Environment Ministry offers green consumerism app

Smartphone application is free, downloadable, will teach users benefits of green consumerism.

By SHARON UDASIN
iphones R 311 (photo credit: REUTERS)
iphones R 311
(photo credit: REUTERS)
The Environmental Protection Ministry has launched a free, downloadable smartphone application to teach users the benefits of green consumerism.
The app, called “Environment – Lets think green,” attempts to guide consumers through different types of green behaviors that will ultimately save people money. It will be available for use in Hebrew, English, Russian and Arabic.
Users of the application receive on-screen guidance from actor Tal Friedman, who, along with a wig of neon-green grass, became the face for the Environmental Protection Ministry’s “Let’s Think Green” campaign last year. The new application is the first such smartphone program to be launched by an Israeli government office, according to the Environmental Protection Ministry.
“After years in which we grew accustomed to advertisements that encourage us to consume more, we are standing on the same stage and calling for smart consumerism,” Environmental Protection Minister Gilad Erdan said in a statement released by his office.
“We will continue to turn to members of the public in every place where they are found – through television, through Internet and through smartphones – in order to increase the awareness that through small behavioral changes each one of us can save hundreds of shekels per month and reduce environmental impact.”
Advice provided in the application includes the fact that driving 90 kph instead of 110 kph saves about 15 percent in fuel consumption, as well as recommendations that travelers drive at steady speeds and avoid fast accelerations.
The application also indicates that purchasing products from written shopping lists and retail chain stores prevents unnecessary purchases and consequential waste – and instructs people to never to buy bottled mineral water. In addition, the app advises that by using energy-saving light-bulbs, residents can consume five times less electricity than they do with standard incandescent bulbs, and they should always remember to unplug electrical appliances when not in use as they consume power just by remaining connected.