Information is power. And, the Environmental Defense Fund has empowered all of us by providing a very important, free tool to anyone with access to the Internet. The tool is called the Scorecard, which is to polluters what Santa Claus is to children. It records which polluters have been naughty and which have been nice.

First, here is the Internet address for this important site: http://www.scorecard.org/. It can also be accessed from the Environmental Defense Fund's web site, found at http://www.environmentaldefense.org/.

When you log onto this information rich web site, the first thing that you may notice is the news update. On the particular date I visited, the Scorecard advised that the EPA was considering toughening pollution emission requirements for large trucks. The site explained that this is important because large trucks, which account for 2.5% of the vehicles on American roads, are responsible for 26 percent of the pollutants emitted from vehicles. The rules will help eliminate this disparity and clean our air.

While the news updates are helpful in terms of keeping us in the know, they are just the appetizers. The great stuff relates to the site's powerful, interactive map. By clicking onto the map, you can find out how dirty (or clean) is your neighborhood, or anywhere in the country. Many data sources were merged together to produce an extremely powerful resource.

Scorecard will identify a pollution releasing factory in your vicinity, or provide you with general air quality information. A section on harmful air pollution provides another breakdown relating to cancer producing pollution. And the site names names. You will be told which facility is polluting and what is it that is being released. Also, an explanation is provided for each toxic chemical, including health effects known to be associated with exposure to a particular nasty chemical. You can also personalize the Scorecard so that it automatically monitors your neck of the woods.

By entering a zip code into the program, you'll receive an overview of the pollutants that are being released into your community and the names of the factories and other facilities that are responsible for generating those toxins. In addition, the site also provides a list of the top 100 locations in the United States ranked by cancer risk. Numero Uno on that list is zip code 77705, which we're told is a Texas community (south of Beaumont). Number two is 77015, unfortunately another Texas community (east of Houston). But in case Texas feels lonely, in truth it is hard to find a State that does not appear on this list.

Why would you want to use the Scorecard? Are you buying a new house? If so, you can check out your new neighborhood's environmental health before you move. Do you suspect a disease cluster and are searching for answers? If so, this might provide answers. Are you thinking about buying a water filter? This web site might tell you what kind of toxin needs to be cleaned by your filter. In short, if you care about the quality of your air, water and soil, you should visit this important site.

Now, did I mention that the site is sponsored by the Environmental Defense Fund? This organization has an agenda, and it is not always a big fan of business. What I am telling you is that while this is a good resource, it is not the gospel. Use it, but do not put all of your faith in it.

In addition, the site does not provide all of the answers. For example, while we are told about the nature and amount of pollutants in our communities, we are not told whether the overall picture is unhealthy. We are left to our own resources to interpret the information being provided.

To many, looking at this Internet site is a lot like reading the precautionary interactive information for any medicine. Just as every drug looks like it can kill its users, many communities have pollution profiles that seem similar to that of Love Canal. Do not automatically assume that your community is a death trap. Much more likely than not, such an assumption would be greatly unwarranted.

Despite these caveats, the Scorecard really is a useful tool. May I suggest that you bookmark it and visit the site often. This is such a fine example of the strength of the Internet and we should thank the EDF for making this information available to everyone, at no charge.

The information provided in this column is written by Stuart Lieberman,a practicing environmental attorney, and is for general information purposes only. It is not legal advice and should not be used in place of legal advice.

Stuart Lieberman, Esq., and IRED.Com, Inc., will not accept any responsibilty for any reliance on the information in this column or any damages whatsoever resulting from reading this column.