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June 13, 2009Hell still not frozen over
This week, Shell paid $15.5m to the Ogoni people in Nigeria, an out of court settlement after a 13 year struggle. I read that Shell's lawyers apparently once said that Shell would only settle when "hell freezes over" and they were "skating on it" - (perhaps that explains why Shell is now the most carbon intensive oil company on the planet - a desperate bid to keep hell nice and cosy).
Unfortunately I have now found that this quote was in fact from Chevron's lawyer in relation to a similiar case - but I would guess there was a not entirely dissimilar sentiment involved here. (Strangely, Shell's former Group Auditor Bill Campbell also told Shell's senior execs in 2007 that "hell would freeze over" before they would appear in court to clear their names. These guys must clean up at the annual Oil Industry Buzzword Bingo convention).
Sun Microsystems first with response on climate leadership
Back in March we launched our IT Climate leadership Challenge to the biggest IT companies to stand up and be counted in support of a strong Kyoto deal this year and lead the way in providing climate solutions across the economy.
Since then we've been following up letters sent to company CEO's back in February in preparation for releasing company scores during May. With many companies it's taking a long time to get answers but kudos to Sun Microsystems for sending and now publishing a response which already puts down a good marker for where they will score against others in May.
Sun Microsystems is a founding member of Business for Innovative Climate and Energy Policy (BICEP). A key principle among the eight put forth by BICEP is that the United States must achieve a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions of 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050 and at least 25 percent reduction below 1990 levels by 2020. (snip) Sun's CEO Jonathan Schwartz will be featured on a plenary panel at the upcoming (April 2009) Ceres conference. We expect that Sun's support of BICEP and its principles will be featured in his remarks.
I've asked for more details from Sun on a few points but so far this is the best response.
So IBM, Dell, HP, Google, Fujitsu and co, now you know what you have to beat…..
The card image is the Sun CEO and a sneak preview of how the climate leaders website will look come the May launch.
HP responds to Greenpeace penalty point
Over on Greenmonk HP has responded to us giving them a penalty point in the latest Guide to Greener Electronics for backtracking on their commitment to remove toxic PVC and BFRs. It's an interesting post from a consultant who works with both HP and Dell on sustainability. I've posted a response there, seemingly HP PR department still thinks they are leaders on toxics phase out.
Lets just say we see HP far from a leadership position. On Greenmonks partner site, RedMonk there some musings on corporate commitments/goals and how companies can or should be held accountable:
The danger is that if we slam companies too hard for making sustainability commitments they don’t manage to keep then they might avoid putting forward audacious goals at all. The danger is that environmental reporting goes the way of financial reporting - which is all about managing analyst expectations rather than truly reflecting the state of the business. Be conservative about the numbers so you can beat them- that’s the GE Way. But massaging figures to look good has a rather more unpleasant corollary- fraud.We’re already effectively defrauding the planet by not accounting for environmental damage and degradation on our balance sheets. If environmentalism is reduced to a PR-driven quarter over quarter “continuous improvement” then we’re really screwed. Of course we should hold public statements by companies and governments up to scrutiny, but we should rate organisations on what they do than rather than on what they say.
I'd say if we don't hold companies publicly accountable for meeting goals that their competitors have met then companies can fail to deliver the corporate priority required to meet environmental targets. The right level of 'carrot and stick' is crucial in any corporate campaign.
Apple moves closer to eliminating toxics
Regular readers will know we follow Apple news closely because we want them to be an environmental leader in the electronics industry. Apple announced new products this week and took a step closer to meet their goal of removing toxic BFRs and PVC completely. New iMacs and Mac minis are BFR free and PVC free internally.
That seems to just leave Apple to get rid of the PVC in external power cords, a move which industry insiders tell us is coming soon. Infinite loop has a good analysis of the latest moves from Apple here:
"We have spent a tremendous amount of time and engineering effort and money in coming up with these kinds of solutions ahead of the rest of the industry," (David Moody, Apple VP of marketing).
On toxic chemicals elimination they are leading the industry, now it's time for Dell, HP, Lenovo and co to match Apple's effort and money they have put it to this since May 2007.
What no greener Apple product line?
