New iPhone app to fight climate change

David Swan
Saturday, 03 October 2009 11:42

Your IT - Entertainment

Not into protesting..? Petitions not your thing? An Aussie developer has launched an iPhone app to support Earth Hour's "Vote Earth" campaign.

Australian digital agency Holler Sydney has developed and launched a world first iPhone application to support Earth Hour’s “Vote Earth” campaign.

Available now to download free from Apple’s app store, the official Vote Earth application gives Apple iPhone users around the world the chance to let global leaders know they want to take strong action against climate change.

Through an interactive model of a dynamo (a device for converting mechanical energy into electrical energy) voters can use their own energy to create enough power to send their vote to Denmark in the lead up to the vital UN Climate Summit held in Copenhagen this December.  Users can join millions of others and watch their votes fly thousands of miles around the world on a rotating globe in real-time.

According to the company, "one small action can make a big difference.  In just three easy steps users can vote, view global votes and then share the chance to vote with friends via Twitter and email."

Sydney-based Holler Director, Mike Hill said, "The iPhone app we have created is our own way of Voting Earth.  By providing every iPhone user around the world with the chance to join us, we hope this takes us another step forward to making a significant move towards action on Climate Change.”

“Mobile is the perfect medium to allow people to quickly have their voices heard - it’s pervasive, personal and portable. It made perfect sense to us to use the iPhone to create a simple but fun way to send a vote. You can even do it with one hand!”

Earth Hour Executive Director Andy Ridley said, “Holler Sydney’s creativity, professionalism and passion for this project is reflected in this innovative application.  It is highly portable and can be taken anywhere and shared with anyone, which will help to spread the Earth Hour’s Vote Earth message even further.  Mike and his Holler Sydney team have gone all out to make this an incredible and user friendly app.”

If every iPhone user globally used the Vote Earth application to make their voice heard, 30 million votes alone from this one application will contribute to the one billion votes needed to make the World’s leaders stand up and take notice.  In Australia alone, iPhone users could cast more than a million votes.

Like Holler Sydney, who produced the Vote Earth app without charge for Earth Hour, every iPhone can help affect positive change for our planet by Voting Earth.

It remains to be seen exactly what difference this app makes to the climate change cause, if any, but the idea and intention behind it at least seem impressive, and the fact that the app is free makes it hard to resist, even for those who don't feel particularly passionate about the issue.