Environmental Planning for Small Communities
This program offers a complete one-stop introduction to a wide range of environmental issues and decisions that affect small to medium-sized communities. It offers communities the chance to judge their own needs and preferences, and to make informed decisions on their own. Major sections cover:
- Environmental laws and regulations
- Self-assessment
- Planning and comparative risk analysis
- Financial tools and financial self-analysis
- Case studies
- Contact and information directory
Each section includes interactive tools, such as a notebook tool to fill in and save survey forms and keep notes. The program combines and integrates numerous publications from Federal agencies and States like Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, and Utah. The result is a user-friendly product that combines the virtues of an encyclopedia and a Swiss army knife!
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Municipal Pollution Prevention Diagnostic Planner
Based on the Wisconsin Dept. of Natural Resources' Compliance Maintenance Annual Report, this hypertext-based program serves as an early warning system for wastewater treatment plant operators. The user supplies information on influent loadings, discharge monitoring data, pretreatment, financial status, failures and upsets, and other aspects of plant operation and maintenance. Point values are assigned to potential problem areas and the resulting report is saved to a file which can be printed.
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Household Waste Management
This HTML program teaches the user how to safely and efficiently manage waste, and particularly hazardous waste, in the home. Users can visit a 'virtual house' and
choose extended discussions of the many products they might encounter there. Safe homemade alternatives are presented and evaluated. An enormous state-by-state database of mail, telephone, and Internet contacts puts users in touch with a wealth of free downloadable publications. Includes over 30 quizzes and activities for K-12 students, sorted by grade level.
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Chemical Contamination in Fish
Intended for State and local governments which deal with fish advisories, and people who fish for sport or subsistence, this program explains bioaccumulation, issuance of advisories and risk reduction techniques (including cooking and filleting tips). Users can search a list of chemical contaminants and learn about their effects, or see photos of
target species. The program also presents fish collection and survey methods used in determining whether a fish advisory is needed.
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Agriculture Pollution Prevention
Interactive hypertext format and numerous color graphic screens show how farmers can save money and reduce pollution by sensible use of fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides.
This general introduction to an important field was prepared by real farmers. Suitable for farmers,homesteaders, cooperative extension services, students, and
environmental professionals.
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Lead in the Environment
A detailed look at the health problems posed by lead. Learn about testing children for lead poisoning. This hypertext program presents sources of lead, health effects, and techniques for reducing lead exposure in and around the home. A quiz helps users review what they have learned, and the reference section points them to local, regional and national sources of information and help. Also available in Spanish.
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Indoor Air Quality
Indoor air quality problems carry a high degree of human health risk. This program explores how the environment of a typical home or office affects indoor air quality. Colorful building cross-sections offer users self-guided home, office and pollutant tours.
Sources of various indoor air pollutants are discussed, along with associated health risks for each pollutant, and how to reduce pollutant levels.
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Fuel Storage Practices on the Farm
Hypertext and color graphics provide an overview of the importance and techniques of proper fuel storage.The risk assessment portion prompts the user to describe how petroleum products are stored and then evaluates the safety of these practices and provides detailed informationabout any problems discovered through the questionnaire.
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Pollution Prevention
The Pollution Prevention Act of 1990 established source reduction as the preferred approach to
environmental protection. P2 can save money, reduce liability, and improve efficiency, worker safety, and competitiveness. This program outlines the relevant environmental legislation and addresses P2 in industry, agriculture, energy, government, and consumer sectors. Examples include more efficient manufacturing
processes, alternative products and procedures that generate less or more benign end products, and ways to reduce the amount of raw materials used.
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Wetlands Education System
Learn about the definition and classification of wetlands, what types of plants and wildlife are common to wetlands and the importance of the wetlands ecosystem in flood and erosion control, water purification and groundwater recharge. Digitized photographs and hypertext are used extensively to illustrate the different wetland types from bog to swamp. A
beautiful introduction to this important and controversial ecosystem.
