Our ever increasing reliance on mobile devices need not contribute to the massive environmental problems we now face; in fact mobile devices can actually help each of us lessen our carbon footprint. Here are some ideas on how you can help save the Earth with the help (and even despite) mobile devices.
Use it till it breaks down – The easiest, but sadly oft ignored, piece of advice for helping the environment is to reduce waste. While I understand the temptation that newer and better models of mobile phones and tablets bring (I too want and iPhone 4s!), the truth is that we really can survive without upgrading our devices. So unless you have someone in need to pass your old phone or tablet to, try to refrain from buying a new one.
Conserve energy – Smartphones today are capable of doing so many cool things, but the increase in power means shorter battery life or greater power consumption. Conserve your battery by downloading battery-saving apps, switching off all tasks you are not using, turning off the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth when not in use, and setting your display brightness to an appropriate level. You should also turn off your phone, instead of just putting it in silent mode during times when you are not supposed to be using it, like in an airplane, a meeting, in the cinema, or during religious services. The little energy that you save this way each time you do this will amount to much over time.
Use energy-saving utilities – Unplug your electric alarm clock and night light and rely on your phone to wake you up. Just one push on your phone’s button will turn on the backlight so you can see clearly in the dark. Instead of turning your computer on to read your mail or check the activity on your social account, just do these on your mobile device when possible so you won’t have two electronic equipment turned on at the same time. Just make sure you only set your most important accounts on auto-check or else this will defeat the purpose of battery-saving.
Do comparative shopping on your mobile device – Before heading out to buy whatever you need, do your comparative shopping online. You can do this wherever you are on your mobile device so you don’t have to waste gas driving around from store to store just to compare prices. If your mobile device has GPS, use that to find the shops easily so that you can again save gas by driving around in circles just because you’re lost.