Several people in the Greenpeace office follow every Apple keynote like millions of other devoted Mac fans. Today a few extra of us were tuning in, expecting an annoucement that Apple had eliminated the worst toxic chemicals across their entire product range. Steve Jobs made this promise to eliminate toxic PVC and BFRs by the end of 2008 back in May 2007. In October last year he updated this and progress seemed good:
Last year we announced the unprecedented goal of eliminating polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and brominated flame retardants (BFRs) from Apple products by the end of 2008. I’m proud to report that all of Apple’s new product designs are on track to meet our 2008 year-end goal. Steve Jobs, October 2008
However the only new product Apple announced today was a new MacBook Pro with reduced amounts of PVC and BFRs. Good, but not what Apple had promised for 2009 and no substantial further progress than MacBooks announced in October.
Maybe there's going to be a new annoucement coming from Apple soon, but so far nothing new on the Apple site. For now we are keeping the praise on hold...........
Beijing Olympics hang under a clound of smog
Air quality levels in Beijing are still far from World Health Organization standards. From ABS-CBN news:
Beijing's air quality is still falling well short of international guidelines, despite desperate efforts to clean the Olympic host city's skies before the Games, a report by Greenpeace said Monday.However, the city has met many of its commitments on environmental issues and will leave an important legacy for Beijing after the August Games, the organisation said in a report.
"Beijing's current air quality still faces major challenges presented by the country's booming economy and the rapid increase in car ownership," said the report, released on a day when thick haze shrouded the city centre.
"Although Beijing has undertaken factory upgrades to improve air quality in the city, more could have been done to move the city towards clean production methods."
More info on the green Olympics page of Greenpeace China's website.
Also see the BBC report "Lingering Pollution Worries in China". (They did their own tests.)
Extreme blogging high
You see the lengths we go to bring you, our dear readers, the absolute latest developments – here is one of our climbers hundreds of feet up a chemical plant chimney who has even forsaken holding on to use both hands to type out a entry……
If you read German you can check out the resulting blog or more images of the action. In short due to Greenpeace pressure 3 massive chemical companies have been forced to pay for the clean up of a Swiss toxic dump they created. Novartis has paid up for the clean up fund but Ciba & Syngenta have so far refused to pay.
Nintendo stuck on start
Back in November we added Nintendo to our Green Guide to Electronics. Despite several requests for information Nintendo provided none and was the first brand to score 0. The next edition of the guide is released today and Nintendo only gets 0.3 due to an indication that it does have a chemicals management policy.
We covered the reasons why Nintendo got zero last time around. Since then we have not received any response from Nintendo aside from one person from its UK PR department. Nintendo has been sending out a pretty lame response to emails on the subject, which tells you mainly about office recycling.
Nintendo has added to its one meager FAQ on the environment some information on product recycling. There is now one phone number for US customers where eventually an operator refers you to the EPA for recycling options. That doesn't compare very well to other electronics makers. Sony for example offers much better recycling services.
Nintendo remains the odd one out of the 18 companies in the Guide, without any public time lines to eliminate the worst toxic chemicals or a global recycling policy for the millions of products it sells every year. If Nintendo has better policies why not make them public like the other 17 companies in the Guide?
You can keep up the pressure on Nintendo to improve by writing to them.
Green Cooking @ CeBIT
Day 4 here at CeBIT in Hannover, and despite the excellent work and camaraderie of our international crew here in Germany, I am definitely missing my home of Oakland in the heart of the San Francisco Bay Area. Besides the great weather (hey, it’s going to be 64F/18C today!), I also have to admit I miss the fine vegetarian food of California. Let’s just say that CeBIT is a bit lacking in the available vegan goodies, unless I want to start crunching on the new bamboo covered laptop from Acer.
Not THAT hungry. Yet.
My rumbling stomach has made me start thinking about all things through a culinary lens, and I figured that this would be a good theme for today’s post. As you’ll see in the video below, my colleague Omer visited various exhibits in search of the newest eco-friendly laptops.
There’s still no clear winner, which is consistent with the report we released earlier this week, ranking company’s greenest products to date.
No one product excelled in all areas. It appears that when certain electronics focused on improved energy efficiency, they lagged behind in the elimination of toxic chemicals such as PVC and Brominated Flame Retardants (BFRs). Similarly, products that excelled in designing out these toxic chemicals didn’t possess good policies on product lifecycle – a product’s warranty, upgradeability and recyclability. Ho hum.....
The polluter pays
Two bits of good news this week, unless you happen to be a polluting company.
