Click the static map to access the interactive map platform.
The “Energy, Environment, and Policy in the U.S.” map is developed by Ken Medlock and Elsie Hung at the Center for Energy Studies as an online, interactive tool to visualize and highlight the geospatial nexus of energy, environment, policy, and society in the United States. The map displays the nation’s critical energy infrastructure, environmental points of interest, and relevant election and demographics statistics at different levels of granularity. Users can select each layer to hide/display and explore the facility level details with clickable tooltips.
We hope to stimulate and facilitate pertinent discussions and research with this interactive tool. More importantly, it allows the users to effectively navigate key energy and environmental issues with a clear and complete picture of the nation’s infrastructure and demography.
The map will be updated regularly to incorporate additional, relevant layers and reflect the most recent data available. Please share feedback and suggestions you might have. Contact the authors at elsie.hung@rice.edu.
Two map layer sections are displayed on the right-side bar of the map:
Layer name |
Geometry |
Description |
Data Period |
Update Date |
Data Sources |
Infrastructure and Points of Interest |
|||||
Crude Oil Pipelines |
Line |
Crude oil pipelines with status, operator, type (interstate/intrastate), and capacity details |
2021 |
11/1/2021 |
Petroleum Economist |
Refined Product Pipelines |
Line |
Refined product pipelines with status, operator, type (interstate/intrastate), and capacity details |
2021 |
11/1/2021 |
Petroleum Economist |
Natural Gas Pipelines |
Line |
Natural gas pipelines with status, operator, type (interstate/intrastate), and capacity details |
2021 |
11/1/2021 |
Petroleum Economist |
Petroleum Refineries |
Point |
Existing petroleum and petrochemical refineries with operator, plant type, and capacity details |
2020 |
11/1/2021 |
|
Gas Processing Plants |
Point |
Gas processing plants with status, operator, plant type, and capacity details |
2021 |
11/1/2021 |
Petroleum Economist |
LNG Facilities |
Point |
LNG facilities of all status with operator and gas origin details |
2021 |
11/1/2021 |
Petroleum Economist |
Coal Mines |
Point |
Existing coal mines |
2021 |
11/1/2021 |
|
Hydrogen Facilities |
Point |
Hydrogen facilities with status, operator, type/color, and technology details |
2021 |
11/1/2021 |
Petroleum Economist |
Power Plants - All and By Fuel |
Point |
Existing power plants with operator, fuel type, and capacity details. Fuel type is categorized by color, and the size of the bubble indicates the power plant nameplate capacity. |
2021 |
11/1/2021 |
|
Electric Transmission Lines |
Line |
Electric Transmission Lines with status, operator, type, and voltage class details |
2021 |
11/1/2021 |
|
Direct Emitters 2019 |
Point |
Facilities that are considered large greenhouse gas emission sources by EPA's Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program. The layer includes NAICS industry category and 2019 direct emissions details. The size of the bubbles indicates the scale of GHG emissions by each facility in 2019. |
2019 |
11/1/2021 |
|
Superfund Sites |
Point |
Contaminated sites governed and funded by the federal Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA). The layer includes the site status details. |
2021 |
11/1/2021 |
|
Census Data and Raster Layers |
|||||
Earth at Night |
Raster |
Satellite images of the earth at night captured by NASA |
2016 |
11/1/2021 |
|
Active Oil and Gas Wells |
Raster |
Rasterized points of active oil and gas wells |
2020 |
11/1/2021 |
|
2020 House Election Results |
Polygon |
Winning parties by Congressional District during the 2020 House election. |
2020 |
11/1/2021 |
|
2019 Median Household Income by Congressional District |
Polygon |
Median household income by 116th Congressional District in 2019 by Census American Community Survey. Data is classified into five steps using natural breaks (Jenks) method. |
2019 |
11/1/2021 |
|
2019 Median Household Income by County |
Polygon |
Median household income by county in 2019 by Census American Community Survey. Data is classified into five steps using natural breaks (Jenks) method. |
2019 |
11/1/2021 |
|
2019 Unemployment Rate by County |
Polygon |
Unemployment rate in percentage by county in 2019 by Census American Community Survey. Data is classified into five steps using natural breaks (Jenks) method. |
2019 |
11/1/2021 |
|
2019 % of Employment in Upstream Fossil Fuel Industry by County |
Polygon |
Percentage of employment in oil and gas extraction, mining, and quarrying by county in 2019 by Census American Community Survey. Data is classified into five steps using natural breaks (Jenks) method. |
2019 |
11/1/2021 |
|
2019 Population Density by County |
Polygon |
Population density by county in number of people per square miles. Data is classified into six steps using the logarithmic scale method. |
2019 |
11/1/2021 |