Mobile Apps

Most of the mobile apps we use on a day-to-day basis are for entertainment or convenience. Some, however, allow us to positively impact the environment and counteract some of our actions that harm the natural world around us.

Which apps help protect the environment?

• Oroeco
• PaperKarma
• GiveO2

Climate change is regarded by many as an urgent problem plaguing our nation. Their concern for the planet isn’t demonstrated by their lifestyle and choices, partly because people don’t know where they’re going wrong. Oroeco‘s mission is to reduce our carbon footprint. By showing users their individual carbon footprints, they bring awareness to the fact that the majority of us are part of the problem. It helps us identify the disparity between our promises and actions and offers suggestions on how to reduce their footprint. The app also provides carbon offsets for a charge. Moreover, the app provides social incentives and is working towards physical rewards such as Nest thermostats.

The endless piles of junk mail can seem like a complete waste of paper for those who don’t give them another look. Rather than wasting that extra paper, paperkarma helps reduce unnecessary mail and therefore unnecessary paper wastage by finding out which mail goes unopened and removes the user from their mailing list. All the user is required to do is take a picture of the mail.

Sometimes travel is inevitable. Rather than feeling guilty about the carbon emissions from the airplane you just flew on, Give O2 calculates the emissions and allows users to support projects that work to offset the carbon outputs. In doing so, the user neutralizes, in a sense, the negative effects of traveling.

What used to be mostly for entertainment is now becoming a key tool in our fight against climate change, which I think is really cool. Technology production and usage has caused a lot of greenhouse gases, so it seems interesting that we’re beginning to use technology to our advantage.

It’s not always easy to hold yourself accountable for your impact on the environment, especially when you don’t know what you’re doing wrong. Climate change is a complex problem and will require the effort of every one of us, or close to all of us. If we want to stop damaging our environment, we need to learn to live more sustainable lifestyles and reduce our carbon footprint. Through technology, which can reach audiences faster than ever before, we can fight climate change and revolutionize our ways of living, protecting our planet in the process.