First our Swiss office has won a long running campaign to force several major chemical to clean up a major dump site in Switzerland. Novartis, Roche, Ciba, Syngenta and others have been ordered to pay E250 million to clean up one of the largest dump sites in the world to very high standards.
Then a French court ruled that the oil company Total must pay environmental damages for the Erika oil spill in 1999. More from our French office.
Both rulings uphold the polluter pays principle. Of course the polluters will probably appeal, hopefully the well paid lawyers get company off principle won't apply!
Clash of the Consoles!
The little guy in the foreground on this picture is Mario, he's a plumber. The green guy with the visor is Master Chief, he's a stone cold killing machine from the future. They're going head to head because we've launched our new 'Clash of the Consoles' website detailing how the different games consoles stack up against each other.
Master Chief works for Microsoft, little Mario is pitching for Nintendo. Sony sent the God of War. See how they get along with each other in our movie over here.
Nintendo response
Nintendo has yet to respond directly to us about their recent low ranking score. However several people have forwarded their PR response to customer queries. Here’s our response:
Nintendo ranking creates a stir
Last week we published our latest Guide to Greener electronics with new companies added - Microsoft, Sharp, Philips and Nintendo. Nintendo being new and coming our bottom with 0/10 certainly made the biggest splash with many big news sites, tech blogs and gaming websites picking up the story. This made for some amusing headlines on several gaming sites. However there was also criticism from some technology sites (Arstechnica, BoingBoing, Guardian) and several angry emails from the public, mainly focussing on Nintendo getting 0/10.
Here I'll address some of the common points raised in detail, this from BoingBoing and lots of other blogs and several emails:
Here we go again
Today Greenpeace launched a new edition of the electronics ranking guide. This time we've added some new types of hardware (games consoles and TVs) and as a result some new manufacturers (Philips, Microsoft, Nintendo, Sharpe, and Panasonic). Since, once again some of the worst performing manufacturers are ones people like here are some predictions.
* We will be accused of targeting these brands because they are high profile - and not because they make toxic products
* We will be accused of targeting these brands because we expect them to make donations - even though we accept no corporate or government money
* We will be told that these products meet existing legal requirements - even though we're quite clear we're asking for them to do more
* We will be told about the great strides these firms are making in areas like packaging, or energy use, or labour standards, even though this campaign is about toxic chemicals
What we won't hear too much is that we've already succeeded in moving the majority of the PC and mobile phone market toward a greener future, and that the smart money would be on the console makers and TV manufacturers following suit.
Meanwhile we'll be working to keep the pressure on companies who have already made commitments but are failing to deliver. See the story for more details
State of Independence
Greenpeace doesn't take any government or corporate money. Period. It's something we don't always explain clearly enough, and some of our supporters quite reasonably ask us why we don't just take the money - after all, once it's in our hands it's going to a good cause.
Well, here's one reason why. One of the things you can do on our website, right now, is challenge the IT industry to develop a green computer. We have to challenge them, because right now a green computer just doesn't exist.
One of the other things you can do on our website is download a ranking guide which shows Sony Ericsson to be one of the greener manufacturers of hi tech electronics. Now, suppose we took money from Sony Ericsson. All the other companies on the list would cry foul and say we were only being nice to Sony Ericsson because of the money - and a lot of people would believe them.
Or suppose we took money from one of the lower scoring manufacturers, like Panasonic. Suddenly we'd find ourselves in a very difficult position, having to trade off spending the money on (say) saving the Amazon versus campaigning against Panasonic.
So by restricting ourselves to donations from individuals we make sure the only questions we have to ask ourselves when spending money are 'would our supporters approve of this?' and 'will this make a difference to the environment?' It keeps things simple and it lets our supporters have confidence in us.
So, if you feel like joining the 3 million or so individuals around the world who support our work just click here. You'll be in good company.
Time magazine special highlights enviro heros
Times mag has presented a list of environmental heroes, including Al Gore, Wanhari Mathaai, Chip Giller, Frederic Hauge, and our very own Von! I met Von some years ago in the US, and I've always been impressed by his willingness to get his hands dirty working at the community (and garbage dump) level. In 1999, the Philippines became the first country in the world to ban waste incineration nationwide, and in 2003 he won the Goldman Environmental Prize (his acceptance speech is here).
