Comments on: Greenpeace, Apple clash over toxic waste

Environmental group's ranking of hardware vendors purports to show which are green, which lag ecologically.

[Qwavel]

No surprise. Apple is all image....

And no substance.

This is just like it's connection to open source.

It's OK for a company to use open source and not give back, but if they are going to make the connection to OS part of their immage, then they should give back more.

[lesfilip]

Apple Hater

You would do yourself a big favor by reading up a little on what
Apple has done for you, either directly or through technologies
they inspired for "other" PC and OS companies. Wake up.

Have a nice day!

[savvydude]

It's all politics

Greenpeace has embarassed itself once again. Its' criteria, and
motivation, for this kind of report is beyond silly. It makes one
wonder which computer CEO donated more to the Greenpeace
cause, and how they were rated. Apple's response to this nonsense
was exactly right.

[M C]

IF Apple's on the list, for CNet the story is about Apple

Seriously, this is getting ridiculous. Day by day, CNet loses whatever journalistic integrity it had as it "diggs" for page views.

I remember when they cared.

[cary1]

conspiracy theory...

give it a few more hours and this message board will be filled with conspiracy theories on how Dell, HP, Nokia and Lenovo have paid Greenpeace to produce these reports against Apple...

[airwalkery2k]

Well, almost

Lenovo probably didn't get the memo if that's the case.

[peter.mortensen]

Apple has very sound company policies

Alright, this is a bogus article. I've been working with manufacturers in the Guangzhou area of China and know many of the CE manufacturers there.

Many companies making CE products, toys etc. for export are having no control of their local polution in China and are following RoHS regulations only when forced to it. You can't imagine the conditions in some factories there and how cost focused everything is. You would never like to jog outside in this "world's electronics manufacting area" because the air is incredibly dirty.

So when Apple factually is a leader in both environmental and work condition policies it's sad to see such article. Obviously most other companies can learn from them.

Perhaps many people don't know this, but when you buy a product even from a well-known brand, it's often manufactured through a contract manufacturer you never heard about and many of these have their own not very impressive policies. And it's even getting worse when you look at the sub-suppliers that are often never in direct contact with the customer of the contract manufactorer. It would be a surprise if not relatively many Chinese factory workers are dying of cancer after a few years working in these companies.

Apple products are RoHS compliant today by the way.

Perhaps an article about the outstanding company policies of Apple would be a much more valuable article? It would perhaps help put a bit pressure on the real sinners...

[peter.mortensen]

Greenpeace knows nothing if they go after Apple

Alright, this is a bogus article. I've been working with manufacturers in the Guangzhou area of China and know many of the CE manufacturers there.

Many companies making CE products, toys etc. for export are having no control of their local polution in China and are following RoHS regulations only when forced to it. You can't imagine the conditions in some factories there and how cost focused everything is. You would never like to jog outside in this "world's electronics manufacting area" because the air is incredibly dirty.

So when Apple factually is a leader in both environmental and work condition policies it's sad to see such article. Obviously most other companies can learn from them.

Perhaps many people don't know this, but when you buy a product even from a well-known brand, it's often manufactured through a contract manufacturer you never heard about and many of these have their own not very impressive policies. And it's even getting worse when you look at the sub-suppliers that are often never in direct contact with the customer of the contract manufactorer. It would be a surprise if not relatively many Chinese factory workers are dying of cancer after a few years working in these companies.

Apple products are RoHS compliant today by the way.

Perhaps an article about the outstanding company policies of Apple would be a much more valuable article? It would perhaps help put a bit pressure on the real sinners...

[rpms]

Read the report first!

http://www.greenpeace.org/international/press/reports/greener-electronics-guide

You'll see that the report covers RoHS and other regulatory requirements (plus some issues that are beyond the scope of current regulations).

Greenpeace has done a good job with this report. Key findings link back to policy documents from the companies themselves.

Admittedly, no company can achieve every goal immediately.

Now I'd like to see a report on short-term, low-tech, low-cost improvements such as:

- User-replaceable batteries in MP3 players -- to slow down the disposal rate by prolonging the economic life of these devices.

- Energy-efficient switching-type power supplies for electronic devices with external transformers -- to reduce indirect pollution by reducing electricity consumption.

- More efficient built-in power supplies for desktop computers -- same goal as above.

- Conveniently located "hard" off switches for low-voltage electronics -- to eliminate "standby" power consumption.

[john55440]

Link To Guide

Guide to Greener Electronics

http://www.greenpeace.org/international/press/reports/greener-electronics-guide

Well, thats it, no Mac for me!

After all, I _care_ about the environment, unlike those people at Apple, appearently.

[lesfilip]

I'll buy 'em then!

Mac users keep their machines in service much longer than typical
PC users. While your old machines are probably in a landfill, mine
are passed down to friends and relatives.

Have a nice day!

[boyfromoklahoma]

wow knee jerk

reminds me of that 1984 lemmings ad ..

[thomcarl]

More CNET trash

Any one who believes what they read in CNET needs to get their
head adjusted.

[lingsun]

Greenpeace are wackos

Greenpeace are wackos. Who cares what they say?
I'm sure if Apple paid their protection money, they wouldn't have been singled out. Someone should ask Greenpeace how much CO2 the Rainbow Warrior produces.

[shantipole]

If only your car was as efficient as the RW

You might want to have a look at how Greenpeace have modified as much as possible every component of their ships so that they have as benign an impact on the environment as possible http://www.greenpeace.org/international/about/ships.
The way Greenpeace conducts their direct actions, the ships are a neccessary part of the process. While they do have a negative impact on the environment(something Greenpeace has never denied) the point is they are doing as much as they can to reduce that impact, something that we should all try to do as well.

[stephruss1973]

Apple is an environmental leader after all

I've just discovered that the US EPA's procurement website for
green IT equipment ranks Apple as a top performer. Apple
desktop, portable and computer monitors clean the floor on the
2006 international IEEE standard for environmental assessment
www.epeat.net

Perhaps Greenpeace's campaign was more of a piggy-back strategy
off one of the worlds most successful brands. Shame....I hope they
didn't waste too much campaign money?