Global Awareness Map

Consumer Action

Counting Aisles, Not Miles: Mapping Where Discount Stores Outpace Grocery in U.S. Towns

A growing number of U.S. communities have more dollar stores and small discount retailers than full-service grocers. This map-driven explainer looks beyond the food-desert label to show how store mix shapes fresh food access, local jobs, and household budgets, and what residents, planners, and shoppers can do about it.

Nov 11, 2026

Climate & Health

Where the Stack Stands and the Monitor Doesn’t: America’s Unmeasured Air

Regulatory air monitors are not distributed evenly, and neither is industrial pollution. This explainer maps where U.S. communities live near emissions sources without a nearby official monitor, explains how siting decisions leave gaps, and offers practical steps for residents who want the air they breathe to be counted.

Nov 10, 2026

Work & Family

When the Shift Starts, the Crib Closes: America's After-Hours Infant Care Deserts

Licensed infant care in most U.S. counties closes long before the evening shift ends. This map-driven explainer identifies where the mismatch is sharpest, describes the informal arrangements families fall back on, and outlines what employers and local officials can actually change.

Nov 10, 2026

Water & Environment

Metered by the Megawatt: Where Hyperscale Data Centers Land and Who Absorbs the Bill

The AI buildout is redrawing the U.S. map one substation at a time. This explainer tracks where hyperscale campuses are landing, how large-load utility tariffs and water permits are written, and what residents can usefully ask when a project arrives in their county.

Nov 10, 2026

Consumer Action

The Last Counter Standing: Mapping U.S. Pharmacy Deserts and the Patients Who Travel Farthest

Pharmacy closures turn routine refills into logistical ordeals in communities where distance, transit gaps, and chronic illness collide. This Global Awareness Map analysis explains how pharmacy deserts form, why they matter for adherence and emergency care, and what residents, local officials, and advocates can do.

Nov 10, 2026

Climate & Health

The Uninterruptible Need: Mapping U.S. Households Where Power Is a Medical Requirement

For households that depend on ventilators, oxygen concentrators, dialysis equipment, or refrigerated medication, an outage is a clinical event. This Global Awareness Map analysis maps where outage risk and home medical-device use overlap, explains backup-power barriers, and offers a preparedness checklist and policy actions.

Nov 10, 2026

Climate & Health

Degrees of Disadvantage: Mapping Where Extreme Heat Meets Homes Without Cooling

Satellite thermal data, tree-canopy inventories, and energy-burden records can be layered to reveal a quieter kind of climate risk: neighborhoods that heat up fastest and have the fewest means to cool down. This explainer outlines the science, profiles three U.S. communities, and offers a practical local action guide.

Nov 9, 2026

Consumer Action

The Receiving End of the Blue Bin: A Map of U.S. Recycling That Follows the Waste

Curbside recycling rates tell only half a story. A more honest map follows paper, plastic, and metals after the truck leaves — through sorting facilities, export terminals, and the communities that host the residue.

Nov 9, 2026

Water & Environment

Where the Water Table Sets the Agenda: Ten U.S. Counties Facing Aquifer Stress

Groundwater decline often stays invisible until it surfaces in a household well, a harvest, or a utility bill. This 2026 county-level explainer identifies ten representative places where aquifer stress is shaping daily decisions and shows how residents can follow the local water rules that matter.

Nov 9, 2026

Consumer Action

From Mine to Mailbox: Eight Everyday Purchases and the Supply Chains Behind Them

A smartphone, a cup of coffee, and a cotton shirt rarely arrive with a map of their own. This practical guide traces eight common U.S. purchases to the places and pressures behind them and explains what shoppers can verify, what they cannot, and where local advocacy can matter.

Nov 9, 2026