From the Time magazine feature:
The West likes to outsource to Asia: countless low-cost factories and call centers have been relocated to the world's most populous continent. But Von Hernandez, a former literature professor from the Philippines, drew the line at another lucrative export from the developed world: mountains of trash. Across Asia, waste incinerators pump out clouds of dioxin and other harmful chemicals that come from processing imported garbage. It's a highly profitable business for waste companies, but the onslaught of pollutants can wreak havoc on local health.
iPhone's hazardous chemicals
When we released our iPhone testing results that revealed toxic chemicals in the iPhone, chemicals that other phone makers have removed, we expected the news to travel. Two days after the release there's been loads of coverage, especially online, varying of course from the factually accurate in wired to the predictable ranting, like this on gizmodo.
Dell to go "carbon neutral"
Dell has stepped up the ante in the computer industries competition to show how they are becoming greener by announcing this week plans to become carbon neutral by 2008. It's certainly had the intended effect to generate a good amount of positive media.
Leaving aside the dubious nature of 'carbon neutral' marketing speak and the definitely less than perfect option of carbon offsetting (especially by planting trees) it is good that they are looking to increase the use of renewable energy in their operations and making their products more efficient.
Sony belatedly unveils US recycling policy
In the last version of our Guide to Greener Electronics, Sony came bottom of the pack, mainly due to bad recycling policies and double standards on product take back in the US. Yesterday Sony announced a new US recycling scheme. Shame it's not worldwide but better than nothing.
Who says shining a bright light on bad corporate practice doesn't bring results?
Much ado about nothing: Apple's new iMac
I feel a little bit ashamed but, as I have already said, I can't resist to have a look at the Apple rumours sites when there is a Steve Job's Keynote.
For those who are not Mac fans, it may be useful to know that Apple doesn't stream live the conferences when they launch new products, so all of us good folk meet in chats and in rumours web pages where we crave to read some reports of Steve's speech.
Last Thursday I decided to stay a couple of hours longer in the office and from 7 pm (central Europe time) I was ready to read some news from the Steve's keynote that was taking place in the Apple headquarters.
After 10 minutes MacObserver reported:
"Steve says that recycling has been kept in mind from the ground up. Says iMac is great in this area."
As I understood later he was speaking about the new iMac case and screen: the display is now made with glass, and they replaced the plastic at front side with aluminium (the back side is still in plastic). Ok, it's nice to hear Steve saying something about the environment, but to be honest these updates are not revolutionary at all. So I was quite surprised when the morning after I found out on my RSS reader that so many Mac Blogs were reporting it as a great announcement for the environment.
Poisoning People? That's their problem
While writing a feature on pollution from Chinese e-waste yards, Kevin, from our science unit, sent me some links to scientific papers on the e-waste pollution. Normally these are quite dense but a couple of things jumped out from reading this study:
Electronics-dismantling laborers in China are taking up very high concentrations of heavy polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) flame retardants. One worker had by far the highest concentration (3100 parts per billion) ever reported.
Great e-waste video
Very cool video about the e-waste problem and it's made by someone else, damn! We campaign to green the electronics industry and reducing e-waste but this is one of the best short videos on the issue I have seen. Brought to you by the, er, good folks at goodmagazine.com who have a impressive collection of youtube vids on different subjects "for people who give a damn".
Room for a Green View?
I'm always very excited when the Apple store goes offline and Apple is presenting its new products but on Tuesday I was even more since I was really curious to see what Apple would have offered after the Greener Apple statement. They disappointed me last May 15th when they updated the MacBook without adding anything relevant for the environment, but I was sure that this time Apple would not have failed to show that they really care to change their environmental policy.
At nearly 14.30 Apple Store went on line, I ran to the Apple site and at the front page I saw the new wonderful MacBook Pro. WOW. Have they launched the first toxic free laptop on the market? Are this new MacBook PVC free or BFRs free? Are they using the mercury free LED display?
Dell vs Apple: Eco-Rumble in the Electronic Jungle
Get the popcorn folks, it's the computer industry's heavyweight championship fight of the century.
Michael Dell led with an uppercut to the chin when he announced Dell's free worldwide recycling policy and challenged the industry to match it. Steve jobs staggered back to the ropes, dazed, then came back with a surprise left when he declared a phase-out of the worst toxic chemicals in the Apple product line (and a deadline to do so sooner than Dell's), along with a new commitment to eco-transparency. Yesterday, Dell shook it off and sucker-punched Jobs when he laid down his plans to become the greenest computer company in the world.
