Huh? Greenpeace calls the MacBook Air "a winner"
By Thomas Ricker 
posted Jan 18th 2008 7:52AM
posted Jan 18th 2008 7:52AM
Apple and Greenpeace haven't exactly been the best of buds. However, MacWorld seems to have changed all that, at least for Greenpeace. In a statement issued on their US website, Greenpeace says the following:"The MacBook Air is a strong entry in the race to build a green PC. As a mercury and arsenic free laptop it exceeds European Standards (RoHS directive exemptions) and raises the bar for the rest of the industry."
Sure, the Greenies still had their nits to pick with the use of PVC and BFRs. Nevertheless, they did give a nod of approval in noting their reduced usage. Had Greenpeace's statement not been laced with condescending phrases like, "It's a big step for Steve," the whole week might have ended with some herb being passed around the Kumbaya circle -- 'ere 'ippie, gimme a 'ug.
[Via Macworld]
You could harpoon whales really well with the razor-thin design though.
Or fat chicks.
The harpoons: man them.
Most mac users are also hippies, so this comes off as no surprise.
This is great news, as I always make sure to consult a group of sadistic global warming lunatics before I make any computer equipment purchase.
I hate "green products".
Oh yeah, FUCK Greenpeace.
Then buy a different color. Just make sure its environmentally friendly ;).
Bah humbug, what has the environment ever done for me?
Keep you alive? That's something to think about, the life of you and everyone else depends on the environment. Unless you want to move to the moon, I hear Clavius Base is open for business.
@KirbyMeister
Provided you with the necessary components for life?
umm guys, kirby was being sarcastic. "bah humbug" is usually a giveaway.
Well, some of us don't know German lol.
Before anyone tells me that Clavius base doesn't exist, I would advise them to go read a book.
I want to get my mind transferred to a supercomputer so that I don't need the environment any more.
Somebody scream "Tax Rightoffs"
can we do an audit of greenpeace offices?
Yay, now I can get one. I was on the fence before, but now that Green Peace endorses it, the choice is obvious. Pfffft.
Hey Green Peace: Put your money where your big mouth is and make your own damn computers. Put up or shut up.
Thank you for your valuable contributions to our society; oops, thats right; you have none.
Must you stereotype, Thomas Ricker?
Apple Fanboys like a hug once in a while too, you know!
yeah that ^^
Your avatar is effing hilarious!
Veronica Belmont totally is a very pretty young woman though.
Oh, also Greenpeace needs to just stop acting like they're some sort of superior being the rest of the world, what's the point of living and enjoying life if you have these radicals like Greenpeace and PETA telling you all the shit you can't do. Christ >
That avatar is hilarious. You assume she actually looks at the comment section, upon spying your devotion, finally realizes there is one fish in the sea worth stopping for.
Actually, Andrew, I think you are the one making too many assumptions.
Hey, sleepy-heads! Wake up and smell the toxins. We of Greenpeace, Sierra, PETA, et al must continue these battles and to inform you because you haven't bothered devoting enough grey matter to your life and its environs to realize that your very existence depends upon such epiphany.
Wake up and grow up.
Sorry harmonic, but Andrew is still dreaming about being Veronica's fish.
If it makes you feel better, I bet it's an oilspill-free sea...
Stupid greenpeace. PVC isn't even harmful to the environment.
If burned it contains a lot of dioxine, that's why greenpeace want to banish it
If you burn anything its harmful to the environment :s
Dralion76:
Dioxide would be O2. O2 is what you breath in. You can't ban something we need to survive. Last time I checked not even the global warming theorists thought O2 was bad.
Originally they were against PVC because it had chlorine is it, as if all chlorine is bad. They were (and still are) attacked on their bad science.
Later they find out that burning PVC creates dioxin. The latch onto that as an excuse to ban PVC. Of course this is still bad science because proper burning creates little to no dioxin. It is the improper burning at low temperatures and not enough oxygen that causes the dioxin to be created.
