It’s Earth Day, so we’ve got a couple of apps on today’s list to help get into the spirit of the holiday. First is iRecycle, which can put you on to recycling and disposal facilities in your area and keep you up on environmental news. That’s followed by National Parks Maps HD, a National Geographic app dedicated to helping you get around and see the sights in 15 of the country’s national parks. Read about both, and more, below.
iRecycle (iPhone, iPad) Free
Search the area around you to help meet all your recycling needs with iRecycle, an app that assists you with find recycling facilities and green events by using your iDevice’s GPS capabilities. It includes information on more than 110,000 recycling and disposal centers across the U.S., covering more than 240 different materials.
There’s more to iRecycle than just maps and recycling centers, though. The app is developed by Earth911.com, an environmentalism website, and you can get news updates and tips and read archived articles from the site within the app.
National Park Maps HD (iPhone, iPad) $4.99
Get back to nature just in time for Earth Day with National Geographic’s National Park Maps HD. You can probably guess what the app does: it covers 15 different parks, but National Park Maps is more than just a park atlases.
Nat Geo’s app also keeps track of your location when you’re in the parks using your device’s GPS technology, helping you navigate even when you’re away from the beaten path. It’s also filled with information about the parks, like landmarks and points of interest, so you can plan a trip without having to do a lot of research.
Textalyzer (iPhone, iPad) $0.99
The big problem that comes with having a cell phone with you all the time is that there are times when you really, really shouldn’t be allowed to use a cell phone. Like when you’ve been drinking, for example. The developers of Textalyzer known how problematic the combination of the two can be, so it keeps you from sending text messages when you might not have all your faculties at your disposal.
Textalyzer works by letting you set up a “forbidden” list of contacts that are vetted through the app. When you go to send them text messages, Textalyzer stops you and forces you to play some games to prove your coherency. If you win, your forbidden-contact texts go through; if not, then Textalyzer holds them back for 12 hours to give you a little time to reassess your plan.
