Green Daily

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I've had my iPhone for more than a year, but I've been slow to load up on apps, mainly depending on my friends to tip me off to hidden gems.

Then last week I saw an Earth Day commercial for green iPhone apps (or a commercial on Earth Day for iPhone stuff ... it could have been a coincidence) and suddenly had an urge to find out more.

At this point there's no good way to search the iTunes store -- or if there is, I'm not smart enough/young enough to figure it out. Instead I did some internet research and read a bunch of reviews. These are some of the highest rated green iPhone apps, with the biggest buzz and in some cases the most potential to grow:

• greenMeter ($5.99) -- do you know how fuel efficient your car is? How about your driving? This app measures how much fuel you're using, and your driving style. Then it gives you feedback to help you reduce your fuel consumption and impact on the environment.
• Get Green ($.99) -- get daily reminders delivered to your phone every day.
• iGreen ($.99) -- all the green news, all in one place, right when it happens.
• GasBag (free) and GasBag Pro (a little faster, no ads, $.99) -- find the closest and cheapest gas station in your vicinity. Worth it if you've ever driven around outside of an airport, looking for a gas station before dropping off a rental car. It will also help you avoid the extra emissions and gas guzzling of making the rounds of your local gas stations.
• 3rdwhaleMobile (free) -- a location based directory that helps you find green businesses. You can also rate and add reviews. It's in beta, but it's the kind of app that has a lot of potential as it grows.

FYI, I didn't include any of those dumb apps that let you grow a tree on your phone, and they plant one (!) tree when you buy it. That just seems dumb. If you want to donate money to plant a tree, go right to the source and donate to something like the Nature Conservancy's Plant a Billion Trees. Your phone doesn't need to get involved.

Sure, iPhone apps are cool, but sometimes the old fashioned way still works best.