What we're doing right
Call it a cellphone with a conscience
15th December 2007
New software for your cellphone can help keep track of your carbon footprint
Scientists with the European Commission have developed mobile phone software that allows users to chart emissions generated by day-to-day activities ranging from cooking to watching television to flying – and even compare their results to Kyoto targets. Called mobGAS, it builds on the success of earlier tracking programs by clocking emissions for three different greenhouse gases: carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide. Developers presented their product to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in Bali this week.
More than 2,000 Europeans have already downloaded mobGAS software to their phones. But will it help the continent cut down? “One problem may be that those who are willing to use this application are those who are already reducing their emissions,” says Tiago Pedrosa, a European Commission researcher who developed the software.
Still, the free calculator could help to reduce emissions by putting people’s environmental footprint right in their hand. “As individuals, we have an important role to reduce emissions and fight climate change,” Mr. Pedrosa says. “It’s not just about industry and government.” No word on whether Bali delegates are using the calculator on their plane rides home.
Published in The Green Report in The Globe and Mail
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