When you bought a smartphone, you might have unknowingly given up a lot of things that can damage the environment. Tree-slaughtering phone books, for instance, have no place in a world where people can easily find numbers online. Your ability to save the environment doesn’t have to stop there. Choosing the right apps for your smartphone could lead you to a greener lifestyle without forcing you to ride your bike to work in 100-degree weather. Check out these seven apps to find some great places to start.
Recycling is Easy With iRecycle
Recycling seems like an easy concept until you start to look at the details. Can you recycle a plastic bottle stamped #1? How about a bottle stamped #4? Do you know the closest center that recycles Styrofoam?
You might not know, but iRecycle does.
The iRecycle app uses GPS to find recycling centers in your area and then tells you what materials those centers accept. Even better, this smartphone app gives you the contact information of the center and directions from your current location. You can then share your recycling adventure through Facebook, Twitter, email, and SMS.
Find Local Food with Locavore
Sometimes it’s hard to find a restaurant or market that focuses on locally raised foods, especially when you travel out of your neighborhood. The Locavore app shows you nearby farmers’ markets as well as restaurants that offer a selection of dishes prepared with local ingredients. The app isn’t free, but you can easily afford it when you find deals on T-Mobile prepaid cell phones.
Use GoodGuide to Shop with Confidence
You want to make consumer choices that won’t have a negative impact on the environment. Given the large number of products in any given store, however, you can’t possibly know everything about every item… unless you have GoodGuide.
When you use your smartphone’s camera to scan a product’s barcode, GoodGuide will tell you how that product impacts the environment. If you’re buying a jar of peanut butter, it might tell you whether the jar is recyclable and whether the manufacturer has a good reputation. With GoodGuide, you don’t have to worry about savvy marketing that misuses words like “natural” and “healthy.” You get the real scoop without any spin.
Become an Expert with Environmental Educator
The Environmental Educator app gives you daily, short videos and weekly lessons that teach you how to lead a life that makes as little impact as possible on the environment. Within a few months, you will know much more about the environment than the average person does.
VZ Navigator Gets You There Faster
Everyone knows that cars dump tons of pollution into the air. We drive them, though, because we often don’t have many other options. Unless you live in a city with excellent public transportation, you either drive a car, walk, or ride a bike. In many cases, this means you have to drive your car even if you feel like it’s a necessary evil.
VZ Navigator helps reduce the negative impact that your car has on the environment by helping you make smarter, better informed driving choices. The app’s GPS technology will show you how to reach your destination faster so that your car burns less fuel. It will even help you avoid heavy traffic, so you don’t have to sit on the freeway spewing toxic chemicals into the air with everyone else.
If you decide to walk or take your bike, VZ Navigator can still help you reach your destination by avoiding highways and other dangerous roads.
In the Know With Eco & Green Dictionary
Terms like “carbon footprint” and “smart grid” can leave well-intentioned people feeling left out of the conversation. Eco & Green Dictionary is here to help. It has definitions for over 800 words commonly used when discussing the environment. This way, you never have to feel uninformed or out of step. Eco & Green Dictionary also offers quizzes that help broaden your vocabulary and environmental understanding. By the time you’re done, people will have to look up the words that you can now use casually.
Green Footprint Calculator Keeps You in Check
Do you know how much carbon dioxide your car creates when you drive to work? Green Footprint Calculator will tell you. It will also tell you how much energy your home appliances burn. Use it regularly for the inspiration you need to keep your life in check.
These are just a few of the apps that you can use to build a greener life. What other apps have you found that help you make smarter decisions?
Image Credit : Smarter
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