On a list of reasons why people buy smartphones, you would probably see convenience, appearance and because it’s cool somewhere near the top. But you might have to look quite a bit further down the list before you see “because it is good for the environment.” And understandably so; saving the planet is not exactly the first thing that you think of when you picture a smartphone of any kind. If you sit down and think about it however, you will realize just how much smartphones are helping us to go green in a number of different ways. Here are seven reasons why they will help us in our quest to save the planet.
Eliminating Excess Paper
Our lives are becoming increasingly digital. If you want to read a paper, you can now read it online. If you want to take note of something, you can jot it down on your smartphone. If you like to write your appointments down in a calendar, you have one built into your phone. What this all means is that things are much easier for us, but it also means that we are cutting down less trees with every potential use of paper that we eradicate.
Turning off the Lights
Home automation allows you to save energy in a number of ways, but one big one is that you can now link your iPhone with the lights in your house, and use it as a remote to turn them on and off. This will prevent energy from being wasted by lights left one when you leave your house for long periods of time.
Monitoring Your Heating
Similar to your lights, you can also control the temperature of your house using your smartphone. This goes for heating in the winter, and air conditioning in the summer. Some apps will allow you to monitor how much energy you are wasting, so that you can adjust your utilities and save money and the environment at the same time.
Getting Rid of Energy Suckers
Your computers, laptops, televisions and games consoles all use up a lot of energy. Significantly more energy than your smartphone. Smartphones eliminate the need for most of these items, so think about that next time you play Angry Birds – by playing games on your phone rather than your computer, you are actually saving the planet!
Tracking Your Carbon Footprint
You cannot save the earth if you do not know how much you are damaging it. App stores are full to the brim with apps that can help you to track just how much energy you use each day. Using these will allow you to monitor how much you are saving or harming the environment with your habits. For example, you can track where you can cut down on gas usage or energy in your home for example.
Enviro-Information
There are also apps that can help you to find places to shop and the right products to buy if you want to be as energy efficient as possible. There are plenty of apps that will tell you, for example, which products are EPA-approved Energy Star products. Fill your iPhone with these types of apps and you will be an enviro-force to be reckoned with!
More Convenient for You and the Environment
The last great thing that smartphones have given us is the ability to shop with ease, without even leaving the house. Unnecessary trips have disappeared as we can now check any information that we need on our phones before we even get into our cars.