At about this time last year, when I was in the Safety Services Company shipping department in charge of shipping our safety posters, throughout the country I might have found it helpful to have some kind of application, say on my phone to quickly check that a zip code correctly matched with the city I was shipping it to.

What a difference a year makes because now I’m sitting at a computer charged with helping you find the information you need to safely operate your business and the U.S. Government has its own “apps store” with a truly helpful United States Postal Service (USPS) web app. With it you can track a package, find a nearby USPS location, find a zip code for an address and find what cities are in a zip code.

Some are more helpful than others. For instance the usa.gov mobile app is little more than a portal to their blog. In related news, the government has its own blog? Some like the White House app are still for iPhone only, but others have Android and Blackberry versions.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Mobile App, might sit on your phone unused for a very long time, yet come in real handy if you need to deal with a natural disaster like a hurricane. It has information for before, during, and how to contact FEMA for assistance after an emergency.

Thanks to the fuel economy web app, I know that my car’s carbon footprint is 9.3 tons of CO2 a year and I might spend $2,070 a year on fuel. I never thought of how much I spend on gas in a year.

And speaking of fuel, my favorite web app on the list is the My Food-A-pedia. Where I calculated that this morning’s vending machine breakfast of a granola bar and Coke has accounted for 285 calories and half an ounce of my daily recommended 6 oz of grains

Are there any others on this list of 20 apps that you might use? What is an app that you’ve found yourself wishing was out there, but isn’t made yet?