Track or Treat
Protect yourself from public health frights that might be lurking in your neighborhood!
Carbon monoxide, UV and sunlight, poor air quality… these are just a few of the public health frights that may be haunting your neighborhood! Check out the animated public health themed Halloween cards from CDC’s Environmental Public Health Tracking Network to learn more about the connection between our health and the environment. (Click images below to view a larger version.)
31 Days of Track or Treat
Join CDC’s Environmental Public Health Tracking Program as we celebrate Halloween all month long with 31 days of “Track or Treat.” Follow along as we share some public health frights in addition to Tracking’s unique data, tools, and resources. The Halloween season may be filled with frights, but staying informed can help protect you all year long!
Don’t be in the dark! Illuminate areas of concern with several of our topic-specific dashboards to help public health planners, the media, and the public stay informed about extreme heat, environmental justice, and more!
Knowledge of historical data about a community is essential for many public health practices, such as program planning and epidemiologic studies. For example, understanding unique community characteristics, such as flood vulnerability, land use, and medical infrastructure, can help establish priorities and take proper actions during the emergency or disaster response.
We may not have a crystal ball, but did you know CDC’s Tracking Program displays modeled county-level data to look at projections of extreme daytime and nighttime temperatures to better understand how our climate is changing?
Radon causes over 21,000 lung cancer deaths each year. Every home should be tested for radon so individuals living there can see if their home has elevated radon levels and take steps to reduce it, if needed. View radon test data on CDC’s Tracking Network today!
Want better information for better health? CDC’s National Environmental Public Health Tracking Network brings together health data, such as health status, and environmental data, such as active Atlantic cyclones (hurricanes) in a jurisdiction, from national, state, and city sources. Additional supporting information, including mapping and points of interest, help to make the data easier to understand.
CDC’s Tracking Program provides information from a nationwide network of integrated health and environmental data that drives actions to improve community health. Check out the wide variety of topics of we track to help reach our vision that “data-informed decisions create healthy communities.”
When examining chronic diseases and their potential connection to the environment, it is important to consider lifestyle risk factors that could play a role in their development. Explore lifestyle risk factor data such as alcohol use, physical activity, smoking, and more on the Tracking Network today!
Did you know Tracking Network data can be used to prepare for and respond to natural disasters or other public health emergencies? With customizable maps, charts, and tables, our data explorer allows you to view data related to wildfires, precipitation & flooding, heat vulnerability, & more. Use our tools and stay prepared!
Environmental justice may seem mysterious, but it’s just the idea that all people are entitled to equal protection from environmental and health hazards and equal access to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies. View environmental justice data or use our dashboard today!
Did you know certain factors, like sex, age, or income, can influence an individual’s health, risk for certain diseases, and risk for being seriously affected by public health emergencies? The same is true for population groups. From demographic data to health status and more, you can view data on populations and vulnerabilities on the Tracking Network today!
Make informed decisions to better prepare for an emergency or natural disaster. CDC’s Tracking Network presents a variety of data that can help inform public health actions, evaluate potential scenarios, and identify community-specific hazards. Learn more about preparedness & response data on the Tracking Network.
High quality drinking water is important to public health. Learn more about the types of drinking water contaminants CDC tracks and view community water system data with our Data Explorer tool.
Community design can have a positive impact on public health by encouraging healthy choices. View data on transportation, commute times, and access to parks and schools on CDC’s Tracking Network.
The environment affects children differently than adults. Because their bodies are still growing, children are at greater risk if they are exposed to environmental contaminants. See some ways you can protect kids from public health frights.
Make sure your house isn’t haunted by carbon monoxide (CO) or radon! Install CO detectors and test your home for radon. The environment in your community also affects your health. Check for environmental health issues in your zip code.
As a result of the changing climate, serious weather events such as heat waves, droughts, floods, and tropical cyclones (hurricanes) happen more often. Explore data on flood vulnerability and other climate change indicators on the Tracking Network.
The Tracking Network has over 500 environmental health measures for you to explore. It’s also the only place where you can find nationally comparable data on UV radiation and radon! What a treat!
Students: Are you looking for unique data for your thesis project? There’s a field of 2 billion rows of nationally comparable data on the Tracking Network, ready for you to run through!
The Tracking Network is continually improving based on the latest data science and technology. Learn about our latest real-time data overlays, such as tropical cyclones (hurricanes), wildfire smoke, and current radar!
Make sure your house isn’t being haunted by carbon monoxide! Install a carbon monoxide (CO) detector and check the batteries regularly. Keep all generators or gasoline powered engines at least 20 feet from any door, window, or vent.
- Learn how to protect your family from CO poisoning.
- Explore CO poisoning data and learn why we track CO on the CDC Tracking Network.
Excessive sunlight and UV radiation exposure can come back to haunt you – it causes most melanomas (skin cancer).
- Protect the skin you’re in.
- Learn more about ultraviolet radiation.
- Explore sunlight & UV data and learn why we track sunlight & UV on the CDC Tracking Network.
We dare you to make a map and share it with your friends and family! The Data Explorer on CDC’s Tracking Network allows you to make customizable maps, charts, and tables on 471 environmental health measures.
- Carve up a map on the Data Explorer.
- Learn more about CDC’s Tracking Network.
Did you know that air pollution can affect your heart health?
- Learn how the environment can affect heart health.
- Explore heart disease data on the CDC Tracking Network.
Don’t fall off your broomstick at this news: pollutants like ozone and PM 2.5 (very small particulate matter, like smoke or dust) can cause lung problems.
- Check the AQI (Air Quality Index) for where you live.
- Learn more about particle pollution and how it affects your health.
- Find out how ozone can affect your health.
- Explore data on outdoor air quality levels on the CDC Tracking Network.
- Visit the Tracking Network to learn more about the health impacts of fine particles in the air.
Howl at the moon with healthy lungs! Not smoking can lower your risk for COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease).
- Start your quitting journey today!
- Explore COPD data and learn how the environment affects COPD on the CDC Tracking Network.
- Learn more about COPD and how to protect your health.
Some important indoor asthma triggers are: secondhand smoke, dust mites, air pollution, and mold. Know your triggers and have medication on hand in case you are exposed.
Explore asthma data and learn why we track asthma on the CDC Tracking Network.
The most effective way to reduce exposure to pesticides is to use non-pesticidal control methods to reduce or eliminate pest problems.
- Learn how pesticides can affect your health.
- Learn more about integrated pest management.
This silent killer could be lurking in your basement – radon that is! Exposure to radon can lead to lung cancer and other problems – so be sure to get some radon test kits & test every level of your home! (And also check for scary clowns while you’re at it.)
Learn more about radon and explore radon data on the CDC Tracking Network.
Beware — where there’s fire, there’s smoke! Wildfire smoke can harm you in multiple ways.
- Protect yourself from wildfire smoke.
- Want to see current wildfire smoke in your area? You can now add a wildfire smoke overlay to any map on the Tracking Network. Select Map Options (gear icon), and then Select Overlay Layer: Surface Smoke. Try it out!
- Learn more about wildfires and why we track wildfire smoke on the CDC Tracking Network.
Tracking has over a billion lines of data on health & environmental topic areas – and you don’t need eye of newt, just an internet connection. Brew up some data.
Something spooky in your neighborhood? Type in your zip code and get a custom infographic about environmental health in your community with Tracking’s Info By Location.
About the Tracking Network
The Tracking Network makes environment and health data easy to access and use, helping people stay healthy where they live, work, and play. Visit the Tracking Network to explore over 500 environmental health data measures, including ones featured above!