sustainability
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Al Gore taunted at shareholders' meeting, gets 10k more options anyway
Last week in this post and last night during the talkcast, we mentioned that Apple's shareholders had passed on a sustainability proposal during last week's meeting (the first time in recent memory that Apple didn't go for stricter environmental standards), but apparently the shareholders weren't just against the proposal. At least one of them was openly heckling Al Gore about his work with the environment. Shelton Ehrlich (who apparently has a reputation among Apple shareholders as a conspiracy believer) stood up and called Gore a "laughingstock," railing against Gore's re-election to the board of directors. Good times -- we're sure Gore is used to dealing with controversies like that, but we wouldn't have expected it at the Apple shareholder meeting. Still, that hasn't dissuaded him from working with the company -- according to an SEC filing, he also picked up another 10,000 stock options from Apple, netting him more than $227k according to Apple's current stock price. Good deal. At least one of Apple's shareholders isn't too happy with Gore's work for the environment, but the relationship between Gore and Apple seems like it's here to stay for a while.
Recompute: a closer look at the sustainable, cardboard PC
We just recently saw some of the entries in the Greener Gadgets Design Competition that's happening in New York on February 27th. The designer of one of those entries, the cardboard-housed Recompute, was kind enough to contact us with some more detail about his computer, including a few specs. The fully functional PC houses all off-the-shelf components, including an Intel Core 2 Duo CPU, and 2GB of RAM. The designer, Brenden Macaluso, also mentioned that there's been some concern over the safety of using cardboard -- but his reasoning with regards to the materials is that cardboard is more heat-resistant than many plastics, with a much higher fire and ignition point -- 258°C and 427°C, respectively -- where plastics begin to melt at about 120°C. The designer also stressed that the material that Recompute is made out is just one facet of its sustainability: just as important in this design is the idea that less time, labor and parts go into the production of the unit, and that there will ultimately be far less to dispose of when the computer has reached the end of its life cycle. Check some more photos of Recompute after the break.
Sony Ericsson trying to not destroy Earth with "GreenHeart" concept
Perhaps a nod to Samsung's corny candybars and Nokia's wild Earth-friendly hardware, Sony Ericsson has unveiled its GreenHeart concept, a never-destined-for-production handset that incorporates a bunch of green technologies that it'd like to bring to market over the coming years. Most of the GreenHeart's ideas are totally logical and could be executed today -- online user manuals, bioplastic and recycled plastic materials, and a charger that draws just 3.5mW in trickle mode, just to name a few -- but the company is shopping around the whole lot of it to customers and "selected partners" to determine which eco-concepts should be implemented for production and in what order. Unfortunately, Sony Ericsson isn't seeing fit to show any pictures of the GreenHeart right now, which we take to mean it looks like a tree.[Via Unwired View]
MacBook Air: greenest Apple yet
Apple has received a lot of flack, especially from Greenpeace, for their supposedly less-than-stellar commitment to "green" design and manufacturing processes. However, the MacBook Air might be a sign of changes to come, as it is officially the most environmentally-friendly Apple product on the shelves. The latest, thinnest Apple notebook boasts the following: Fully recyclable aluminum case Apple's first mercury-free LCD display, with arsenic-free glass Circuit boards are BFR-free and PVC-free 50% less packaging than the previous MacBooks Meets ENERGY STAR requirements Receives a EPEAT Silver Rating Of course, the MacBook Air isn't quite perfect (it's far from the greenest computer out there), and there are more improvements that can be made. However, this is indeed a step in the right direction for Apple, and hopefully this indicates a new trend. I think it's about time that Apple gets on the sustainability train and starts implementing more earth-friendly materials into their products. Let's hope for more good things in the future.
Tree-inspired PC wins Dyson design award
One of the main arguments that Windows users offer during those habitual debates with Macheads is that PC boxes are much easier to upgrade; instead of buying a new machine every year, you can simply swap out components ad hoc. Well a graduate of Ireland's National College of Art and Design imagines taking this convenience a step further, with a tree-shaped rig -- known as Cultivate - the Sustainable Living Computer -- whose CPU, RAM, hard drive, and other swappable parts extend from the motherboard-packing "trunk" inside removable "branches." Designer Laura Caulwell won a cool €2,000 $2,929) for her concept, and also earned the right to compete for January's annual International James Dyson Award in Australia, which offers up £15,000 ($31,476) in prizes.[Via The Register, photo courtesy of Electric News]
Wal-Mart looking to sell "sustainable electronics" to help Mother Earth
The same store who snubbed the idea of installing Wii kiosks in its stores and is probably installing Big Brother style monitoring systems as we speak is now looking to take a bigger stand in its fight to keep Mother Earth in good shape. Following the trend of downsized packaging (as in Apple's iPod, for instance) and recycling as much as humanly possible, Wal-Mart is now setting a goal to sell "sustainable electronics" as early as next year. While it's not entirely out of character for a mega-corporation to jump on the green bandwagon, Wally World has "released criteria that will be part of a scorecard used to evaluate consumer electronics suppliers on the environmental sustainability of their products," essentially forcing suppliers who want to keep their products on such hot shelves to rethink their approach to "minimizing impact on the environment." While we can't deny that those huge boxes are quite enjoyable to take home, compacting PC titles to simple jewel cases would be a long overdue start to minimizing the amount of waste just sitting around, and we're such Toshiba is getting a nice pat on the back for already helping the retailer out.
Fat-burning members power Hong Kong fitness club
So we've heard of dance clubs powered by fresh moves, but now California Fitness, a Hong Kong-based health club wants to jump on the sustainable people-power wagon too. As a group effort between inventor Lucien Gambarota, Wharton grad and entrepreneur Doug Woodring, and California Fitness, "Powered by YOU" will offer exercisers the chance to use their own energy to power lighting fixtures, with excess energy to be stored in batteries. The 13 step, cycling, and cross-training machines will be soon be rigged to encourage members to reduce CO2 emissions as well as their waistlines. According to California Fitness president Steve Clinefelter, someone running an hour each day on a machine can generate 18.2 kilowatts of electricity and prevent 4,380 liters of CO2 from being released each year. It's hard enough battling the bulge on your own, so we're glad to see that these explorations in alternative energy can provide some extra motivation for living a healthy lifestyle. We, on the other hand, will continue to remain seated for the rest of our lives. [Via Inhabitat]
