I just recently heard about EPA’s Apps for the Environment contest. It’s an idea for leveraging EPA’s data to inform the public about the environment, and I think it’s a fabulous idea — particularly because EPA has a lot of datasets. Applicants for EPA’s contest aren’t restricted to coding for mobile devices, but there’s something about a mobile framework that makes it a natural framework for communication about the environment. UX Magazine author Rachel Hinman argued that mobile devices really shine in contexts of place, spatial relationships, and temporal relationships. Simply put: the environment isn’t just “out there” somewhere; it’s also right where we’re standing, and these days we’re typically standing with mobile devices in our hands.