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When I sat down to write a story about green apps, I thought to myself, "Wait, arent all apps green?" Putting aside the environmental demands of manufacturing the devices that run them, apps themselves don't use fuel or paper. But there are apps that go a step beyond all that and actually promote environmentally conscious awareness, attitudes, and behavior.
To create this list, I spent a month sifting through app stores, my own collection, and my friends' collections, and I used as many as I could for as long as I could stand. So here you have five of my favorite green apps available today:
This Bay Area app lists all the public transportation within the city. You click on the train, bus, or other system you would like to take, then choose the line, pick the direction and it tells you when the next one will be at the closest stop to you. The app is efficient, handy, and usually spot-on for timing, which is very useful when out and about in the city. More often than not, you aren't wanting to leave the comfort of your apartment, restaurant, or club just to sit on a bench, or in a seedy train station. This app eliminates guess-work and saes serious wait-time. For more information, check out this video.
2. Flashlight (all platforms):
Why buy batteries and a clunky flashlight when you have one in your pocket all the time? Granted the Flashlight App for Blackberry gives off stronger light than the one for Android and the iPhone, since it uses the flash on the camera instead of brightening the screen. Most flashlight apps are free and every platform has its own. So there is no need to be scouring your local convenience store for C batteries anymore. I've been out camping several times and realized I reached out for my smartphone for illumination more than my flashlight. Now I don't recommend this if you are in the deep woods, but for fumbling around your house in the dark, its perfect.
3. GoodGuide (iphone, android, web):
Is a Yelp for green items. It shows you which products are better alternatives to standard brands and where to find them. The app ranks the items on a scale based on health, environment, and society effects. For example Method Dish Soap got a rating of a whopping 9.2/10 versus Safeway's Automatic Dishwashing Lemon Scented, which came in at 6.7/10. Which would you buy?
4. Wunderlist (iphone, ipad, android, windows, mac):
This app has greatly reduced the random slips of paper and sticky notes that have always littered my desk and apartment. Wunderlist organizes your tasks, lists and to-do items and adds deadlines and favorites.
5. Craigslist (iPhone, android):
Recycling your stuff and picking up other people's things they would have otherwise thrown away is a great way to be green. This app is laid out very similarly to the website and great for on-the-go browsing. I've used the CL for a lot of furniture. I believe in karma, so I do give as much as I take, if not more. Last summer while moving out of my apartment, I posted all of my furniture on CL. A woman called me in a hurry, desperately wanting my dining room table and chairs. I said I'd wait. She was there in no time, with an older man and her son and daughter. The little girl looked at her mom and said, "I could do my homework on that." Her mother looked at me embarrassed and said, "we don't have any tables in the house, we couldn't afford it." Right there. That's when I knew it was worth it. Sure,I could have sold the set for a pretty penny, but this was so much better. Want to feel good while being green? Turns out there's an app for that.
Laura Pieroni is the Project Coordinator for Youth Radio's Mobile Action Lab: 25 young people partnering with pro developers to create a portfolio of apps serving community needs. The Mobile Action Lab was a 2010 winner of the MacArthur Foundation's Digital Media and Learning Competition and is backed by the National Science Foundation.
To read more Turnstyle news and explore high quality multi-media features, visit Turnstylenews.com. Follow us @turnstylenews and on Facebook.
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