Living green is a choice and a very satisfying one at that. “We have not inherited the land from our fathers, we have borrowed it from our children” goes a quote by Dennis J. Hall. Small everyday actions by everyone can make a huge impact on our environment. And if these actions are for the good of our environment, we can help make this world a much better place.
For those of us who don’t know how we can make a difference, yet are motivated to take some real actions, this list is for you. The following apps will help you reduce your carbon footprint by assisting you to make sustainable and healthier choices.
- iRecycle
Earth 911’s vision says their mission is to create environmentally sound citizens that are willing to drive impactful environmental changes. Their app iRecycle is available for Android and iOS and is an excellent resource for green enthusiasts. If you want to recycle, the app will track your location and inform you of resources nearby and how to reach them. It will also send you tips and tricks on how to make your recycling game better.
- A Real Tree
This app is built around a very simple, yet powerful idea. The app is available for 99 cents and whenever someone purchases it, the proceeds go to planting a real tree. This app has over the years provided the financial resources to groups like Trees for the Future and United Nations’ Billion Trees missions. Right now, the app is available only on iTunes.
- Green Meter
Green Meter has emerged as a popular tool. It’ll tell you about how efficiently you are spending on your fuel. This app provides really helpful insights such as fuel consumption in real time, alerts for when your vehicle will need a tune-up. For now, this app is available on iOS.
- Green me!
For people who want to up their green living game, this app is the best. Allowing people to set personal goals and providing them with a timeline of their progress, this app allows you to go a step further than the day before. You can list five eco-friendly things you did on a day. The more actions, the darker is the green shade in the integrated calendar in the app.
- Avego
Avego is a really innovative app designed to make carpooling easier. This app helps car owners to alert people who are looking to carpool and headed in the same direction as the driver. On being alerted the carpoolers can meet and go to their destinations. At the end of a passenger’s trip, the app shows how much gas money the passenger owes the driver. This is a win-win situation for all parties involved.
- Water1der
Water1der was created with the intention to educate individuals about water. It teaches about to surface as well as groundwater, about how it is a finite resource and needs to be used judiciously. It is a quiz app that has various sections such as multiple choice, true/false, missing letters, and matching columns. Aimed at educating kids, this app is an easy way to teach your kids the importance of water.
- Joule Bug
Joule Bug helps one with a platform to manage small tasks over the course of the day to make a positive difference to the environment. There are hundreds of achievements to complete and it also sports a global leaderboard. Achievements range from combining your tasks to complete them in a trip to building your own compost in the yard.
- GoodGuide
GoodGuide, in simple words, is a directory that has information of over 200,000 consumer items with regards to how eco-friendly they are. It also provides you with sustainable and safer alternatives to what you are buying.
- Light bulb finder
We need an artificial light on a daily basis. It is easy to imagine how a small saving in everyday consumption can lead to substantial savings over time. Light bulb finder helps you find suitable light bulbs for your requirement. It also allows users to buy light bulbs straight from the app.
- Paper Karma
We all receive unwanted mail in our mailboxes which, regardless, is a cost to the environment. Paper Karma is an app that can save us from this junk mail. All you have to do is take photos of your junk mail using Paper Karma and this app will unsubscribe you automatically. Just make sure the photo is clear and has your address, the sender’s address and also of the mail received.
Even though not everyone talks about following a cleaner, healthier way of life, we all know we would enjoy the benefits of such a lifestyle. These apps may just provide the push needed to take the plunge towards a sustainable, ethical way of living that is beneficial to not only humans but every living being on Earth. They have the power to change our attitude, out mindset and finally turn our intentions into actions.