About the Map

The “Energy, Environment and Policy in the U.S.” map is developed by Kenneth B. Medlock III 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 tool tips. In 2023, we also released a drilled-down community map to highlight additional data on environmental justice and energy transitions at the Census block group level.

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 by contacting the authors at elsie.hung@rice.edu.

Map Versions and Updates

US National Level Map: The latest update to the map layers and interfaces was made on January 10, 2024.
New layers include:

  • Natural gas storage
  • CCUS projects
  • 2024 House open seats
  • 2024 Senate open seats
  • 2022 House election results
  • 2022 Senate election results
  • Dominant heating fuel by county

US Drilled-down Community Map: The map was released on January 13, 2023.
Data coverage period for individual layers are listed in the table below.

User Interactivity

  • [New] location search geocoder: Fly to the input location.
  • Checkbox layer filtering and dynamic legend display: Legends only appear under the checked layers for filled maps with Census data
  • Clickable facility-level detail tooltip
  • Dynamic cluster display: Select point layers are displayed in dynamic clusters by zoom level. Zoom in to see all facilities

Layers and Data Sources

Two map layer sections are displayed on the right-side bar of the map:

  • Infrastructure and Points of Interest contains critical energy infrastructure and facilities of environmental importance, and
  • Census Data and Raster Layers include complex raster layers such as NASA Earth At Night and select Census demographic data at congressional district and county levels.

     

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

2023

1/5/2024

Energy Web Atlas

Refined Product Pipelines

Line

Refined product pipelines with status, operator, type (interstate/intrastate), and capacity details

2023

1/5/2024

Energy Web Atlas

Natural Gas Pipelines

Line

Natural gas pipelines with status, operator, type (interstate/intrastate) and capacity details

2023

1/5/2024

Energy Web Atlas

Refineries

Point

Active and planned conventional and renewable refineries with operator, facility type, capacity, and feedstock details

2024

1/5/2024

GlobalData

Gas Processing Plants

Point

Active and planned gas processing plants with status, operator, plant type, and capacity details

2024

1/5/2024

GlobalData

Natural Gas Storage

Point

Active and planned natural gas storage facilities with status, operator, working gas capacity, withdrawal rate and storage type details

2024

1/5/2024

GlobalData

LNG Facilities

Point

LNG facilities of all status with operator and gas origin details

2023

1/5/2024

Energy Web Atlas

Active Mines

Point

Active mining sites with details on operator, development stage, primary commodity, and mine type.

2024

1/3/2024

Capital IQ

Coal Mines

Point

Existing coal mines

2023

1/3/2024

EIA

Hydrogen Facilities

Point

Hydrogen facilities with status, operator, type/color, and technology details

2023

1/5/2024

Energy Web Atlas

CCUS Projects

Point

Carbon capture, utilization, and storage facilities with status, operator, project type and purpose details

2024

1/3/2024

GlobalData

Power Plants -  All and By Fuel

Point

Existing power plants with operator, fuel type and capacity details. Bubble color is assigned by fuel type and the size of the bubble indicates the power plant nameplate capacity.

10/4/2023

1/5/2024

EIA

Electric Transmission Lines

Line

Electric Transmission Lines with status, operator, type, and voltage class details

2022

1/13/2024

HIFLD

Direct Emitters 2022

Point

Facilities that are considered large greenhouse gas emission sources by EPA's Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program. The layer includes NAICS industry category and 2022 direct emissions details. The size of the bubbles indicates the scale of GHG emissions by facility in 2022.

2022

1/2/2024

EPA

Direct Emitters 2021

Point

Facilities that are considered large greenhouse gas emission sources by EPA's Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program. The layer includes NAICS industry category and 2021 direct emissions details. The size of the bubbles indicates the scale of GHG emissions by facility in 2021.

2021

1/13/2023

EPA

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.

2024

1/3/2024

EPA

Census Data and Raster Layers

Earth at Night

Raster

Satellite images of earth at night captured by NASA

2016

11/1/2021

NASA Earth Observatory

Active Oil and Gas Wells

Raster

Rasterized points of active oil and gas wells as of January 2024

2023

1/8/2024

Enverus (DrillingInfo)

2022 House Election Results

Polygon

Winning parties by Congressional District during the 2022 House election.

2022

1/2/2024

MIT Election Data Science Lab

2024 House Open Seats

Polygon

House seats where the incumbents are not running for re-election in the 2024 House elections. Colored by incumbent party.

2024

1/2/2024

Ballotpedia

2022 Senate Election Results

Polygon

Winning parties by Congressional District during the 2022 Senate election.

