Energy and Environmental Law Research Guide

Browsing a few research guides is often a great way to begin creating a plan for your work. Research guides can quickly point you to reliable sources in an area of law or policy that isn’t yet completely familiar. 

Emory University Library Research Guides:

• Data Resources for International Environmental Policy 
• Emory Data Resources and Support: Environment
• Emory Data Resources and Support: Social Indicators
• Emory Data Resources and Support: U.S. States
• Emory Center for Digital Scholarship

Legal Databases

• Westlaw Environmental Data Resources

Non Legal Databases

• Proquest Statistical Insight :  Search statistics from federal agencies, IGOs, professional and trade organizations, commercial publishers, and  research organizations.
• OECD iLibrary:  Online library of statistical databases and ebooks with statistics including global development, migration, environment, and education.

General

• EPA Climate Indicators Explorer
• NOAA Climate Data: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration provides access to current and historical climate data.
• Census Data: Data from the US census, American Community Survey, and the Economic Census, with datasets, fact sheets, reference maps, surveys and estimates.
• Pew Research Center: Public polling data on U.S. politics and social trends, including Climate, Energy & Environment.
• Open Secrets(Center for Responsive Politics): Includes data and tables on political fundraising and spending by candidate, party, interest group, and PAC.
• National Atmospheric Deposition Program National Trends Network (NTN): The National Trends Network (NTN) provides data about precipitation chemistry from sites in the United States.
• NOAA Ocean and Coastal Tools: Ocean and coastal charts and images, including real-time and historic data on tides, currents, coastal zone management, oil and chemical spills, ocean hazards, and nautical charts.

Energy

• Department of Energy (DOE) Data Explorer: The DOI Data Explorer contains projects, collections, and datasets published by the US Department of Energy.
• U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA): The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) provides access to data on energy consumption, efficiency, prices, and distribution.

Emissions

• EPA Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks
• EPA Global Greenhouse Gas Emissions Data
• Sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions trading data​​​​​​​

Migration

• DataRefuge.org.  Helps to build refuge for federal data and supports climate and environmental research and advocacy.

Water

• Department of Interior Water Supply: 
• Water Use in the United States.  (USGS) The U.S. Geological Survey maintains national digital data bases of water-use information.
• Drinking Water Data & Databases (United States Environmental Protection Agency)  Data on safe drinking water, contaminants, and watersheds.
• USGS Water Data: The United States Geological Survey provides access to data on water flow, water levels, chemical and physical information, and water use.
• Water Quality Data (WQX) (United States Environmental Protection Agency) Water quality monitoring data.
• EPA Ground Water and Drinking Water Statistics
• National Water Quality Monitoring Council Water Quality Portal (WQP): The Water Quality Portal (WQP) contains water quality data from designated state, federal, tribal, and local agency sites in the United States.
• National Ground-Water Monitoring Network (NGWMN): The National Ground-Water Monitoring Network (NGWMN) provides current and historical data about groundwater data from wells across the United States.

International Data Sources

• Europa World Plus: Online version of the Europa World Yearbook. Information on countries of the world, including statistics on population, health and welfare, trade, and education. 
• Migration Policy Institute Data Hub: U.S. and international data on immigration and refugees
• Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project: Data analysis and crisis mapping on political violence and protest events.
• World Bank Water Data: Curated list of water data from the World Bank and other sources and institutions
• World Bank Environmental Data: The World Bank provides data on emissions, endangered species, land use, and more.
• NationMaster: Central data source to graphically compare nations
• Environmental Indicators from the United Nations Statistics Division: global environment statistics, maps, and charts on ten indicator themes compiled from a wide range of data sources.

MacMillan Library Hybrid Research Services:

          Monday - Friday: 9am - 5pm
          Saturday - Sunday: Closed 

MacMillan Library Building Hours (May 12, 2025 - August 18, 2025)*:

Monday - Friday: 9am - 6pm
Saturday - Sunday: Closed
*May 5 - 9: 8am - 8pm; May 12: 9am - 3pm

Reference Desk:
Monday: 1pm - 3pm 
Tuesday: 1pm - 3pm (Virtual only) 
Wednesday: 10am - 12pm
Thursday: 10am - 12pm (Virtual only)
Friday: Closed
Saturday and Sunday: Closed

IT Help Desk:
Monday - Friday: 
Saturday - Sunday: Closed

Emory Law Archives:
Physical archives: By appointment only.
Digital archives: More information available here. 
Limited remote services are available on a case-by-case basis. 
Questions?  Email Anna Sturgill, Law Librarian for Archives and Assessment Services