Save Green, Be Green
Monday, February 21, 2011
Even though mobile devices may cost you a lot of green, they still play a major role in society. What if I was to tell you that having a mobile device can also help you save a lot of money by going green?
One way of going green is by using the app Avego, which is a ride-sharing app for the iPhone that lets you offer empty seats in your car to others and search for open seats when you are car-less. When this app is open and in use, you are able to receive updates on how far away your ride is.
This app also computes how much money each person in the car owes for gas. Users of this program create a profile that becomes available to public. After doing so, members are allowed to rate other members based on their experience.
Another app available is Findgreen by 3rdWhaleMobile’s. This app gives GPS-equipped BlackBerry, iPhone and Android Smartphone owners a guide to local retailers and services that are stored within the GenGreen’s Green Business Directory. A downfall to this app is that not all listings in the area are available.
Ipad and iPhone users who already have wired their home to dim the lights and turn the heating on from a distance are getting the opportunity to save energy with a touch of a button. Lutron’s Home Control app lets RadioRA 2 or HomeWorks QS users control their lights, heating and window shades with the use of their iPhone or iPad.
MyHome app, by Control4, allows users to control their lights, heat and window shades as well as home entertainment and security systems. This app works for the iPhone, iPad and eventually the Android.
Lastly, there is an app called MeterRead which allows users to control the energy consumption and subsequent savings by recording your homes electric meter readings and suggesting ways to improve efficiency.
These apps will not only benefit the users but the environment as well.
Unfortunately, these apps are not accessible to everybody because not everyone has an iPhone, iPad, BlackBerry or Android.
Soon enough, apps similar to these will be available for everyone and allow society to save personally and environmentally.
Photo Credit: Creative Commons
4 comments:
It seems like they have apps for everything nowadays. They seem like they could be helpful if people knew which ones to get and if everyone who had an iPad or an iPhone used the apps. It seems like smartphones could be a negative thing too like if you were to lose your phone like lots of people do nowadays. They have all your information on them and within a few minutes people could know everything about you and even control the lights and electronics in your home like that one app says it does.
I kind of like the idea of everyone knowing how much people are saving by going green. If it is made into a kind of friendly competition with one another I can see a lot more getting done.
Wouldn't it be great if cellphone companies would just manufacture cellphones to last so that we don't have so many toxic elements from computer chips and batteries seeping into our landfills? It's great that we have the option of recycling those components, but that hasn't been a perfect solution. The best thing cellphone companies could do to help us achieve a healthier environment is to stop contributing to our throw-away culture with cellphones that we're encouraged to replace annually through service provider upgrades. Imagine what the effects would be if the average person kept their cellphone for as long as we used to keep our land-line phones!
I think by being able to see how everyone else goes green can be very motivating.
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