Major Research Tools

Bioethics

Full-Text, Reference

Encyclopedia covering topics related to bioethics, including genetically modified foods, social justice, sustainability, and chemical warfare.


Encyclopedia of Food and Agricultural Ethics

Full-Text, Reference

Articles on issues pertaining to the full range of topics in the area of food and agricultural ethics.


Environment Complete

Full-Text, Index

Database covering the journal literature of environmental sciences, including applicable areas of ecology, energy, geography, pollution & waste management, law, public policy, and urban planning.


GeoRef and GeoRef in Process

Index

Indexes the literature of geology, including journals, books, conference proceedings, maps, and USGS reports.


GeoScienceWorld

Full-Text, Index

Full-text of scholarly journals in geology integrated with GeoRef, an index of geological literature.


Google Scholar

Gateway

Search engine for scholarly materials including journal articles. Be sure to use FullTextFinder to link to Lafayette's resources. Note: if accessing from off-campus, sign in, go to "Settings" and search in the "Library Links" section for "Lafayette." Check "Lafayette College - Lafayette FullTextFinder" and click save to make FullTextFinder appear in search results.


GreenFILE

Index

Coverage: 1970s-present

Database of scholarly, governmental, and general-interest articles and books covering all aspects of human impact on the environment.


National Geographic Virtual Archive

Full-Text
Coverage: 1888-2015

Full text, full page archive of National Geographic from the first issue through 2015. Pages have been digitized in color, including advertisements, and has features to browse search by image or browse by issue.


Nature.com Complete

Full-Text
1845-present

Full text access to most of Nature publishing group's journals, including current and archival access to Nature and Scientific American.


Web of Science

Index

Index covering the journal literature of science, technology, and the social sciences. Allows you to search for a topic, an author, or for articles that cite a known author or work. Includes citation metrics and funding information.


Other Suggested Research Tools

AGRICOLA

Index
The premier index for agricultural literature. Produced by the USDA National Agricultural Library.

Annual Reviews

Full-Text, Index

Index coverage: vol. 1 - present; Full-text coverage: 1996-present

Full text of articles reviewing the scholarly literature for a variety of topics in the physical, biomedical, and social sciences.


BioOne

Full-Text, Index

Coverage: 2000-present

Access to collection 1 with over 70 peer-reviewed journals in the life sciences. Coverage for most journals begins in 2000.


Center for International Earth Science Information Network

Data, Gateway

A center within Columbia University's Earth Institute, CIESIN provides an extensive gateway to data and other information focusing on human interactions in the environment.  Provides a topic search as well as subject access to spatial and tabular data sets held by CIESIN or hosted on its web site. 


Climate Data Online

Data

Climate Data Online (CDO) provides access to NOAA's archive of global historical weather and climate data in addition to station history information. These data include quality controlled daily, monthly, seasonal, and yearly measurements of temperature, precipitation, wind, and degree days as well as radar data and 30-year Climate Normals.


E&E Publishing

Full-Text

Daily news coverage of environmental and energy policy and markets via Environment & Energy Daily, Greenwire, Land Letter, and E&ENews PM.


EM-DAT: The International Disaster Database

Data, Reference

Data on the occurrence and effects of mass disasters in the world from 1900 to present. Includes country-level data on deaths, number of people injured or affected, and economic impact. Free registration required.


Encyclopedia of Life

Full-Text, Reference

Database of information on each of the named species on Earth. Includes information on ecology and evolution of the species as well as descriptive information. From a consortium of leading natural history museums and research institutions.


Encyclopedia of Life Sciences

Full-Text, Reference

Authoritative encyclopedia articles by scientists covering the biological sciences.


Encyclopedia of Religion and Nature

Full-Text, Reference

Articles on "the relationships among human beings, their environments, and the religious dimensions of life."


Energy Information Administration

Data, Gateway

Statistics and analysis from the U.S. Energy Information Administration


Envirofacts

From the EPA, map various types of environmental information, including air releases, drinking water, toxic releases, hazardous wastes, water discharge permits and Superfund sites. See also a broader set of Geospatial Resources from the EPA.


Evolution of the Conservation Movement, 1850-1920

Full-Text

Part of the Library of Congress' American Memory project, this site documents the history and culture of the conservation movement in the U.S. It includes digitized books and pamphlets as well as photographs.