This is the kind of prize fight we love.
What Apple needs to do to become Green to the core
The Apple Annual General Meeting is on May 10th, the Green my Apple site just won a webby, and now is the time to for everyone to join hands, chant OMMMM in harmony, and send karma waves toward Cupertino asking Steve Jobs to announce that Apple has gone green to the core, and won't be generating anymore poisoned e-waste.
Ever the busy bees, Zeina here in Amsterdam and her Toxoid team had a thought that maybe Apple could use a handy schematic of just what the company needs to do to leap out of last place in our Electronics Ranking and rocket into that superhero zone that they're so comfortable in: the lead.
So here it is, Apple, the recipe for a perfect 10 out of 10. The Think Different ticket to environmental sainthood.
And for the rest of us, after we've finished chanting, let's write to Steve to ask him to do the right thing, hug our macs, and create some kick-ass content between now and May 10th to let the Apple Board of Directors know WE LOVE OUR MACS, WE JUST WISH THEY CAME IN GREEN!
Monsanto in dumping scandal
Here's the thing about toxic chemicals. You dump them, and for a while you don't hear anything about it. Then 30 years later someone has to pay 100 million pounds to clean up your mess.
As Joel Bakan points out in his excellent book 'The Corporation' a number of companies are repeat offenders when it comes to environmental laws. The reason? The punishments aren't strong enough, if a company decides the fine for breaking the law is low enough they'll break the law and pay the fine.
My own, badly thought through solution would be to issue fines in the form of equity. So an offence like this might result in Monsanto forfeiting 1% of their stock to the UK government, to be given up proportionally by existing stakeholders. (So if I own half of Monsanto I give half of one percent to the UK government). The government would have an obligation to hold the stock in public trust for x number of years before being able to sell it again. Regular corporate offenders would risk nationalisation, and stockholders might finally start to exercise their duty to regulate the moral behaviour of a firm rather than wittering that all management has to do to be sure they are doing the right thing is maximise value.
Chinese rap about ewaste
Check out this amazing animation. A Chinese rap video about e-waste. One of the best things I've seen in ages, and a nice message from the folks at the receiving end of our throw-away gadget stream. Amazingly, no understanding of Chinese required, other than the "Play" button is in the lower left.
The MacWorld keynote we've all been wating for
We sliced and diced and re-voiced this version of Steve Job's keynote speech to turn it into the one we're all hoping for. Hope you enjoy.
Of course I don't know what Job's is actually going to say in there. What if he commits to actually greening Apple. How cool would that be?
Like the video? Spread the love!
DIGG it: http://www.digg.com/apple/The_MacWorld_Keynote_we_ve_all_been_waiting_for
HUGG it: http://www.hugg.com/story/11330/
Get Greenpeace updates from the expo.
Paraquat: Syngenta's killer weed killer
Syngenta Board of Directors
Greenpeace Switzerland is part of a coalition seeking 50,000 guilty verdicts indicting Syngenta for it's super-herbacide, Paraquat. According to Stop-Paraquat.net:
Paraquat is considered the most poisonous herbicide widely in use. As an example: 345 different herbicides are approved for use in Germany and paraquat alone is rated "highly toxic".
But Paraquat is marketed largely in the developing world, where adequate safety and protective measures simply don't exist.
Green my Apple hits Amsterdam
On Saturday, together with volunteers, I visited the 2 Apple stores in Amsterdam to spread the Green Apple message to Dutch Mac fans.
Early on Saturday morning the Dutch Greenpeace office was busy with volunteers stickering 800 green organic apples with the GreenmyApple website address. The early turn out was impressive considering there was a party on the Arctic Sunrise docked in Amsterdam the night before!
R.I.P. iPod. And Apple last in toxics race...
A few days ago we released the shiny new second edition of our Green Electronics Guide. Apple has dropped even further (both in the guide and in my esteem. Shame Apple, shame!)
And just when I need to put a new iPod on my Christmas list - yes friends, Mr Pink (beloved iPod mini) died today. He was only 2 years old. He had a good life, if a short one. He has even been a crew member on the Rainbow Warrior with me during the Come Back Whales campaign. But he cannot be replaced until Apple goes green. His body will be recycled next week if at all possible. Condolences can be sent via Greenpeace.
Plastic plastic everywhere
A seahorse tries to camouflage inside a big plastic bag.
