5 Apps To Help Make You More Eco-Friendly

Every year on April 22nd – Earth Day – you’re reminded about your role in conserving the environment. Even if you don’t consider yourself an environmentalist, you can use certain apps to become more eco-friendly. Some apps that can help you reduce waste and emissions, while making your life more convenient, include:

1. Oreoco

This app attempts to reduce your carbon footprint by providing a fun way to track how you live, where you shop, the modes of transportation you use, and what you consume. The data collected is then input with the assistance of the University of California, Berkeley, to show you how your decisions have impacted the environment, while comparing your results to participating friends and neighbors.

2. Newsbeat

If you read your news online instead of buying a printed copy, you are already making the right steps towards conserving the environment. Reading the news online reduces the amount of paper waste resulting from the numerous newspapers that are read and then discarded in just a few hours. There are many apps offering digital news that you can choose from.

3. CityMapper

You can reduce CO2 emissions by taking public transport instead of using your car, even if it is only a couple of days a week. Some people prefer to car pool, though public transportation can be just as convenient with the right kind of help. Apps like CityMapper and Moovit offer a comprehensive list of transportation options for different cities to help you arrive at your destination on time.

4. Dropbox

Moving your documents, images and media files in the cloud is not only more eco-friendly, but also a great way to clear up lots of physical space. Instead of printing all your documents, you can save them in an external storage device or upload them to your online storage using apps like Dropbox and Carousel. You still need physical copies of some files, but everything else can be stored in a secure place that is easily available.

5. Energy Tracker

This iOS app helps you understand your energy consumption habits by accessing your gas, electricity, and water usage. It will make you aware of bad habits that increase your bills, plus you can set up a reminder to ensure that you don’t forget to input the data for your daily energy consumption.

There are many Android, iOS, Windows, and BlackBerry apps that you can add to your daily routine to help you keep track of your energy consumption habits and quantify your footprint, so you can better work towards improving the carbon footprint in every area of your life.