Environment
There are a large number of sites of value for those interested in environmental issues.
Many are concerned with specific areas of environnmental problems or issues. The Federal
Government has some of the most useful. Among the first major sites on the Web was the US
Geological Survey. They have continued to maintain an active Web presence and a browser
seeking information would be well advised to consider one or more of their pages as a permanent
bookmark. Among the useful databases the USGS provides are a mapping service
For further information on environmental issues, consult one of the extensive guides to the
environment on the Web
Energy and Coal
Energy sites are also well represented on the Internet. Unlike many other areas of policy
interest, commercial organizations seem to be more plentiful in this area than organizations,
individuals and academic institutions. There are sites for Coal and Coal Mining:
Global Land Information System http://edcwww.cr.usgs.gov/webglis
and a geographic names database
Geographic Names Information System http://www-nmd.usgs.gov/www/gnis/gnisform.html
The US Environmental Protection Agency provides several sites of interest, especialy if
the browser is searching for information to assess environmental impacts. A few of the services
worth a quick tour at EPA are
USEPA http://www.epa.gov/
Environmental Indicators Interactive Map http://www.epa.gov/Indicator/county/map.html
Toxic Release Inventory http://www.epa.gov/indicator/county/WV-tri.html
National Spatial Data Clearinghouse http://nsdi.epa.gov/nsdi/
The West Virginia Division of Environmental Protection also has an interesting and useful
site under development. The Web can bring Geographic Information Systems to the user as well,
and the WVDEP has produced an on-line Geographical Information System (GIS) for its Web site
that is quite noteworthy.
WVDEP On-Line Interactive GIS Service http://poca.osmre.gov/form/frame-1.html
This site allows the browser to search any part of the state and generate maps with road, stream,
elevation and permit site information. In addition the WVDEP maintains a geographic name data
base and a street name database, both of which may be searched online. Pages like this are making
major strides in bringing valuable and otherwise costly information to the public. In addition, there
are large numbers of sites for enviromental science, environmental studies, activism, conservation,
ecosystem research, etc.
Natural Resources Research http://www.vt.edu:10021/Y/yfleung/nrrips.html
Information Pages
Yahoo! http://www.yahoo.com/Society_and_Culture/Environment_and_Nature/
Internet Resources for Energy and http://www.polsci.wvu.edu/nrcce/intguide.html
the Environment
Coal-Net (Charleston, WV) http://www.coal-net.com/
Ashland Coal, Inc. http://invest.quest.columbus.oh.us/InvestQuest/a/aci/
Consolidation Coal Company http://www.conoco.com/intl/consol.html
MiningUSA http://www.miningusa.com/
Info-Mine http://www.info-mine.com/
and electric power generation
The Electric Power Research Institute http://www.epri.com/
Allegheny Power http://www.alleghenypower.com/
American Electric Power http://www.aep.com/
The National Research Center for Coal and Energy at West Virginia University has a
number of home pages related to the centers and programs for which it is responsible. The
National Mine Land Reclamation Center, the Alternate Fuels Vehicle Training Program and the
National Small Flows Clearinghouse all provide information of utility to WV policy makers and
individuals with energy related concerns. The NRCCE provides research and technology transfer
in a number of energy and environmental areas.
National Center for Coal and Energy Research http://www.nrcce.wvu.edu
National Mine Land Reclamation Center http://www.nrcce.wvu.edu/Programs/nmlrcorg.html
Environmental Services and Training Division http://www.nrcce.wvu.edu/Programs/estdorg.html
A Day in the Life on the Web
Perhaps the most amazing aspect of the Web is how it will quickly become a part of daily
routine. Just as E-mail has proven a very effective and lowcost addition to both public sector and
private sector workplaces, the Web will become an indispensable tool for almost any business. A
brief list of some services currently available which might save the browser considerable time or
effort, and often expenditure, should further demonstrate the globalization of the information
world.
News Sources
The Web has become a convenient place to obtain daily news as well. Most news sources
such as local newspapers and magazines as well as the television networks provide a limited
subset of their daily coverageonline. There are of course larger news providers and sites that
charge for their service as well. Most of these sites serve to entice the browser to subscribe, but
one or two sites can be quite useful for a quick check for the prominent headlines of the day.
National
Weather
Let us not forget to check the weather. Need to check on the travel conditions for that trip
in the morning? Look at The Weather Channel's current conditions and surface map as well as the
AM forecast.
Lastly, there are enumerable reference sources of value popping up all the time, For
instance, if you need to find a ZipCode, try
Many of us are always on the search for new business or consulting opportunities, so a
search of the
The Washington Post http://www.washingtonpost.com
(The West Virginia Page) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/50states/wv.htm
Yahoo! Headlines from Reuters http://www.yahoo.com/headlines
CNN http://www.cnn.com/
The New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/
The Christian Science Monitor http://www.csmonitor.com/todays_paper/graphical/today/index.html
West Virginia
The Charleston Gazette http://www.wvgazette.com/
The Charleston Daily Mail http://www.dailymail.com/
In addition, new services pop up continually, as well as merge with each other. Two prominent
news sites, PoliticsUSA and ElectionLine recently merged to provide on of the best political news
sites on the Web.
PoliticsNow http://www.politicsnow.com/
This site is sponsored by ABC News, the Los Angeles Times, the National Journal, Newsweek
and the Washington Post. It offers extensive coverage of politics kept, quite literally, up to the
minute. A quick look at PoliticsNow can be as indespensible as a check of the headlines in the
local newspaper.
The Weather Channel - http://www.weather.com/USA/WV.htm
(Current Conditions for WV)
The Weather Channel http://www.weather.com/images/curwx.gif
(Current Surface Map)
The Weather Channel http://www.weather.com/images/amfcst.gif
(AM Forecast)
And, if needing to drive in the face of an impending winter storm, look at the nearest weather
radar summary.
Intellicast Radar Summary http://www.intellicast.com/weather/crw/radsum/
(for Charleston, WV)
Intellicast Radar Summary http://www.intellicast.com/weather/pit/radsum/
(for Pittsburgh, PA)
Useful Reference Materials
The US Postal Service Zip Code Lookup http://www.usps.gov/ncsc/aq-zip.html
Maybe you need to find a telephone number of a long lost friend last known to live in Montana.
Lycos PeopleFind http://www.lycos.com/pplfndr.html
The Switchboard http://www.switchboard.com
(Telephone Directory of the US)
Look up a pithy saying to put on your Web page.
Bartlett's Quotations http://www.columbia.edu/acis/bartleby/bartlett/
Find a better word for pithy by using Roget's Thesaurus.
Roget's Thesaurus http://www2.thesaurus.com/thesaurus/
Perhaps "trenchant?" Since Peter Roget wrote this classic in 1852, the copyright has lapsed to the
public domain. The Web is particularly vulnerable to borrowing information and anyone involved
with a Web site should become well acquainted with copyright concerns.
The Copyright Website http://www.benedict.com/homepage.htm
Set your watch, or computer, with the correct time.
US Naval Observatory Clock http://tycho.usno.navy.mil/time.html
(Official US Time)
Figure out what that http at the front of every URL in this article means
BABEL: A Glossary of Computer http://www.access.digex.net/~ikind/babel96b.html
Oriented Abbreviations and Acronyms
Ok. It's HyperText Transport Protocol.
Commerce Business Daily http://www.govcon.com/
can be an indispensable asset by providing a large number of opportunities for businesses,
consultants, academics, and occasionally government agencies. While this site does require
registration prior to use, it does not charge for access. It also has a routine e-mail update service
for automatically notifying the registered user of selected bids and contracts.