This website shows data from three major sources.
The first dataset shows the calculated emissions of greenhouse gases and air pollutants for the states of Louisiana and Mississippi. These data come from the Emissions Database For Global Atmospheric Research (EDGAR), a global dataset that we have analyzed for these two Gulf-south states. (A list of the chemicals analyzed can be found here, and details on the EDGAR data source and our methods can be found below, and in the manuscript by Kolker and Weathers). These data are presented for each year between 1970 and 2021 for greenhouse gases, 1970 and 2018 for most air pollutants, and 1970-2012 for the element mercury, following data availability.
The EDGAR data are presented two ways. The first method shows the emissions for each county in Mississippi and each parish in Louisiana, and the second way shows the EDGAR raw data, which presents pixel squares that represent an area approximately 6 1/2 miles long by 6 1/2 miles wide. (Technically, these pixels are 0.1 degree by 0.1 degree, but we use the approximate mileage for convenience.)
The second data set presents the greenhouse gas emissions from stationary facilities, like power plants, refineries, and manufacturing centers. These data come from the US Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Facility Level Emissions Greenhouse Gas Emissions (FLIGHT) database. This database shows the location of each facility that emits more than 25,000 metric tons of CO2e, as well as many facilities that emit less.
While the EPA's FLIGHT database contains many of the large facilities that emit greenhouse gases, it does not include every source. Some facilities, like small shipyards or craft breweries are often too small to be required to report their emissions. Also, the database does not include transportation sector- emissions from cars, trucks, trains, and boats. (The transportation sector is included in the EDGAR database, and a close inspection of the raw EDGAR data shows emissions along major highways like Interstate 10 and Interstate 20.) The FLIGHT data are presented from 2010- when the FLIGHT reporting program began- to 2021, the most recent year for which data are available.
The third dataset this website presents is demographic data for Louisiana and Mississippi. We primarily use data from the US Census' Decadal Survey, using the years 1970, 1980, 1990, 2000, 2010, and 2020. Presented is the poverty rate (percentages of families below the poverty line, specifically) for each parish, and the racial composition of the two largest racial groups in each county/parish, Black and white residents, as well as the combined presence of additional racial groups.
We hope this information will help empower people who are concerned about environmental injustices in the Deep South. But we also recognize that there is no single metric that explains every demographic group, every social harm, or every individual story. We hope this tool helps advance conversations about environmental injustices, and we recognize this tool may not show every story, every experience, or every harm.