© Danny Ocampo
I caught this on the BBC last night:
Microscopic particles of plastic could be poisoning the oceans, according to a British team of researchers.They report that small plastic pellets called "mermaids' tears", which are the result of industry and domestic waste, have spread across the world's seas.
The scientists had previously found the debris on UK beaches and in European waters; now they have replicated the finding on four continents.
Scientists are worried that these fragments can get into the food chain.
Plastic rubbish, from drinks bottles and fishing nets to the ubiquitous carrier bag, ends up in the world's oceans.
Sturdy and durable plastic does not bio-degrade, it only breaks down physically, and so persists in the environment for possibly hundreds of years.
Echo's our work in the trash vortex.
Listen and learn, Apple!
I've just got back from the Apple store, minus one PowerBook G4 top case. They threw it away, since apparently it's impossible to recycle them here... weird, since I recycled about 100 beer cans made from exactly the same substance last week (and no, I did not drink them all myself before you rush to report me to AA).
I went into a polite diatribe about Apple's lack of recycling (and a cathartic side-rant about the failure of my much-loved pink iPod mini to function after just 2 years of less-than-industrial use). My Mac Man was very sympathetic, but I bet there's a poster of me under the counter now - "WARNING - Do not serve this woman!". Then again, looks like Apple will have to serve me, since they need all the European customers they can get: through my sympathetic Mac Man I learnt that Apple has had to withdraw certain products from the EU market (forgive me if you already knew this, but I didn't and had been scouring the shops in vain for an iSight webcam so I can Skype my mum!).
The inside word is that this has quite worried Apple despite their arrogant appearance. So it's pretty amazing that Steve Jobs can call our concerns "bullsh*t" when Apple has already been forced to withdraw products from the EU because they fail to meet EU standards on hazardous substances. Why aren't the alarm bells on their iCal applications going crazy??
Fears that Baiji Dolphins are extinct
From the Guardian I learn that the Baiji Dolphins of the Yangtze river may be extinct, killed off by pollution and irresponsible fishing practices. The species is found only in the Yangtze river which is the longest river in Asia.
Should any survivors be found the plan is to transfer them to a nature reserve, but unless some do turn up your only chance to see them will be in pictures. Like the ones in this slideshow.
How the truth comes out about Expo expulsion...
An illuminating set of comments in a previous thread here on Greenpeace's expulsion from Mac World pits three first-person accounts against the widely- distributed news that the "Real reason Greenpeace got kicked out" of MacExpo was uncivilized behaviour, in particular over this incident described by the Event Director, Bob Denton: "The problem came to a head when one woman complained that they had placed an apple in her child's pram and were taking photographs of him without her permission."
Zounds, readers! That DOES sound like the kind of thing you'd expect from a bunch of anarchist scum, isn't it?? Except according to The woman with the baby, Tom who was there, and the Photographer, that's not what happened. Apology, Mr. Denton?
Maybe we'll just quote Will the photographer here and call it even:
"As for the slack jawed unshaven security and dunderheaded organisers of the Expo, they're the only thing Apple have ever badly designed. I'm sure if the upper echelons of Apple came into to contact with these incapaciously minded stooges, their sympathies would lie with Greenpeace."
Reflections on Green my Apple at MacExpo
After catching up on some sleep and digesting the reaction and comments online back in the office here's a look back on what I learned from our first venture in taking the Green my Apple message in to the real world and face to face with Mac fans.
On the Saturday we returned to outside the tube station and the road outside the Expo venue. Lots of people took leaflets and organic apples. Our Green Mac Guy cut out was a very popular talking point outside the venue. While chatting to one interested Mac user outside, the head of venue security, Bob Denton came out to berate me for daring to talk to a member of the public on a public pavement. He repeated untrue allegations and exaggerations about Greenpeace, which I now see reprinted in some media. He left having only succeeded in putting off one Mac fan from visiting the Expo.
Green my Apple: Audience as Campaigner
This bit of feedback from one of my personal heroes, Kathy Sierra, made my day:
Greenpeace takes a novel, inspiring approach to a campaign to make Apple 'green'. Rather than attacking the company, it encourages Apple fans to get involved creatively as a way to "help" Apple design a "new, cool product."
The first words on the main page of the campaign are, We love Apple.
