Game-Changing Energy Conservation Apps

By: David Smith

Every day we see technology changing our world in ways we never dreamed possible. Too many apps to count hold the possibility to impact our daily lives, including those that help us conserve energy and fight global warming. Here’s a look at a few that are inciting change from the ground up by engaging individual action.

Making the Invisible Visible

Most people have a hard time getting their heads around something as abstract as a carbon unit. To paint a clearer picture of your carbon footprint, My Earth – Track Your Carbon Savings, tracks your energy savings with the visual of an iceberg growing bigger – complete with a cute polar bear perched on top. A user-friendly diary format enables you to keep track of the energy you use and suggestions are given on how you can conserve energy. The more suggestions you implement, the bigger your iceberg gets. This app’s ingenuity lies in the fact that it provides an eye-opening look at your own true carbon footprint and how small changes in your day-to-day life can make a big difference.

Green Is the New Black

According to Ian Monroe, the creator of the app Oroeco, going mainstream is a much more galvanizing way to bring about climate change than radical activism. His app also makes conserving energy an easy and fun game, but goes one step further by making the app linkable to Facebook, where you can compare your conservation performance to your friends. As you lower your footprint – and convince friends to – you earn points that can be redeemed for sustainable products.To learn more, check out these “Top 10 Energy Efficiency Smartphone Apps” by the Alliance to Save Energy.