quantity and quality of environmental information on the Internet continue to improve, and the medium itself improves technologically to become a robust tool for finding and retrieving large amounts of information, instantly and globally. Already the Internet provides access to substantial data archives, EPA and other government agency materials, searchable indexes of federal and state regulations, and on-line forums on a wide range of specialized environmental topics. The trick, however, is learning how to efficiently navigate the vast expanses of cyberspace to find the information you can use. This article offers a brief guide to current online resources for environmental professionals and new applications that are being developed. Internet tools range from the relatively simple electronic mail "listservs" and data transfer capabilities such as gopher and ftp (file transfer protocol) to the World Wide Web, the multimedia bazaar that is the Internet's hottest growth area. It is with the Web that data, images, sounds, and automatic "links" to other Internet sites are available. Because Web browsers are being expanded to allow access to electronic mail, 7 6 A • VOL. 30, NO. 2, 1996 / ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY / NEWS
gopher, and other functions, other Internet resources are increasingly becoming available through the Web. Hundreds of environment-related Web sites exist on the Internet. Government agencies, university departments, environmental groups, and consulting firms have established sites on the Web, and many others are rushing to do so. With so much activity, the problem is to avoid becoming overwhelmed by information. "There's almost too much," says Schueler, who would like to see four or five large environmental sites emerge from the pack, each specializing in a particular subject "so people would know they only have to go to one of a few gateways to find almost anything." Getting lost in the Web In the meantime, the Internet remains a bit of a maze, and one of the first tasks facing the environmental professional is learning how to sort through all the noise to locate specific information. One relatively easy starting point is to use one of the numerous general-purpose Web search "engines" such as WebCrawler, Lycos, and InfoSeek. The user simply submits a query word or words—say "Toxics Release Inventory" or "arsenic"—and waits for a list of references to appear on the screen. Each reference includes the document's URL, or Web address. These search engines are not foolproof, however, and none is guaranteed to find every reference, but they inevitably turn up a plethora of information. Another method is to go to a comprehensive and well-organized Web site or "home page" and start browsing. Several home pages—including EPA's (2) and unexpected ones like "The Practicing Attorney's Home Page" maintained by Internet Legal Services (2)—contain extensive links to other environmental sites. EPA's home page is "a great effort," says Thomas Wackerman, president of Applied Science and Tech0013-936X/96/0929-76AS12.00/0 © 1996 American Chemical Society
nology, Inc., an environmental services company in Ann Arbor, Mich. According to Wackerman, who also teaches a course on environmental information management at Wayne State University, this Web home page is one of the more valuable sites on the Internet for the environmental professional. The site can ^ M M J be busy, however, which often makes data retrieval a slow process. The main site contains data archives, software, regulations, publications, and general information for the public. Selecting "Rules, Regulations, and Legislation" leads to a searchable index of Federal Register notices so nnvironmental topics. Other offerings include a manual outlining methods for measuring the toxicity of effluents, posted by the Office of Water; a summary of the EPA "Air Quality Trends" report for 1994, with information on ordering the full document; and the full text of the EPA Science Advisory Board's dioxin reassessment draft report. The site also has links to EPA offices, regions, and laboratories. For example, a link from the agency's Kerr Laboratory in Oklahoma leads to, among other places, a repository of downloadable DOS programs, courtesy of EPA's Center for Exposure Assessment Modeling.
For more information Readers interested in additional information on environmental Internet resources can access a brief supplemental listing from £S
