Application Aims: Drive Planet Friendly

When we first became aware of the Carbon Footprint app, we expected to see a program that would allow for tracking those myriad little things that we all do that have an environmental impact. We figured that knowing the impact of what we do would give us a guide to improvement. Carbon Footprint, however, does little more than track automobile gas mileage and compare the figure to a national average of 500 gallons per American per year.

Nonetheless, the app is an easy way to track the fuel, and money consumption of multiple vehicles. It’s simple to create a separate record for each vehicle. Then, each time you gas up, enter the price per gallon, quantity purchased and the odometer reading. Typical of any number of other vehicle record apps, Carbon Footprint instantly calculates your miles per gallon and cost per mile driven.

The app then goes a little further to make you aware of your particular behavior by showing average daily miles driven and the amount of fuel used on an average day. It also show the amount of carbon emissions that would be produced yearly based on that behavior. It also shows a figure called Offset Average which tells you how well or poorly you’re doing compared to the average American. Good news is in green, bad news in Red. Statistics can be generated for the entire time you’ve used the app or for a specific timeframe.

Tapping a statistic will show it in graphical format. The graphs show the national average as a dotted line and you can compare that with your own average usage or Per Fill Up statistics from one fill up to the next.
Though not a lot more than a gas mileage calculator, Carbon Footprint puts some emphasis on the effect of our driving behavior and the vehicles we choose. That simple awareness of the consequences of our actions could be valuable in shaping future decisions.

Check out our iPhone and iPod Touch reviews as well as our other application reviews to help you get the most out of your devices.