Five Apps to Guide Your Green Life

Mobile apps, like everything else, are going green. From finding charging stations for your electric car to choosing green products in the store, apps can help you be kinder and gentler to the environment.

Here are five earth-friendly apps that you might want to check out:

Cost2Drive (iOS, $1.99)
This app lets you calculate the fuel costs of various routes throughout the United States and also find the most inexpensive gas. It factors in the fuel efficiency of your car as well as gas prices, and it also compares driving to flying for trips over 200 miles.

EarthFriend (iOS, Free)
EarthFriend provides users with environmental facts and data, as well as games related to a variety of environmental issues.

GoodGuide (iOS & Android, Free)
The GoodGuide app helps you make environmentally-sound purchasing decisions by providing ratings of over 12,000 personal care, food and household products. The app also allows you to scan barcodes to retrieve ratings while shopping, search and look up products by name, and create personalized shopping lists based on products and issues that interest you.

Green Gas Saver (iOS, Free)
With its on-screen gauges and warning tones, this app helps you to monitor the fuel efficiency of your car and warns you if you're driving too fast, turning too hard, or taking other actions that will hurt your car's gas mileage.

PlugShare (iOS & Android, Free)
This app lets you find charging stations around the U.S. for electric cars, motorcycles, scooters, and other vehicles. It was created by Palo Alto-based Xatori, a company that focuses on electric vehicle (EV) software. The app includes both public charging stations and a network of individuals willing to share their electricity with others on the road.