The House Natural Resources Committee Democrats have released the “eVIZ” app. Using animated maps and charts, eVIZ allows you to visualize 3 aspects of America’s energy system: fuel economy savings, U.S. energy production and consumption, and extreme weather costs (download here).
I’ve spent a while using the app, and the most interesting part is the data-rich mapping of energy production and consumption:
The Energy Visualizer: An interactive 3D map of the United States enables you to see U.S. energy production and consumption in a whole new way. Learn about efficiency, and energy trends over time. You can even create state-by-state comparison and set up multiple variables for looking at energy data in map or graph form.
The app has yearly data going back decades, covering every state, for various forms of energy consumption and production. You can create an animation showing the explosion of Montana coal production or Texas wind production.
You can also chart the costs of extreme weather events, including Hurricane Sandy, droughts, wildfires and floods:
Extreme Weather: An animated look at the costs and scope of extreme weather events, including Hurricane Sandy, droughts, wildfires and floods.
Finally, you can calculate how much money a more fuel-efficient car will save you at the gas station:
It’s a great app — and free. Download it here.