Green Is Good

By now, we’re all familiar with the Apple-inspired mantra, “There’s an app for that.” But when it comes to being green, apps aren’t the only game in town. Here’s a look at some cool, inexpensive applications and accessories to keep you on the right side of Mother Nature.

1 ITAnyplace’s GreenYou
Use this app to calculate your carbon footprint and develop a plan to reduce it (for the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch; $.99; iTunes Store).

2 Paper Mate’s Biodegradable
Pens and Pencils
Made from Mirel, the biodegradable components disintegrate in soil or compost (www.papermate.com

; four-pack pens $4.99; two-pack mechanical pencils $5.99 at OfficeDepot.com).

3 Google PowerMeter
This app will help you to monitor and manage your home’s electricity use. Access it from your personalized iGoogle homepage (www.google.org/powermeter; free).

4 Haploid’s GreenCard

No, it’s not the card that denotes permanent U.S. residency but it is a neat way to save trees. Use it to create a digital business card on your iPhone and share it with others (iTunes Store; free).

5 Jivo’s Leaf
This iPhone 3G/3GS

case biodegrades into renewable biomass and biogas (a clean energy source), aiding the environment long after it’s outlived its cool factor (www.jivotechnology.com; $19.99—$24.99; not available in U.S. at press time).

This article originally appeared in the May 2010 issue of Black Enterprise magazine.