Apple is really trying to improve on the fact that computers are terrible for the environment. Once a computer is no longer usable/ out of date, it goes in to the garbage. Once on the heap it does not degrade into the earth, so it garbage pile just sits there accumulating more and more unusable computers.
[Eco Chick]
The Macbook Air's ecofriendly stats, from Jobs’ speech:
-It’s got an aluminum case, which makes it easy to recycle
-Mercury- and Arsenic-free display
-The circuit boards are PVC (polyvinyl chloride) and BFR (bromine) free
-Less packaging waste; packaging was reduced by 56%
-It’s as skinny as it looks: 0.76 inches at the thickest part, and just 0.16 inches at the thinnest. It’s so slim Jobs slid it inside one of those manila office envelopes. And not very heavy either, which makes it light on your shoulders when you have to lug it around all day, and also costs less in CO2 emissions to ship to you from California.
Why don’t we want this stuff in our computers? Because when they are eventually trashed, all the nasty crap gets into our air (if garbage is incinerated) and water (if it’s landfilled). And making PVC, especially, also poisons the air.
Mercury: There is no safe level of mercury exposure according to the WHO and the UN, especially for young women; mercury can cause neurological problems in developing fetuses, and it is stored in the body, so it can harm a developing child even years after exposure)
Arsenic: Uh, it’s a poison. Didn’t you read “Flowers in the Attic”?
PVC is known as “The Poison Plastic”; it causes immune system problems, cancer, and disrupts hormones. It is one of the plastics scientist believe cause baby boys to hormonally become more feminized.
Bromine is a carcinogen. It’s especially interesting that they eliminated BVR after Apple fought Greenpeace tooth and nail in the media trying to say bromine was OK to use in the iPhone)
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