LisaJackson
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The surprising beauty of nature reclaiming Toronto in VR
Post-apocalyptic stories are everywhere these days, so much so that it's not even surprising to see them in narratives meant for kids. But Biidaaban First Light, which premieres at the Tribeca Film Festival this week, isn't that. Instead, it's more like indigenous futurism -- a vision of Toronto long after modern civilization has disappeared, where nature has overtaken every nook and cranny of the city. Humans are still around, but they co-exist with the environment similar to the way Native Americans used to. Most surprisingly, there's no sense of loss in the film. Instead, it's simply a neutral look at one possible direction for humanity.
Apple is on a mission to only use recycled materials
With the release of its new environmental report, Apple is looking to push the envelope of what it can do for the good of the planet. Last year, it boasted about how much cash its recycling efforts had saved it, including $40 million worth of gold re-used from old devices. This year, it's talking about "closing the loop" on its use of raw materials, potentially redefining how gadgets are made altogether.
Apple environmental head Lisa Jackson talks about making Apple more environmentally friendly
With Tim Cook at the helm, Apple has continuously demonstrated an increasing focus on ensuring that its operations are as environmentally sound as possible. A perfect example of Apple's commitment to clean up its act (pun partially intended) is its recent hire of Lisa Jackson as VP of Environmental Initiatives. Previously, Jackson served as the head of the Environmental Protection Agency. News that Jackson would be joining the mix at Apple was first revealed by none other than Tim Cook who let the cat out of the bag during this year's All Things D Conference. When you get larger, you get more attention. It comes with the territory. We're doing incredible work in the environment for example. We've been focused on that for a long time ... eliminated toxins from all of our products, running data centers on 100 percent renewable energy, largest solar farm of any non-utility. Lisa Jackson is joining Apple ... she recently left the EPA and will be coordinating efforts across the company. She'll be reporting to me. Hardly a nominal position, Jackson means business and has every intention of increasing the green factor at Apple. Earlier this week, Jackson spoke at VERGE, a conference focused on increasing sustainability through technology. Gigaom has a great recap of her speech, and lest anyone think that Jackson will quietly toe the party line, think again. This quote, relayed by Gigaom, should put those types of reservations to rest. "Tim Cook didn't hire Lisa Jackson to be quiet and keep the status quo," Jackson said. "We understand our responsibility and we do care." The typically secretive company is eager to share its environmental initiatives. At the same time, Jackson clearly felt comfortable talking about the inherent challenges of her position and discussing just what she's focusing on at Apple. Jackson talked about the challenges of pushing and developing sustainability projects within Apple. One of them is the challenge of collecting solid data and being able to measure projects and their success rates. This includes Apple's method to calculate the energy use and carbon footprint of its operation and products, the manufacturing of its devices and the supply chain and customers' use of the products. Jackson pointed to the life cycle analysis that Steve Jobs publicized back in 2009 in an effort to change the company's image, as an example of Apple's attention to creating sustainability metrics and data. Jackson leads a team of 17 people and one of her group's tasks is to recruit employees who are willing to help with the company's sustainability projects. There is a group of such employees who called themselves Apple Earth, and Jackson said she joined that group on her second day at the company. "People are busy with their primary work, so it's about finding champions in areas where people are interested in," said Jackson. At one point, Jackson joked that the best way to ensure something at Apple gets done faster is to tell an engineer that it can't be done. If you want more details on the content of Jackson's speech, GreenBiz also has a nice recap over here. Even better, if you're eager to hear every detail from Jackson's 29-minute talk, the full video can be viewed below.
Former EPA chief Lisa Jackson "thrilled" to be joining Apple; Greenpeace applauds the hire
In an email sent to Politico on Wednesday, former EPA chief Lisa Jackson said that she was thrilled to be joining Apple where she will help coordinate all of the company's environmental initiatives. I'm incredibly impressed with Apple's commitment to the environment and I'm thrilled to be joining the team. Apple has shown how innovation can drive real progress by removing toxics from its products, incorporating renewable energy in its data center plans and continually raising the bar for energy efficiency in the electronics industry. I look forward to helping support and promote these efforts, as well as leading new ones in the future aimed at protecting the environment. News that Jackson was set to join Apple first broke when Tim Cook spilled the beans during Tuesday evening's AllThingsD interview with Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher. Meanwhile, Greenpeace, which has historically targeted Apple for environmental indiscretions, applauded the company's recent hire. In an official blogpost on the matter, Greenpeace Senior IT Analyst Gary Cook opined: Apple has made a bold move in hiring Lisa Jackson, a proven advocate with a track record of combating toxic waste and the dirty energy that causes global warming, two of Apple's biggest challenges as it continues to grow. Jackson can make Apple the top environmental leader in the tech sector by helping the company use its influence to push electric utilities and governments to provide the clean energy that both Apple and America need right now.
Apple hires former EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson to boost environmental efforts
We're used to Apple's CEO teasing product strategies at D Conferences, but not staffing changes. And yet, here we are: Tim Cook has revealed at D11 that former Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson is joining Apple to coordinate the firm's drive toward eco-friendliness. While there are few specifics at this stage, including Jackson's title, we know that she'll report directly to Cook. There's certainly no shortage of tasks for her to handle: along with Apple's shift toward renewable energy sources, she also has to worry about the environmental impact of the products themselves.
