California is in the middle of a record drought – the worst in at least 500 hundred years; Mexico got slammed by the biggest hurricane on record; Antarctica is melting; ocean currents are changing; the Persian Gulf will be uninhabitable by 2090; and record storms, floods, and extreme weather conditions are racking our planet.

This means that one of two things is happening: The Apocalypse, or climate change. For now, let’s go with the latter – if it’s the former, there is not much we can do about it.

Some of my readers may a little lost right now – you may be asking: “isn’t this an app development firm?” And you’d be right, we absolutely are. But climate change is something that is affecting us all. As a tech firm, we believe in the power of technology – yes even applications – to change the world for the better.

We aren’t alone – mobile apps for the environment are a growing app genre and run the gamut from apps to green your home, to track vehicle emissions, and apps designed to save water. Let’s talk about the 4 areas where apps are helping to protect the environment the best and some apps that exemplify each area.

Okay, yes I admit a bias here – SDI’s main office is in the heart of Silicon Valley, so we care a lot about water. The lack of water here is ravaging our home and turning the Golden State into a decidedly browner color. Heck – people think we drink so much craft beer because of hipsters; nope, it was a water-saving tactic!

All joking aside, the water shortage is getting pretty severe and often times people are simply unaware of the water they are wasting. So one very basic level on which apps can help is educating people, especially when they’re young. The EdTech and “edutainment” industries are really taking off and there is no reason that they can’t be used to educate people on water expenditure and waste. As a matter of fact, there are already a few out there – Offset is an excellent example!

Possibly the most helpful manner in which an app can help with drought conditions is in the area of Smart Irrigation. California is one of the largest agricultural economies in the world, a fact about which we are proud. But the downside is that in the middle of a drought, crops can suck water at an astounding rate. just take a look at one of our state’s biggest export is almonds; a single almond needs 1 gallon of water. Walnuts, another big crop, are 5 times as bad.

Smart Irrigation is a way of leveraging app technology not just to monitor water usage. With Smart Irrigation apps, irrigation can be turned on and off based off the needs of your crops (including the overall health of individual crops) without human intervention.

The best company in this field right now is very literally named Smart Irrigation Apps. They have SI apps for different types of crops and differing levels of agricultural intensity (i.e. urban gardener vs industrial agriculture). Keep in mind nothing is perfect – we need more apps of this nature! If you have an idea on how to improve crop watering through a web or app solution, please get in touch with our developers.

Carbon Emissions

One of the biggest drivers of man-made climate change are emissions and pollutants, especially those that emanate from fossil fuel combustion engines (i.e. autos). While there have been a shift towards more fuel-friendly vehicles, carbon emissions are still out of control. Environmental apps like greenMeter let your track the impact your vehicle has on the environment.

GreenMeter accesses the accelerometer in your iPhone to judge how quickly you are accelerating and thus how economical your fuel usage is. It’s a great and simple method – the best app ideas usually are. Unfortunately, greenMeter is currently only for the iPhone – environmental apps for Android are surprisingly lacking (hint hint).

Truly being cognizant of your environmental footprint means more than just tracking your car’s emissions, however. It also means tracking all travel involving combustion engines. The app Carbon Emissions Calculator (don’t let anyone ever tell you that app engineers aren’t extraordinarily literal people) lets users track the emissions of their air travel. Now the eco-friendly traveler can plan the best and most environmentally safe travel routes with a few clicks. Get free tips how apps can save the planet – contact Silicon Valley’s leading app development company right away and speak with Raj Srivastav, Tech Director at SDI.

Environmentally-conscious diets really been taking off in the states. The reasons for this are multitudinous:

• Moral concerns: many people are concerned with how animals are treated and raised, or with how certain cash crops can have a negative impact on local communities;

• Health reasons: a growing body of research is demonstrating how closely linked proper diet and health care. This is more than eating right, it’s eating right for your body type, the area in which you live, and so on.

• Economical: eating locally grown/raised foodstuff is cheaper than eating imported crops; even better, supporting local farmers grows and strengthens the local economy.

While these are all great reasons to be aware of what you are eating, I would argue that an environmentally-conscious diet is equally important to protect the planet. Going back to our earlier example of almonds and walnuts, some crops require more resources. Others need to be transported great distances (raising carbon emissions) and still, others are simply bad for soil health and the local environment.

Several apps are out there for the food conscious environment advocate. My personal two favorites are Fooducate and Locavore:

• Fooducate helps shoppers make the right food choices. While it mostly focuses on health over environmental impacts, it’s barcode scanner informs users of ingredients.

• Locavore connects users to local farmers who sell their livestock and produce. Storing and shipping food has huge negative environmental impacts, so buying local is a great way to protect the planet.

As an app and web development firm, SDI knows how to build awesome, high-quality apps. It’s our bread and butter, after all. What we lack is the knowledge needed to come up with a stellar app that protects the environment. That’s where you come in. With your idea and our expertise, we can start saving the planet today.

SDI builds revolutionary apps that can help save and protect the environment. Hire local and global app developers for your project. We design, develop and market apps aggressively from scratch.

We’reon any kind of environmental app that can help save our planet. Send us an email or give us a call at