2022

1/2/2024

Ballotpedia

2024 Senate Open Seats

Polygon

Senate seats up for election in 2024. Colored by incumbent party.

2024

1/2/2024

Ballotpedia

Median Household Income by Congressional District

Polygon

Median household income by 118th Congressional District from the latest 5-year Census American Community Survey. Data is classified into five steps using natural breaks (Jenks) method.

2022

1/2/2024

Census American Community Survey

Median Household Income by County

Polygon

Median household income by county from the latest 5-year Census American Community Survey. Data is classified into five steps using natural breaks (Jenks) method.

2022

1/3/2024

Census American Community Survey

Unemployment Rate by County

Polygon

Unemployment rate in percentage for population age 16 and over by county from the latest 5-year Census American Community Survey. Data is classified into five steps using natural breaks (Jenks) method.

2022

1/3/2024

Census American Community Survey

% of Employment in Upstream Fossil Fuel and Mining Industry by County

Polygon

Percentage of employment in oil and gas extraction, mining, and quarrying by county from the latest 5-year Census American Community Survey. Data is classified into five steps using natural breaks (Jenks) method.

2022

1/3/2024

Census American Community Survey

2022 Population Density by County

Polygon

Population density of 2022 by county in number of people per square miles. Data is classified into six steps using the logarithmic scale method.

2022

1/3/2024

Census County Population Totals

2022 Unemployment Rate for People with less than High School Diploma by County

Polygon

Unemployment rate in percentage for population age between 25 and 64 with less than a high school diploma by county from the latest 5-year Census American Community Survey. Data is classified into five steps based on overall unemployment rate.

2022

1/3/2024

Census American Community Survey

2022 Unemployment Rate for People with High School Diploma by County

Polygon

Unemployment rate in percentage for population age between 25 and 64 with a high school diploma or equivalent by county from the latest 5-year by Census American Community Survey. Data is classified into five steps based on overall unemployment rate.

2022

1/3/2024

Census American Community Survey

2022 Unemployment Rate for People with Associate Degree by County

Polygon

Unemployment rate in percentage for population age between 25 and 64 with an associate degree or equivalent by county from the latest 5-year Census American Community Survey. Data is classified into five steps based on overall unemployment rate.

2022

1/3/2024

Census American Community Survey

2022 Unemployment Rate for People with Bachelor Degree or Higher by County

Polygon

Unemployment rate in percentage for population age between 25 and 64 with a bachelor degree or higher by county from the latest 5-year Census American Community Survey. Data is classified into five steps based on overall unemployment rate.

2022

1/3/2024

Census American Community Survey

2022 Dominant Fuel for Home Heating by County

Polygon

Color displays the most used heating fuel by county from the latest 5-year Census American Community Survey. Note that the percentage of most used fuel ranges from 21.85% to 100%. See Census ACS Table S25040 for original data.

2022

1/3/2024

Census American Community Survey

 

Additional Layers Included in the Drilled-down Community Map 

Layer name

Geometry

Description

Data Period

Update Date

Data Sources

Infrastructure and Points of Interest

Treatment, Storage, and Disposal Facilities (TSDFs)

Point

RCRA-regulated treatment, storage, and disposal facilities with details on operator, status, and waste management type.

2023

1/13/2023

EPA RCRAinfo

Public Transit Routes

Line

Public transit service routes as of September, 2022 extracted from the National Transit Map.

2022

1/13/2023

Department of Transportation

Census Data and Raster Layers

Tribal and Native Lands

Polygon

Boundaries of American Indian/Alaska Native/Native Hawaiian reservation areas and home lands. See source page for more information.

2020

1/13/2023

US Census

% People of Color by Block Group

Polygon

Percentage of population by block group who are not identified as non-Hispanic white-alone individuals.

2021

1/13/2023

EPA EJSCREEN

% of Low Income Population by Block Group

Polygon

Percentage of population by block group in households where the household income is less than or equal to twice of the federal poverty level.

2021

1/13/2023

EPA EJSCREEN

% of Less Than High School Degree Population by Block Group

Polygon

Percentage of population by block group over age 25 whose education level is less than high school diploma.

2021

1/13/2023

EPA EJSCREEN

% of Linguistically Isolated Population by Block Group

Polygon

Percentage of population by block group living in limited English speaking households. (All members speaking a non-English language and having difficulty with English)

2021

1/13/2023

EPA EJSCREEN

% of Under Age 5 Population by Block Group

Polygon

Percentage of population by block group under age 5.

2021

1/13/2023

EPA EJSCREEN

% of Over Age 64 Population by Block Group

Polygon

Percentage of population by block group over age 64.

2021

1/13/2023

EPA EJSCREEN