According to the organization Environmental Defense, automobiles in the United States emit 314 metric tons of carbon dioxide each year–the equivalent of burning enough coal to fill a 50,000 mile long freight train.

The world typically depends on plants and trees to maintain the balance between the atmosphere’s carbon dioxide and oxygen, but since three to six billion trees are cut down every year, an excess of CO2 is beginning to take its toll on the environment.

Are you motivated to help save the world yet? If not, think about the fact that, according to the National Academy of Sciences, there are an average of 27 oil spills in the oceans of the world every day–and history’s most famous oil spill, the Exxon Valdez disaster, does not even rank in the top 30 of biggest spills!

If you have been wanting to go green and make your own carbon footprint a little smaller, you have probably tried the simple things: keep the lights off when you aren’t home, take shorter showers, use paper grocery bags instead of plastic, etc. But have you been discouraged, wishing that there were more that you could do?

Fortunately for you, there is more that you can do, and your iPhone can help you do it! Here are some of the best environmental apps that will help you save the world on a small, personal scale.

Recycle More Efficiently

One of the easiest and most important ways to help the environment from your own home is to recycle your plastics, glass, and paper. Sometimes, however, this can be more difficult than it sounds if you are unsure where to take your recycling, or if you simply aren’t sure what things you can recycle.

One of the best recycling apps is My Recycle List, which allows users to find the closest recycling locations and what things they will take–sometimes certain recycling facilities don’t accept all objects, like electronics, but My Recycle List tells you where you can take each of your items.

Another great recycling app is iRecycle, which also makes recycling extremely easy by allowing you to search by the item you want to recycle. You simply type in the name of the object in question, and the app will show you the locations nearest to you that will accept it.

Both My Recycle List and iRecycle are free, so you iPhone owners have officially run out of reasons not to recycle!

Support Green Businesses

Another way to help the environment is to choose to give your business to companies that are using their resources to support saving the earth in some way. However, it’s not easy to know which businesses are environmentally friendly and which ones are less concerned with conservation.

Luckily, there are some great apps that can tell you just that. One such app is Climate Count, which ranks common companies on their environmental awareness and efforts to go green. By using Climate Count, you can choose to give your money to companies who can make a bigger difference in the environment than one person can.

Find Green is an app that also helps you find environmentally friendly companies, but it helps you actually locate local businesses close to you. This makes it a cinch to support these green businesses because this app actually gives you directions.

These apps are both free as well, so you really can make an effort to promote companies that have made real strides in trying to protect the earth.

Get Even More Free Environmental Apps

If you have caught the environmental bug and want to get even more apps that can help you shrink your carbon footprint, you should get an unlocker for your iPhone–an unlocker will give you access to all of the thousands of apps out in cyberspace, including many more that will help you better conserve the planet.

Do Your Part!

Helping the environment doesn’t always have to mean taking drastic measures like flying to South America and protesting the destruction of the rainforests; you can make a difference by using environmental apps such as these and making your life more green. Take action and get these green apps today!

I’m dreaming of a white… and green Christmas. If you are like us, you are constantly thinking of ways in which you can help the environment. Here are some tips you can use to make your holidays greener.

1. Ditch the Artificial Tree

The only benefit of having an artificial tree is the fact that is may cost less to you in the long run. But is it really worth storing a fake tree all year long only to have it set up for around a month?

There are many environmentally friendly reasons you should buy a real tree for Christmas. Contrary to what you may think, cutting down a real Christmas tree is not harmful for the environment and does not contribute to deforestation. 99% of Christmas trees sold come from farms. In other words, you’re buying trees the same way you would buy corn or peas. They are grown for the sole purpose of getting cut down and sold. In fact, the more demand for Christmas trees, the more the market will grow. That means more trees grown and less carbon dioxide in the air.

2. Make the Switch to LED

LED lights can actually save you money in the long run and are leaps and bounds more energy efficient than your standard Christmas lights, not to mention they look much better.