More info incinerating PVC here:
http://lists.essential.org/1996/dioxin-l/msg00207.html
My favorite line is the last one "the ban on PVC or
the omitting of PVC in waste to incinerators or a ban on the whole chlorine
industry as 'the' dioxine source is simply scientific nonsense"
I am hoping that comment contains a large amount of sarcasm..................
If not then go do some research and find out what PVC is made from, then find out what happens to it at the end of its life. Give it a rating yourself for how sustainable it is.
There is no reason Apple cant make the case for this laptop out of biodegradable plastic made from PLA, and if you dont know what that is research it. Of course this would cut into Apples massive profits.
Also any computer that you cant upgrade is not green, if the parts are not user replaceable it uses more energy to get someone else to fit them, if you want to know why, research it.
Please in future, dont make comments about something you know nothing about, or with out referring to someone that does know what they are talking about.
Wake up.
@siriusfox
Not Dioxide, Dioxin
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dioxin
C+P: "Because of their extreme importance as environmental pollutants, current scientific literature uses the name dioxins commonly for simplification to denote the chlorinated derivatives of dibenzo-p-dioxin, more precisely the polychlorinated dibenzodioxins (PCDDs). The polychlorinated dibenzodioxins, which can also be classified in the family of halogenated organic compounds, have been shown to bioaccumulate in humans and wildlife due to their lipophilic properties, and are known teratogens, mutagens, and carcinogens."
anyway
Greenpeace is sooooooo 80's
these guys never know what they are talking about, they think because 1 company 'promises' to do better they rate them higher than say apple because apple are secretive, besides the fact they are currently a greener company, so stupid, plus they openly admit they pick on apple because they are high profile.
Thank heaven's! With the GreenPeace go-ahead, I finally have an alternative to my bamboo abacus. Who in the hell checks the greenpeace register before they buy a computer?
Not the self-righteous types, that's fer sure.
*goes for the easy joke*
the same people who buy macs.
I find this hilarious, because in the keynote, Steve sounded like he was half a shot away from telling Greenpeace, "We've changed the stupid things you wanted, now f@$@ off you fruity neo-hippies." His tone just screamed disgust at the green-niks' attitude towards Apple.
Huh? But I thought Apple users were fruity neo-hippies anyway?
But yeah, don't take much stock in what a bunch of eco-terrorists have to say anyway.
LIBB: Damn Straight. I loved that; " ARE YOU HAPPY NOW?""
loz
[coming soon]
PC... PC, what are you doing?
Clubbing harp seals with my Dell D630 laptop.
Oh, PC. You know, the MacBook Air was voted #1 by Greenpeace.
HAHA! I could definatly see that being said by that dingleberry of a Mac rep.
You forgot to inculde:
"...Oh, PC. You know, the MacBook Air was voted #1 by Greenpeace.
PC: *Smash* Oh I'm sorry Mac, did you just take my user friendly notebook to the face?
Mac: Ouch! You ruined my eco-friendly, fanboi loving, M$ hating face!
PC: Go die
@nubaeus
no no, ya killed it
D630's rule. Dell Latitude >>> Inspiron
" the race to build a green PC." hahhaha classic
when this race is over we're going to need another berlin wall to nock down
( yeah.. doubt anyone will get that reference )
I'm in favor of green products, but I HATE greenpeace.
Im quite the tree hugger but not even this can make me buy that thang
I don't care what Greenpeace says, I am still sticking with my fat Clevo D901C powerhouse laptop, not some mid powered thin word processor/internet cruiser.
I really didn't need another reason to never buy an Air, but Greenpeace just stepped up to plate for me. Thanks, Greenpeace!
Wow, siriusfox.
That post reaches for whole new levels of stupidity. Maybe you should learn reading first.
All the girls love the MacBook Air! And now Greenpeace does too.
I'm glad to hear all the nerds hate it... keeps it sexy and cool longer.
haha. But I'm a geek myself, I would never buy one.
But I know sexy when I see it.
It also raises the bar on expensively impractical laptops. I could buy a sheet of balsa wood and break it myself for a buck.
