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Technology can help you to be more environmentally conscious. Looking for simple and practical ways to live an eco-friendly life?
Whether it’s celebrities, neighbors, or coworkers, it seems like everyone these day is living an eco-friendly life. And if they’re not, they try to make it seem like they are to fit in. The truth is that we should all try to be more conscious about our habits and purchase decisions because they have a ripple effect on our planet. So follow our tips to live a more eco-friendly life and save our earth in the process.
Think Before You Buy
One of the best and easiest ways to be more eco-friendly is to simply be more conscious. Conscious in not just what you buy, but how you buy. If you’re interested in only buying from certain companies and manufacturers, try an app like Buycott. The app is available on iOS and Android, and helps you avoid purchasing products from questionable companies. We’re talking about companies that may implement questionable business practices, or don’t have eco-friendly production lines. Avoiding buying products from these companies not only leaves you with a clear conscious, but lets you spend your money on products that support fantastic causes and treat their workers well.
Mindful shoppers also trust the GoodGuide and Seafood Watch apps. GoodGuide acts as your trusty shopping sidekick. You can hold your phone up to a product, and take a picture of the barcode to learn all about it and its environmental footprint. This app is extremely useful because although some products may say “green” or “environmentally friendly” on them, the labels can’t always be trusted. Are you a seafood lover? Then you’ll love Seafood Watch. Just like GoodGuide, it can be taken with you to provide answers while standing at the fish counter. The app is backed by the world-famous Monterey Bay Aquarium, and aims to help you make smart seafood decisions by keeping you informed. Before you order your fish, check if it’s sustainable, and whether you should get the salmon versus the tuna.
Aside from food products, it’s wise to think about other products before buying them. Think of things like clothing, toys, and even light bulbs. Light bulbs are a huge topic lately, as there are many new kinds that can save you electricity and money. If you’re wondering which kind of lightbulbs to buy, and which ones are more efficient than others, try the Light Bulb Finder app. Much like its name alludes to, the app can help you find the right bulbs for your needs. The app is available for iOS and Android, and was named one of the best green apps by the EPA.
Recycling Makes a Difference
Of course, when discussing being eco-friendly and environmentally conscious, you can’t not mention recycling. Many people feel that recycling doesn’t actually do much. “How’s one bottle of mine going to save the earth?” In fact, it can, and it does.
If you want to step up your recycling game, give the app iRecycle a try. You can choose the item you want to recycle – batteries, printing paper, metal, or anything else – and it will find the nearest recycling location to you. The app makes the whole process of recycling much easier, as half the battle is knowing if the item can be recycled and if so, where. The app has a database of 100,000 recycling locations.
You can also choose to go about your recycling situation by eliminating the need to recycle at all. How so? PaperKarma aims to eliminate the amount of mail you get, in turn lowering the amount of paper you use and saving trees. When you get junk mail delivered to your house, it likely gets thrown out right away, or recycled. Put a stop to the unwanted or unnecessary mail by taking a photo of it with your PaperKarma app. The PaperKarma team will contact the senders for you and have your address removed from their mailing list. It’s that simple!
To further explore how you could lower your footprint, download the Oroeco or greenMeter apps. They’re both extremely popular among eco-friendly individuals, as they let you track your usage and impact on the environment. Input the foods you eat, modes of transportation you use, and where you shop to see the impact of your actions. The company says it’s “the world’s most powerful carbon footprint calculator.” Another cool thing about the app is that it’s a gamified experience. This means that you can compete with friends to earn points and rewards. The app greenMeter specifically tracks the efficiency of your driving habits. Get information on the impact of the way you drive, and your car’s fuel efficiency to see if it’s time for a tuneup or new car.
Surround Yourself With Others Like You
Research has shown the importance of surrounding yourself with similar people when trying to reach a goal. Think of setting a goal of losing 10 lbs. One of the best things you can do for yourself to ensure you reach the goal is to find a workout partner. Someone who can encourage you and keep you fighting. The same holds true for living a more environmentally conscious life.
Since the power of achieving something together is so great, use it to your benefit and download the app #Climate. It lets you discover ways you can live more environmentally conscious and then share those tips with your friends on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+. You can also follow people on social networks like Instagram, to support them and keep them on track with their goals. It’s also important to reward yourself. You can do exactly that with another extremely popular app, Joulebug. The app rewards you for making eco-friendly choices, like riding your bike to work instead of taking your car. You can earn badges and points, check in with your friends to see what they’ve done to cut down on their footprint, and track your trends.
Here’s to Being Green
Being eco-friendly isn’t difficult, it just takes will power and the passion to keep it up. Our planet is beautiful, so why not do everything in our power to keep it that way?