LED lights consume 90 percent less energy than your average light bulb and can last up to 50,000 hours compared to 1,200 hours from an incandescent bulb. Also, you won’t have to worry about using so many power bars and extensions. LED lights use only 5-7 watts of power. That means your outlet can support a strand of LED lights ten times as long as an incandescent strand.

3. Use Recycled Wrapping Paper

Whether you have to find recycled paper at the store or simply use newspaper or old scrap paper from home, you can save time and trees by using recycled paper. If you can avoid using wrapping paper altogether, even better. Also, when presents are opened and Christmas is almost over, make sure to recycle your paper.

4. Email Christmas Cards

Technology is wonderful. You can instantly send messages anywhere in the world. This not only saves you lots of time and money, but it helps keep Christmas green as well. There are many websites out there that allow you to put together cute Christmas ecards and they make it easy to send them off to as many people as you like. Give it a try this year.

Have a Happy Green Christmas

Christmas is a special time. It is a time of giving and a time to be grateful. You will feel even better this Christmas knowing that you put forth your best effort in helping the environment.

Halloween is a great time for ghouls and ghosts to come a haunting this year, leaving a trail of candy bar wrappers and spilled popcorn behind them. However, Halloween is also a great time to go green and teach your kids how to value their planet. The following tips can help you make this spooky night into environmentally friendly one.

Tips for Going Green

Points for Pumpkins: Every year nearly 1.5 billion pounds of pumpkins are grown and sold in the US alone, and a good majority of those pumpkins are grown specifically for Halloween. When carving those jack o’ lanterns, remember to put the scooped out seeds and flesh into a green food waste caddy or compost bin, then do the same with the shell after Halloween.

Additionally, Pumpkin seeds can make a great snack when salted and roasted.

2. Party Preparations: If you’re planning a party, send a text or email rather than traditional paper invites to save on paper. For refreshments, avoid using paper plates and other disposable dishes. Any leftover food can go into your compost bin.

3. Creative Costumes: Rather than going out and buying another wig or costume you’re only going to wear once, get creative with your costumes and reuse old clothes. If you want, arrange for a costume swap with one of your neighbors or friends.

4. Trick or Treating Tips: Plastic bags often seem like the easiest way to hold candy, but they often rip or tear during those long treks across the neighborhood (and they’re bad for environment). Instead, use a pillow case or canvas bag to hold your evening’s haul. If you want, you can have your kids decorate an empty ice cream tub instead of simply throwing away the plastic container.

5. Walk the Block: Although it may be tempting to save your feet the agony of hitting every house in the neighborhood, you’ll be better off saving the gas by walking the block rather than driving. Plan a route that keeps houses close enough together that everything you need will be within walking distance.

As the temperature drops, many of us reach for the thermostat to keep our homes cozy and snug. But with Jack Frost knocking at your door, staying warm this winter can be a costly waste of electricity and gas.

Rather than watching your utility bills go up as the snow falls down, you can take proactive measures to keep in the heat. These environmentally friendly ways can help keep your toes toasty and your home a pleasant refuge from the frigid temperatures outside.

Tips for Staying Warm and Staying Green

• Go go for the Cocoa: If you’re feeling the nip on your nose this winter, then perhaps it’s time to make a fresh cup of hot chocolate. Warm winter foods such as soup or stew will not only keep your tummy full but your toes warm.

• Take a Dip in the Tub: After braving the elements until your blue in the face, a nice hot bath may be just the thing you need to thaw out. Let the cold be the perfect excuse to pamper yourself. You can enhance the experience and save on electricity by lighting a few candles and basking in the comforting heat.

• Stop up the Cracks: If your house or apartment is showing its age, then you may have a hard time keeping it warm. Plug up and cracks or openings in old doors and windows with some caulk or plastic covering. If you feel especially crafty, you can create a draft snake to keep the cold from creeping in.

• Fire up the Fireplace: Old scrap wood can be a cheap, inexpensive way to keep warm. Just light a match and enjoy the heat. When you aren’t using the fireplace, don’t forget to put the damper on to keep out the drafts.

