Greening your iPhone with eco-friendly apps
These days it seems like everyone has an iPhone, and as the commercial goes, if there’s anything you wish you could do with your iPhone, there’s an app for that.
While some apps may seem relatively unnecessary (Do I really need yet another game? Probably not.) others have proven really helpful and worth the price.
In my opinion, the growing number of so-called “green” apps fall into that category. Here are a few that are worth checking out.
Green Genie
One of my favorites, this app offers suggestions of more than 100 projects that will make you more green. From larger projects installing a low-flow shower head to smaller ones like bringing reusable bags to the grocery store, this app helps you live more sustainably.
Cost: $0.99
Carbon Footprint
This app helps iPhone users calculate their car’s carbon footprint by tracking information when at the pump. By entering a few pieces of information, the app helps you track statistics that can help you improve your driving efficiency and lets you set goals to decrease your monthly emissions. For people always on the go, the app also factors emission for planes and trains.
Cost: FREE!
iPhorest
What I like about this app is that it’s an easy way for people to do some real good for the environment. As a result of the iPhactory’s partnership with The Conservation Fund and Ecolife, with every iPhorest app purchased, a real tree is planted along the Gulf Coast. Although there’s not much to the app itself (it allows you to plant a grow a virtual tree), the value lies in the simple, no-effort contribution it lets people make to the environment.
Cost: $4.99
GoodGuide
As more and more products claim to be natural and green,this app helps shoppers know which are actually good for themselves and the environment. You simply scan the barcode of the item and you immediately see detailed ratings for health, environment and social responsibility for more than 50,000 products and companies. The goal behind this app is not only to make information transparent to consumers and make it easier to shop smarter, but also to encourage companies to offer even better products.
Cost: FREE!
The list of green apps goes on and on. What are some of your favorites?
Elizabeth Chapin (@ejchapin on Twitter) is a Senior Project Manager at Mom Central and recent Cornell University grad still trying to adjust to life in the “real world.”