Greenpeace can eat a dick. I wouldn't any sooner consult them on my computer needs than I'd ask Wesley Snipes for tax advice.
the crappy thing is a lot of mac toting trendy people do. "steve jobs and greenpeace love this thing and i have one to so im going to put a halo over my own head and pretend I'm more important than everyone else"
@MARKSHAK
I love Apple products, but would I listen to Greenpeace? Hell no. Bunch of crazed lunatics who want to do good but end up making the public dislike them and their cause.
kizor, read your post again and think about who you've described.
@Kizorblade:
Sounds a lot like mac zealots.... except maybe Mac zealots don't really have the intent of doing good?
Well, at least the MacBook Air doesn't threaten the health of whales, like the US Navy allegedly does. I guess Greenpeace can dig that.
Greenpeace is to environmentalism as the "Minute Men" are to anti-immigration. I'm an environmentalist, and they piss me off.
Doesn't Greenpeace also not let cut hair to go down the drain because it'd get into the throats of ducks or something? Ooh duckie, getting into Megan Fox's pubes. How can you be so lucky...
lol... Greenpeace didn't take into account the price of the laptop. I think this should be factored into account when calling an item "a winner". After all, you could be saving the extra money if you bought a cheaper laptop to plant a tree or something.
My fishing lure contain more lead that a thousand of notebooks, and i don't see any greenpeace bitch'n me about this.
If Greenpeace cared for the environment more, and less about fundraising, they would be taking Dell and HP to task. It's flattering they think smacking Apple undeservedly with a stick get their misdirected point across. To me it means the opposite. You try to what's right in a reasonable way so that you don't go out of business, and Greenpeace treats you like some fool who doesn't get what existence is about. Way to motivate companies to ignore the environment Greenpeace!
They have no credibility. I care about the environment. But I believe in action, not making misdirected accusations to raise money.
I wonder if Greenpeace took into account the 18-month to 2-year lifespan of the laptop? I mean, sealing the battery and other components inside means that it's just as disposable as the iPod. I don't care how nice your design is, Li-Poly batteries lose a lot of battery capacity after 2 years. After three they're nearly unusable.
Apple - leading the way in disposable electronics. If you can afford to throw away your phone, music player, and laptop every 2 years, you are clearly wealthy enough not to have to care about the ACTUAL environmental impact of your life. Go pat yourself on the back and get back in your feel-good Prius with it's toxic, 6-year batteries."
Now I just hope Greenpeace apologizes to Nintendo after calling their Wii "the worst product on the greenness scale" when actually Nintendo has done a lot of effort in recycling and reducing mercury, arsenic, and lead from their products, as per that statement Nintendo mailed to some Engadget reader a month ago.
It's always good read the uber-ignorant remarks from the high school kiddies re: Greenpeace. Sounds like they listened to their "stuck in the 80's" mba cog-in-the-machine parents religiously. I can't otherwise explain the high levels of hatred and ass-naked ignorance co-existing in such harmony. Surely nobody can be THAT naturally stupid?
Kudos to Greenpeace for raising these issues. Kudos to Apple for making real progress. Incremental changes DO add up. Don't fear change my tech/enviro luddites. Our planet can use all the help it can get.
@Eric: you'd have to read to find out more. I know, terrible imposition. Here ... let me give you a hand: from their last full review/comparison in 2007: http://www.greenpeace.org/international/campaigns/toxics/electronics/how-the-companies-line-up. Sorry they liked Dell better at that point. So terribly sorry. But hey, they positively laid into Sony. Of course, you'd have actually READ the separate PDF's to find out EXACTLY what they're talking about ... so you might want to pass.
Personally, I believe in people actually knowing something about what they're talking about.
Yeah, I'm pro-environment, but anti-Greenpeace. I think Greenpeace needs a good PR agecy, cause a lot of us who want to help the environment are put off by their over the top zealousness.
Agreed with a previous comment about how very few "check" with Greenpeace before they buy a computer.
Still don't understand some people's perception that Mac User = Hippie or that Eco-conscious = Hippie. That's a very shallow cognition.