International Energy Agency

Data, Gateway

Statistics, news and publications from the International Energy Agency


IPCC - Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

Full-Text, Gateway

Repository for reports and documents on the climate and the environment, produced by IPCC and component groups. 


Knovel

Full-Text, Reference

Database providing technical data and information from hundreds of engineering reference sources, including handbooks, material and chemical property data, and interactive elements such as graphs, equations, and tables. 10 subject areas covered: Chemistry & Chemical Engineering; Civil Engineering & Construction Materials; Engineering Management & Leadership; Environment & Environmental Engineering; Food Science; General Engineering & Project Administration; Industrial Engineering & Operations; Mechanics & Mechanical Engineering; Oil & Gas Engineering; Process Design, Control, and Automation; Sustainable Energy & Development; Transportation Engineering.


Monthly Climatic Data for the World

Data

Monthly mean temperature, precipitation, and other climatic data for weather stations from around the world dating back to 1948.


National Centers for Environmental Information

Data, Gateway

Provides access to wide range of services and sources for geophysical data. Areas include weather and climate, geomagnetism, earth observations from space, space weather and solar events, natural hazards, marine geology and geophysics, and ocean depth data.


National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Climate.gov

Data, Gateway

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Climate.gov is a source of timely and authoritative scientific data and information about climate. Features news, data, maps, and policy information.


National Water Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program

Full-Text

Assesses more than 50 river basin and aquifer systems. Includes data, summary reports, maps, and press releases. Search by state, basin, or topic such as pesticides, ecology, and urbanization.


NETR Online

Database of environmental records collected from various local, state and federal organizations with information pertaining to Superfund sites, suspected contamination, compliance and violation concerns, etc.


New York Academy of Science Archives

Full-Text
Coverage: 1817-present

Digitized archives including the Academy's records, minutes, and memos, as well as the papers of Academy members and Fellows, which include scientific journals and correspondence detailing scientific findings.


Oxford Encyclopedia of the History of American Science, Medicine, and Technology

Full-Text, Reference

Articles covering key individuals, institutions, and organizations responsible for major developments in science, medicine and technology in the U.S. as well as the concepts, practices, and processes underlying these developments.


PLANTS Database

Reference

From the U.S.D.A., this database provides standardized information about the vascular plants, mosses, liverworts, hornworts, and lichens of the U.S. and its territories. It includes names, plant symbols, checklists, distributional data, species abstracts, characteristics, images, Web links, and references.


Societal Aspects of Weather

Gateway

From the Center for Science and Technology Policy Research at the University of Colorado at Boulder, this site offers an extensive collection of links to numerous weather and disaster-related topics such as tornadoes, hurricanes, lightning, and floods. Injury and damage statistics, weather policy, and emergency management links are also featured.


Three Mile Island 1979 Emergency

Full-Text

Site from Dickinson College covering the nuclear emergency at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant. Includes a collection of primary sources, such as utility industry reports and pamphlets, government documents, local newspaper articles, and interviews.


Toxicological Profiles

Full-Text

Toxicological profile information sheets are available for more than 250 hazardous substances found at National Priorities List (NPL) sites. Profiles are peer-reviewed and include health effects, chemical and physical information, regulations, a glossary, and references to key studies and other literature. Prepared by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), a division of the CDC.


U.S. Climate at a Glance

Data

Current and historical temperature and precipitation data back to 1895 for selected cities, states, regions, and the nation.


U.S. Climate Resilience Map

Gateway

Interactive map that strives to build the resilience of people and communities across the United States through the clear identification of climate risks and social vulnerabilities and the corresponding solutions to address them. Refine by state or county and view by different layers of risk such as heat, drought, flooding, wildfires, and increased precipitation.


U.S. Global Change Research Program

Gateway

Gateway site on global change including data, programs, research reports, and policy information. From the Data and Information Working Group, a collaboration of eight U.S. agencies including the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy.


Web Soil Survey

Data

Detailed data on soil in counties across the U.S. From the Natural Resources Conservation Service of the USDA.


World Resources Reports

Full-Text

Reference volumes on global environmental and natural resource conditions and trends.


Yale Environment 360

Full-Text

Online magazine from Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies. Features news and analysis on environmental issues.