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A nice way to spend Earth Day

It's a bit hot today in Arizona so I stayed in for Earth Day -- I cut the air conditioning and ran the ceiling fans -- and spent part of this day looking at GreenSpot, [App Store link] an iPhone/ iPod touch app that keeps you up to date on all things environmental. It includes tips, podcasts, and articles about everything from food and agriculture to green architecture and buildings. There are also 'issue' areas, with details on climate and energy, the two green hot buttons of late.

The $1.99US app puts all the information in one handy place, and makes it easy to access by topic just about any information you may want.

Podcasts include Sierra Club Radio, and many radio stations that do green programming, as well as some independent audio productions.

It was pretty easy to update myself on the latest green news, but I have these nits to pick. I couldn't find many articles newer than a week old. I don't know if the app is feed based, or people are manually posting material, but the world changes pretty fast, don't ya know, and this app should be more up to date.

Some of the articles links are dead, so that's not such a good thing either. The podcasts I tried all played well, but not from within Greenspot. They launched the QuickTime player, so you then manually have to re-start Greenspot.

None of these problems put me off the application. We've seen how important these issues are, and having this info in your pocket is just another reason why we are so happy the iPhone exists.

There are far worse ways to spend Earth Day than by getting up to date on the latest green news. Most of us will choose those worse ways today, thereby making the point on why it is important to be environmentally conscious.

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It's a bit hot today in Arizona so I stayed in for Earth Day -- I cut the air conditioning and ran the ceiling fans -- and spent part of...
 

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Spingle

I celebrated Earth Day by idling my truck for 30 minutes before leaving for work, and keeping every light in my office on for 24 hours. The sooner we can initiate the next Great Extinction, the better. If the planet is lucky it will end up ruled by dolphins next time.

So long, and thanks for all the fish.

April 23 2009 at 1:29 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Timepilot84

Great! I wanted to consume for Earth Day.

April 22 2009 at 5:26 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Geoff Miller

Thanks for being so preachy. That's what makes the who eco-awareness movement so mainstream (as opposed to just trendy for idiots)......

April 22 2009 at 5:26 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
McDoobie

Interesting application, but I'll pass on the $1.99.

April 22 2009 at 5:09 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Vince

Hey Mel, thanks for the recommendation, Green Spot is a pretty cool app. Earth Day should be everyday, it is good that there is at least one day to spread awareness. Here are some suggestions on what you can do to help the Earth: http://www.toptentopten.com/topten/things+to+do+on+earth+day, you can add your own suggestions.

April 22 2009 at 5:04 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
NutMac

I love earth as much as the next guy, but what on earth (no pun intended) is this app useful for? Pay $1.99 to read old articles on how to save the environment, how to conserve, and harms being done to the environment? Can't I just subscribe to free RSS feed and podcasts?

April 22 2009 at 4:26 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to NutMac's comment
Deacon Blues

Everyone likes a little green. Apparently the creators of the app are no exception.

April 22 2009 at 4:40 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
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