Most of us use maps to help us know where we’re going. As a journalist, I’m just as intrigued by maps that tell us where we’ve been, who we are, what we’re made of and how we treat each other.
So I was especially interested in last week’s unveiling of an online, interactive map of Washington state that lets users see, for the first time, how their communities rank for environmental-health hazards like diesel emissions, potential lead exposure and proximity to toxic waste.