About
This tool is called the Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool. The tool has an interactive map and uses datasets that are indicators of burdens in eight categories: climate change, energy, health, housing, legacy pollution, transportation, water and wastewater, and workforce development. The tool uses this information to identify communities that are experiencing these burdens. These are the communities that are disadvantaged because they are marginalized by underinvestment and overburdened by pollution.
The current version of the tool is version 2.0.
How to use the tool
The tool shows information about the burdens that communities experience. It uses datasets to identify indicators of burdens. The tool shows these burdens in census tracts. Census tracts are small units of geography. Census tract boundaries for statistical areas are determined by the U.S. Census Bureau once every ten years. The tool utilizes the census tract boundaries from 2010. The tool also shows land within the boundaries of Federally Recognized Tribes and point locations for Alaska Native Villages.
The tool ranks most of the burdens using percentiles. Percentiles show how much burden each tract experiences compared to other tracts. Certain burdens use percentages or a simple yes/no.
A community is considered to be disadvantaged if they are located within a census tract that meets the tool’s methodology or are on land within the boundaries of Federally Recognized Tribes.