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MineralLogic
MineraLogic is a novel educational database designed to help students learn mineralogy. The program database contains the 70 minerals most commonly found in introductory-level classes. Advanced database and search features are included, and the database has no limit to the number of minerals that can be included. MineraLogic is well designed and simple to navigate. It offers students who are new to mineralogy a logical and systematic method of learning to identify minerals. |
Periodic Table of the Elements
This is the premiere computerized periodic table of elements. It contains 112 elements, with 800+ isotopes and 500+ radioactive decay trees. You can graph element properties and print nearly every window. It also contains a molecular weight calculator. The element names have been updated to conform to the recently approved IUPAC names. Periodic Table is designed for use by individuals ranging from students of chemistry, chemistry hobbists, industry professionals, and researchers as well as educators.
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Plantgro - Predict the Growth of Plants
Plantgro provides a way of recording the environmental likes and dislikes of hundreds of plants. It then stores the information so that it can be used to predict the growth of those plants. Plantgro deals with 22 environmental factors including light, nutrients, salinity, temperature, water supply, waterlogging, and wind. Effects of any one of these factors can also be linked to plant quality--e.g., the taste of a fruit. |
Electronic Wetlands Herbarium
A detailed look at the plants typical of 11 different wetland types from bog to wet prairie. After an introduction to a particular type of wetland, the user can explore a list of species found in that ecosystem. Each entry gives detailed botanical information as well as a VGA or SVGA photo of the plant. The outstanding photos are indentification quality and most were supplied by the Morton Arboretum. Examples are taken from the U.S. Midwest region.
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Stratospheric Ozone Depletion
Stratospheric ozone depletion is an environmental threat with global effects, including ecological and human health risks. This program includes information and graphics depicting the ozone layer, how ozone is created, causes and effects of ozone depletion, the ozone hole, the greenhouse effect, and how an individual can help prevent ozone depletion. The program also examines applicable government legislation, including portions of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990. |
Residential Energy Efficiency
This program shows effective ways to reduce home energy consumption. Topics include insulation, windows, doors, weather-stripping, and caulking. The expert system feature allows users to calculate how much they will save by making their homes more energy efficient. After you enter information about your home and the energy-saving changes you intend to make, the program uses local utility and climate data to calculate your savings in money, energy, and reduction of pollutants. Useful for everyone from the general public to utility managers.
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Soil and Geologic Site Evaluation
This software uses hypertext and graphics to provide information about the roles that soils, geology and depth to groundwater play in the protection of groundwater. A risk assessment portion helps determine the potential for contamination at a site based on information
supplied by the user. |
Rock Cycle
This simple program helps geology students learn about the neverending rock cycle. Find out how sedimentary, metamorphic, and igneous rocks are all made of the same stuff. Then follow them through the amazing physical changes that can turn coal into a diamond, or rock into sand.
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Solar sizer
SolarSizerTM is a professional tool for designing and sizing photovoltaic systems. It uses a graphic interface to simplify the process of choosing components and making cost and energy calculations. This interface allows a range of users from novice to expert to use SolarSizer as a real world PV design tool or as an educational program.
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Solar 5.5
Displays 3-D plots of hourly energy performance for a whole building or for any of 16 different components. It also plots heat flow into/out of thermal mass, and indoor air temperature, output of the HVAC system, cost of electricity and heating fuel, and the corresponding amount of air pollution. It uses hour-by-hour weather data, and can call RATES in the background to calculate detailed electricity costs. It has many special commands like overlay, post-it, and compare. Also included is RATES, a utility that contains over 170 residential and commercial electric rates It lets SOLAR-5 show ratepayers a detailed picture of their energy costs. A manual for RATES is included in WordPerfect format. Also included is S5SS, the SOLAR-5 Spread Sheet, that formats data recorded in an actual building or in a laboratory experiment.
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Therm (not downloadable, must request free copy by mail)
Models two-dimensional heat-transfer effects in building components. The user can draw, trace, or import a graphic file of the cross section to be analyzed. The user introduces the environmental conditions to which the component is exposed by defining the boundary conditions surrounding the cross section. Results can be viewed in terms of U-factors, isotherms, heat-flux vectors and local temperatures.
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Home Energy Checkup
A guide to saving money and increasing comfort in your home while reducing energy use and pollution at the same time! You can select from among 14 kinds of energy efficiency choices, see how much money and pollution you can save, find out where to get energy efficient products, and get tips on how to act on your choices.
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Business Energy Checkup
A guide to saving money and preventing pollution through energy efficiency steps you can take in your business. Business Energy Checkup helps you identify a wide range of energy efficiency options for your building.
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