Green on the Go: How to go greener with your phone

It’s sexy to be sustainable. An entire culture has been built around using less paper, cycling to work, and eating locally grown food. But in the midst of our hemp shirts and reusable water bottles is a group of items that are doing little to further the cause: personal electronics.

In this age of globalization, we all want to be connected to what is happening around us. However, phones, computers, and televisions use huge amounts of electricity and create pesky e-waste; the materials used in its production are not biodegradable in any way. Does this mean we have to give up our luxuries? Not necessarily. Find out how you can be greener while staying connected with these tips for greening one of the aforementioned devices: your phone.

Use your phone more.

Hey!? How does increasing your phone usage help the environment? Don’t get too excited; what i meant is use your phone more instead of your computer. It is estimated that performing a task (ie updating Facebook status) on the computer requires an average of 100 times more electricity than performing the same task on a mobile device. Sorry to burst your bubble, this only works if you use your computer less in tandem. However, it is a great solution for people on the go.

Protect your battery.

The less efficient your battery is, the more often you will need to charge it. So take care of it to maximize its lifespan! Do not expose it to adverse conditions, such as extreme temperatures. Also, try to keep your battery levels somewhere in the middle, rather than overcharging or letting it die before charging, as both behaviors hurt the long-term efficiency of your battery.

Buy eco-friendly accessories.

Similarly, another way to maximize battery efficiency, and therefore reduce how often you have to charge your phone, is to buy accessories that do it for you. There are products on the market today that use various alternative means of energy production to power your phone. They range from common solar chargers to a very unique charger that I once saw that was powered by the kinetic energy (motion) of a yo-yo!

Don’t waste your batteries.

As a last tip regarding energy consumption, ask yourself if you really have to be connected 24/7. Turn off your phone (and unplug your charger as well, as it uses electricity even when you’re not charging anything) at night. Also, you don’t want to be rudely woken up in the middle of the night by a call or text. Even for times when you feel like you have to leave it on, if it’s a smartphone, you’ll be happy to know that most smartphones come with settings that allow you to customize your data usage and the speed at which your phone gets data. . Do you really need to receive your emails as soon as they’re in your inbox? Or can you wait 15-30 minute intervals while your phone intermittently retrieves them? Do you really need to be on a 3G network all the time? Or can you turn it off and use the normal network from time to time? Anything that involves higher data usage also drains your battery. So yes, using Wi-Fi instead of data will help too.

Reuse and recycle.

This is a dame. Recycle or sell your old phone to reduce electronic waste generation. Simple as that.

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