• Line with Layers: Coats and scarves are more than just cute fashion accessories; they’re designed to keep you warm. The more layers you put on, the more heat you can keep close to your skin.

• Close the Closet: Any rooms that you aren’t using (such as the pantry, closet, or laundry room), you should keep the doors closed. Don’t waste the heat on an empty room.

• Buy a Blanket: Following the same line of thinking with the tip above, you don’t need to heat an entire house when you’re asleep. You don’t even need to heat the entire room. Instead, invest in a cozy electric blanket to keep you wrapped tight on a cold night.

• Soak up the Sun: The sun is the best source of heat available, and though it may be hard to find on a cold winter’s day, by opening your blinds and shades to let in the sun, you can invite those few warming rays inside your house.

• Run on the Rug: There’s nothing more chilling than stepping on an icy cold floor in your bare feet. Even a simple throw rug can help trap heat and protect your toes from frostbite.

• Find a Cuddlebuddy: Let’s face it, curling up with your romantic partner (or beloved dog) can be just the ticket for keeping cozy on a cold winter’s night.

• Clean Your Kitchen: Cleaning your kitchen or your living room can be a lot of work. The more you run around, bending to pick up that dirty sock or reaching to dust the top of your bookshelf, the more energy you’ll consume and the more heat your body will produce.

Maximizing our resources and going green seems all very well in theory, but it can also be expensive. Environmentally friendly ways of heating or powering your home are still being developed, making the transition an expensive one as far as technology is concerned.

But what if you could go green while saving green?

These top ten ways to go green will not only save you money but can help save the planet.

10 Ways to Go Green

1. Stop that Stat: A few degrees on the thermostat make a huge difference on your heating and cooling bill. By lowering the temperature a few degrees in winter and raising it a few degrees in summer, you can help save money and electricity.

2. Shorter Showers: As fun as it is to sing in the shower, those satisfying and self-indulging showers are an extravagant waste of water. By cutting a few minutes off your shower time, you’ll not only reduce water use but you’ll see a drop on your water and heating bills as well.

3. Grab a Veggie: Meat can be a costly commodity in local grocery stores, and by eating one meatless meal a week, you’ll not only save money, but you just might save a few animals from an untimely death.

4. Tap into the Tap: Bottled water is expensive, and a good portion of that money goes into paying for its plastic packaging. If you insist on having your water purified, consider purchasing a water filter for your tap water.

5. Be Thrifty: The old adage goes “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure,” and the same still applies. Not only can you find amazingly dirt cheap deals for clothes, furniture, and other household goods at garage sales and thrift stores, but you can keep these keepsakes from collecting in your local dump.

6. Check it Out: Rather than buying a book, reading it once, and leaving it gathering dust on your shelf, save on paper and support your local library. You’ll be saving money while as well as saving the ink and paper that goes into printing new books.

7. Recycle Your Phone: Cell phones, old computers, and TVs contain chemicals (such as mercury) that are harmful to the environment that shouldn’t be thrown in the trash. Instead, donate or recycle these items responsibly.

8. Keep it Clean: You can save on money by making your own cleaning supplies. Old shirts and socks can make great dust rags while water, lemon, vinegar, and baking soda can clean almost anything.

9. Unplug Appliances: If it can glow, chances are likely that it’s still using up your electricity long after you turn it off. TVs, cell phone chargers, printers are likely culprits. An easy tip to save you money and electricity is to plug everything into power strips rather than wall sockets. Rather than unplugging everything individually, you can simply flip a switch when you leave the room.

10. Watch the Grass Grow: Sounds easy right? Turns out that the less time you spend tending your lawn actually makes it greener. By letting your grass to 2 ½ inches tall, your grass will be thicker and grow deeper roots, resulting in the need for less water, fertilizer, and herbicide. Oh, and it’s less effort too.

Turns out you’re not the only one that can use a daily dose of veggies to keep running. Now, instead of relying on gasoline for fuel, technology has advanced to allow diesel engines to run on vegetable oil.

Unlike gas, vegetable oil is a renewable resource. You can even get it for free from local restaurants to top off. So why aren’t more people making the switch?

