The recent notable absence of Apple from the EPEAT (Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool) registry last month brought out the environmentalist in me, so I decided to keep the momentum going and take a look at creative ways environmental groups are using technology to their benefit. Some of my faith in the Apple brand has been restored as they agreed to resist all of their products with the exception of the new MacBook Pro with retina display, in the wake of masses of pushback from their customers.Now onto some creative, tetchy, environmentalist efforts.As a part of their website rebuild last year, the City of New York decided to host a two-day event that brought together developers and designers from across the US and Canada- Reinvent Green Sustainability Hackathon. All told there were approximately 75 participants who were tasked with developing apps that supported the notion of sustainable living in a metro area.Although these apps were developed for a densely populated metropolitan area, the concepts are creative and with some modification could be deployed locally.Below are some of the apps that were selected as winners in the NYC Hackathon.ReBounty identifies locations within the city that offered free goods kerbside. This app had a push and pull effect; the owners were getting rid of an item they no longer needed and bargain hunters were acquiring goods needed free of charge.FreshFixNYC provides users with the locations of farmer’s markets and sites where they can procure organically grown produce.Green Can provides the location of available recycling bins within the area. I’m not sure how many will walk an extra two blocks just to make use of a recycling bin, but this sort of information is useful for those who make the effort.The Judge’s Pick was Green, Greener, Greenest, an app designed to promote healthy competition among neighbourhoods within NYC. This app was my personal favourite and I’m sure this it could be redeveloped for use in Bermuda and perhaps a worthwhile effort for energy providers BELCO to pursue.Driving positive behaviours through competitions of this sort makes it seem like less of an effort for some, which ultimately increases the likelihood of success. Green, Greener, Greenest ranked the “green factor” of participating neighbourhoods using the following criteria: number of trees planted, energy consumption, oil usage and a few others. For those interested, the app results can be found on www.greenerneighbor.com.Another organisation to keep an eye on is Cleanweb, (cleanwebhack.com/about) who have launched a travelling Hackathon, moving from city to city in an effort to spread their message. This organisation is focused on using, developing and deploying tools and technologies that allow us to battle sustainability issues plaguing us. I anticipate we can expect to see innovative solutions from this group in the near future so don’t lose sight of them.Greenrock is our local resource for all things green, so take a minute to visit their site and learn how you can make a positive difference by visiting http://www.greenrock.orgNext week we’ll take a look at some creative ways environmental organisations are using technology to their advantage.We’d love to know what topics you’d be interested in learning more about, so e-mail us at TechBuzz@btc.bm