The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released long-awaited climate change emissions data today on an interactive website that clearly shows who the nation's biggest polluters are where they're located.

For the first time, the public can see where these industrial sources are emitting pollution in their communities. The website provides data on about 6700 industrial plants based on 2010 pollution discharges. Plants include those that produce cement, iron and steel, petroleum refiners, and pulp and paper manufacturers.

The program covers major industrial sources that emit 25,000 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent or more a year.

You can sort by geographic area and industry sector, and compare emissions among facilities. And you can share the information using social media tools such as Facebook and Twitter.

The information will strengthen corporate governance and sustainability by providing rigorous, facility-based pollution data that tracks pollution levels for comparison with other facilities. It will likewise provide investors with transparent information, helping them to put their money in leaders, not laggards.

The release of the data is part of a program, called for under the FY 2008 Omnibus Appropriations Act signed into law by President George W. Bush in December 2007 (H.R. 2764; Public Law 110-161).

Since 1995, fossil-fuel fired power plants over 25 megawatts have been required to report carbon emissions under the Clean Air Act, but this new website also includes other greenhouse gases: methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, sulfur hexafluoride and other fluorinated gases.