How it Works

If your car is diesel-powered (such as a Jeep or Volkswagen), then you can definitely use vegetable oil as a cheap alternative to gas. However, you can’t just pop the tank and dump in the cheap stuff without making some major modifications first.

You need both a tank for regular diesel fuel (to start the engine) as well as a second tank for vegetable oil. This second tank needs a metal coil to transfer heat from the engine’s coolant. If your car has undergone the proper changes, you can only switch to vegetable oil when it oil is properly heated as it tends to congeal during cool weather (and cause addition problems to your engine).

Before turning the engine off again, you switch it back to regular diesel, keeping fuel lines and injectors clean of excess vegetable oil (otherwise it will clog up the system).

Some car designs may need an additional pump to move the warmed coolant from the radiator to the vegetable oil.

Caveats

Unfortunately, vegetable oil is NOT a certified fuel. If you’ve made the modifications to your vehicle to allow for vegetable oil usage, then you’re on your own.

Why Bother?

As you can see, modifications and complications alone can make most people reluctant to make the switch from gasoline to this inventive renewable resource. If you’re buying a new car, it’s not recommended that you make the alterations at all.

However, don’t give up on vegetable oil just yet.

If you don’t care about your warranty and don’t mind getting your hands a little dirty, then using vegetable oil for fuel is a great way to help the environment.
Vegetable oil reduces most tailpipe emissions (though it can increase nitrous oxide levels). By using a source that would have been wasted otherwise (thrown away in the nearest dumpster), you’ll not only be saving gas, but you’ll be making the most out of common resources. Vegetable oil can help curb global warming as it results in a 75% reduction of greenhouse gasses compared regular diesel fuel.

Final Thoughts

Although it may be a pain to have to fish out the fries from the grease in order to fill up your car, running on vegetable oil can be your personal contribution to the environment.

Of course, running on veggies isn’t an option to everyone (and there’s simply not enough vegetable oil to run everyone’s cars, you can rest assured that while gas prices sky-rocket, you’ll always have a cheap source of fuel.

Not too long ago I took a trip up the canyon with my family. I was packed and ready to go, stuffing all my gear into a backpack weighing as much as I do (or at least it felt that way). Our little hiking crew of five pitched our tents, lit a fire, and enjoyed the delicious gooeyness of burned marshmallows.

However, sometime in the middle of the night, my younger sister need to *ahem* relieve herself, and she didn’t want to go out in the woods alone. Feeling very prepared and responsible for her safety, I grabbed my flashlight and away we went.

Unfortunately, before my sister had finished her business, the batteries died.

We were alone. In the dark. Probably surrounded by wild bears and wolves and disgruntled fellow campers, and we didn’t have a flashlight to defend ourselves.

I grabbed her hand and eventually we stumbled our way back into camp—our toes received a very thorough thrashing for our efforts.
Now, if I had truly been prepared for this little emergency, I would have thought to bring an extra set of batteries. However, batteries are a pain to deal with—they always seem to die just when you need them most.

When we got back from our adventuring in the great outdoors, my neighbor pointed out a nifty little flashlight that doesn’t batteries at all.

Shake flashlights

How do they work?
Shake flashlights function on Faraday’s principle—which informs us that whenever a magnet passes through a coil of wire, a small electrical current is created. The more you shake the flashlight, the more energy you store.

To learn more about this principle, click here.

Are they bright?
Bright enough. I bought a few to add to my emergency supply. Although not nearly as bright as regular flashlights, Shake flashlights can definitely give you enough light to see by. The best kinds of flashlights are the ones that work. If you have batteries in your regular flashlight, then you can go ahead and use those. But for those times when you simply can’t find another double A battery, shake flashlights do in a pinch.

Are they as good as rechargeable flashlights?
In my opinion, they’re better. During extended outages, once you’ve used up the battery, it’s as good as any other dead flashlight. With shake flashlights, all it takes is a little flick of the wrist and you’re good to go.

Oh, and the great thing about shake flashlights?

They last for a very very very long time.