I don’t know if you guys are aware of it but today is Blog Action Day, an annual event that unites the world’s bloggers in posting about the same issue on the same day. The goal is to raise awareness and trigger a global discussion about important issues. This year’s topic is climate change so we selected a few applications that will help you lower your environmental impact on our planet.
iLocavore
iLocavore (download for free) will be your mobile tool for finding locally grown foods and locally made products at home and on the road. Never get stuck shopping at the big box stores or the giant chain restaurants again. You will always be able to find the independent retailer, the farmers’ market, the restaurant that supports local farms. Really experience the local scene when you travel, and easily support your local economy, local farmers, artisan producers, and independent retailers while at home.
Carticipate
Save money on gas while helping the environment by carticipating with friends, family, groups, or co-workers. Coordinate driving plans, carpool, or a ride share by indicating where you are going, when, and post your ride. The app will match you to local carticipants going your way. Carticipate (download for free) is also available on Facebook, for those friends of yours unfortunate enough not to have an iPhone and want to rideshare.
iRecycle
iRecycle (download for free) makes it easy to access over 100,000 recycling and disposal locations for over 200 materials anywhere in the United States. Find places to drop-off your old cell phone, get directions and find out what else they accept. With information provided by local governments, industry insiders, organizations and everyday consumers, you can recycle hundreds of products from packing peanuts to computers.
Carbon Tracker
Carbon Tracker (download for free) enables you to manage your personal carbon footprint from commuting, vacations, or business trips. Use the iPhone GPS feature to determine the approximate distance of each leg of your trip, select the mode of transportation, and let Carbon Tracker calculate your carbon footprint. Set monthly maximum footprint goals, and play an important role in helping to reduce carbon emissions globally.
greenMeter
greenMeter (download for $5.99) is an app that computes your vehicle’s power and fuel usage characteristics and evaluates your driving to increase efficiency, reduce fuel consumption and cost, and lower your environmental impact. If you’re into hypermiling or eco-driving, want to make your transportation more efficient, or are simply interested in maintaining a green lifestyle, give greenMeter a try! It pays for itself within 1-2 tanks of gas.
Green Outlet
One of the easiest ways to save money is to reduce your electric use and while you save money on your bill your also helping save the environment. Green Outlet (download for $2.99) helps you identify which of your household appliances are costing you the most to run so you can make informed decisions about your electric use. By selecting the types of appliances you use in your home and entering how many hours of use per day for each green outlet will give you a detailed list of what your appliances are costing you and will show you how to save money.
GenGreenTips
Many people are dedicated to going green on Earth Day, but we believe making small changes are the way to take better care of the planet every day! GenGreenTips (download for free) will suggest a Green Tip of the Day that you can use to decrease the environmental impact of your daily routine in a small, but significant way.
AllOrganic
Want to eat healthy and naturally? Want to help reduce the negative impact that we have on the environment? Find it difficult to locate and find establishments that sell & serve organic and local foods? Then AllOrganic (download for $0.99) is for you. AllOrganic is a green resource for people who want to eat healthy, and eat organic in the city you live in, or while traveling.
Cruelty-Free
Published by the Coalition for Consumer Information on Cosmetics’ (CCIC) Leaping Bunny Program, Cruelty-Free (download for free) is a shopping guide that lists over 200 U.S. and Canadian companies that do not test ingredients, formulations, or finished products on animals. The Leaping Bunny Program certifies that no new animal testing is used, so you can be confident about your cruelty-free choices.
GoodGuide
GoodGuide (download for free) helps you find safe, healthy, and green products while you’re shopping in the store. GoodGuide strives to provide the world’s largest and most reliable source of information on the health, environmental and social impacts of products and companies. This app makes it fast and easy to get the information you need, to help you make better decisions on everyday purchases based on what’s important to you.
Do you use green apps? Let us know in the comments…