The New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (NHDES) has released an updated and enhanced version of the New Hampshire Environmental Dashboard. To help New Hampshire citizens get a sense of the state’s environmental well-being, the dashboard provides the public with a status report on a short list of key environmental indicators, which can be viewed individually or collectively in the form of a report card. The re-tooled dashboard can be accessed on the New Hampshire DES website by clicking on the dashboard icon on the left hand side of the webpage or the link posted under “What’s New” on the homepage.
The indicators cover the spectrum of environmental topics including air pollution, coastal waters, contaminated property, drinking water, lakes, rivers, waste management, water availability, and wetlands. The discussion of each indicator includes an overview, a summary of the current condition or trend, and information on how NHDES is addressing the topic area. For those readers desiring a more in-depth look at a particular environmental indicator or related information, helpful links are proved as well. The report card provides an evaluation of each indicator represented by either a green up arrow indicating a positive condition or trend, a yellow sideways arrow for a cautionary condition or trend, or a red downward arrow for a negative condition or trend.
New to this version of the dashboard are enhanced interactive graphs and maps that allow the reader to more easily navigate the environmental data and information for each indicator than in the previous version of the dashboard. NHDES hopes that the information provided via the dashboard will continue to expand and welcomes feedback and suggestions for improvement.
For more information regarding the dashboard, please contact Jim Martin of New Hampshire.
