It’s easy to suggest countries become greener in terms of energy, reduce consumption and increase renewable sources. It’s far more difficult to balance the environmental and economic costs with that shift. The BBC developed a simple energy calculator, which allows people to play UK politicians who have to “make the tough decisions needed to keep the UK’s lights on in 2020, while balancing environmental concerns and cost”
The energy calculator is very easy to use– it has a nice user interface and graphical output. It explains how the calculations are made, in case you want more information. Obviously the calculator is not meant to be an accurate model but to visualize the impacts of being green.
I tried it a number of times and each time exceed energy demand. This means that I’ve either picked the wrong career or I assume that I can get the public to reduce consumption a lot more than they will.