By Jim Roth | Guest Columnist
April 23, 2012
Around the world, celebrations of the Earth and Earth Day are taking place this week. People will be turning off their lights, spending more time outside, and recycling more in an effort to be good stewards of our planet.
One of the coolest ways a lot of us interact these days is through mobile devices or personal digital assistants. In that spirit, I thought it would be cool to highlight some green applications.
The Sierra Club has a great app called the Sierra Club Trail Explorer. This is an awesome app that lets you check out places outside, following some 40,000 incredible hiking trails. This week, instead of going to the movies, you can check out one of Oklahoma’s great outdoor parks.
Another cool app is Zero Carbon. Instead of using the calculator on your phone to figure out how much to tip your waiter, this app lets you calculate your carbon footprint. From the foods you eat, to how frequently you drive and even what your utility bill is, this app provides a pretty good calculator. The best part: It provides some excellent ways for you to reduce your carbon footprint based on your inputs.
Another cool app is called iWarm, which lets you calculate how much energy you save by recycling common household items instead of trashing them. The app also translates the energy savings into the equivalent amount of electricity that could be generated in your home by using that energy. It’s pretty cool to see just how much energy you actually do save by recycling.
Another interesting app is the AIRNow app, which provides real-time air quality information based on your location and what the scientific Air Quality Index is at that spot. It also provides information about Air Quality Index projections for the next day or over the course of the week. This can help you make better decisions about whether to drive to work, or conduct certain activities outdoors based on the quality of the air.
So this week, stop trying to figure out what your friend made on Draw Me, and discover how to help make this world a cleaner place. There’s an app for that!
Jim Roth, a former Oklahoma corporation commissioner, is an attorney with Phillips Murrah P.C. in Oklahoma City, where his practice focuses on clean, green energy for Oklahoma.