Environment

Apple exec talks about the Environment

Apple’s commitment to the environment is second to none and on Thursday the company released its yearly update detailing the environmental impact its products. I spoke with Apple executive Scott Broderick about the report and what Apple is doing on the environmental front. […]

Apple responds to EPEAT concerns

Apple on Tuesday responded to concerns that it asked to have its products removed from EPEAT, the U.S. government’s list of environmentally friendly products. […]

Stupid San Francisco

Erica Ogg:

Just days after news hit that Apple no longer wants its computers and monitors evaluated for EPEAT certification, the first public agency has said it will no longer be allowed to buy Macs as a result.

Instead of looking at a certificate, why not visit Apple’s environmental Web site and see what the company is actually doing with its products to help the environment.

Bloom Energy confirms Apple as a customer

Katie Fehrenbacher for GigaOM:

Apple is planning to build a massive 4.8 MW fuel cell farm for a data center that will consume 20 MW, according to Apple’s latest figures. Apple is also building an adjacent 20 MW solar panel farm at the data center. While Greenpeace has given Apple low marks for building its data center in North Carolina, where the grid has a lot of coal power, Apple actually seems to be going to significant lengths to build its own clean power sources at the site itself.

Apple vs Greenpeace

Josh Ong for AppleInsider:

In the report, the organization dismissed Apple’s renewable energy efforts for its Maiden, N.C., server farm as providing just 10 percent of “their total generation.”The Cupertino, Calif., company quickly responded in a statement, according to NPR.“Our data center in North Carolina will draw about 20 megawatts at full capacity, and we are on track to supply more than 60 percent of that power on-site from renewable sources including a solar farm and fuel cell installation which will each be the largest of their kind in the country,” said spokeswoman Kristin Huguet. “We believe this industry-leading project will make Maiden the greenest data center ever built, and it will be joined next year by our new facility in Oregon running on 100 percent renewable energy.”

And then Greenpeace responded. I’d like to see Greenpeace actually do something about the companies that are making no or little effort at all.

∞ Greenpeace ranks Apple fourth

Matt Brian:

Greenpeace’s Guide to Greener Electronics, now in its 17th year, ranks the world’s top 15 technology companies on their green policies and practices, on how products and processes impact the climate. Apple climbed five places to rank fourth, behind HP, Dell and Nokia, with the all four of the companies improving their green impact over the year to march up the charts.

Don’t get me wrong, I think this is great, but with all of the information that Apple makes available about its environmental efforts, it seems a bit odd that they would only rank fourth. It’s like Greenpeace is the Consumer Reports for the environment.

∞ EVE Online adds new character creator

CCP has announced the release of EVE Online: Incursion 1.1, a new version of their massively multiplayer online role playing game for Mac OS X and Windows. The update is free for all registered players, who will receive the update … Continued

∞ Other World Computing goes wind-powered

Popular Mac peripheral maker Other World Computing announced Thursday that it’s become the first technology manufacturer and distributor in the United States to become 100 percent wind-powered.