REACH for chemical-free fashion
© Greenpeace / Philip Reynaers
Not a typical Greenpeace photo, eh? Where's the hairy chap in orange overalls? Sorry, but this is a model wearing Spanish fashions made without the harmful chemicals commonly used in the textiles we wear every day. The photo is from the launch of website substitutionworks.com in the European Parliament in Brussels. We're calling on EU decision-makers to make the substitution of hazardous chemicals a requirement under the new EU chemicals law, REACH, which the Parliament votes on soon.
Ahhh, weekends....
Time to kick back with a cold gif, throw a couple of logos on the creative fires, open up a jar of culture jam, turn on the Photoshop and bar-b-cue something for the Green my Apple campaign:
Green my Apple, Steve
All the Apple users in the Greenpeace office here in Amsterdam are hiding behind the clean lines of their Apple monitors, squirrelling away their iPods, and placing their arms protectively about their iBooks.
But despite the fact we're going head to head with Cupertino, we're not confiscating anybody's precious Apple. We've just launched the Green my Apple campaign.
Forest Fertiliser "Time Bomb"
The Sunday Times and Friends of the Irish Environment (FOIE) have revealed that the Irish government and the state forestry company, Coillte are sitting on a ticking time bomb. It's been discovered that phosphorous and nitrate silt leaked into an Irish river, causing an algae bloom that asphyxiated most of the pearl mussels downstream. Pearl mussels are a protected species under European law, and Ireland has the largest remaining population. This has caused a moratorium on logging in areas near the species, and public exposure of just how much artificial fertiliser is used in growing Sitka spruce trees in bogland.
HP laptops more toxic than they say, Apple more toxic than you'd think
Greenpeace bought five top-brand laptops this summer and asked an independent laboratory to test them for toxic chemicals. The brand-new laptops were taken apart and tested for nasty stuff brominated flame retardants (BFRs), polyvinyl chloride plastic (PVC), and lead.
Looks can be deceiving:
Of all the laptops tested, Apple’s sexy new MacBook was the most contaminated, with a concentration of 262 mg/kg of the toxic chemical TBBPA, a form of brominated flame retardant.
...And corporate statements often are too:
Results for HP revealed high levels of a number of chemicals in its components, in particular the highest levels by far of PBDEs (a class of Brominated Fire Retardants) including something called decaBDE. HP's website claims it removed decaBDE from its products years ago.
HP needs to ask its suppliers some tough questions. Lead was also found in the soldering.
This Greenpeace report (PDF) published today details all the results of the tests. More background information about this and our campaign against e-waste available here and here.
Greg Palast Escapes Homeland Security, Exxon and Cancer Alley
You've got to love journalist Greg Palast. You might not know who he is, but you damn know well the consequences of his work - he's the journalist, who, while working for the BBC, uncovered the voting fraud in Florida, during the 2000 US elections.
Now's he's just escaped proscution for filming Exxon’s Baton Rouge refinery - as Palast jokes, "I have sworn to Homeland Security that we no longer send our footage to al-Qaeda — which, in any case, can get a much better view of the refinery and other “critical infrastructure” at Google Maps."
He continues:
Of course, this was never about our tipping off Osama that Louisiana contains oil refineries. This has an awful lot to do with a petroleum giant’s sensitivity to unflattering depictions of their plants which are major polluters along Louisiana’s notorious “Cancer Alley.”
Read the full story on Greg's blog: Reporter Palast Slips Clutches of Homeland Security »
Greenpeace comes down hard on dangerous dildos
Such was the headline in one online story about the news from our Dutch colleagues, who have found high levels of gender-bending phthalates in sex toys sold in the Netherlands. Seven out of eight sex toys sampled, including dildos and vibrators, contained phthalates in concentrations varying from 24 to 51 percent!
Phthalates are used to soften plastics. They also mimic human hormones and can damage reproduction, cause liver and kidney defects, and upset the body's ability to regulate hormone production. There is some evidence they cause cancer.
In 2005 the EU banned the use of the phthalate DEHP in children's toys because of its damaging effect on young children. One of the issues there was that many toys spend a lot of time in the mouths of children, accelerating the leaching of chemicals and their uptake in the bloodstream.
Technology Company Report Card
We published a scorecard and report today listing what tech companies are doing to reduce their share of the global electronic waste problem. Dell and Nokia didn’t do so badly, but those stylish Apple computers and Moto phones rated a miserable 1 or 2 out of 10 for greenliness.
Esperanza flotilla protest over pollution from Lafayette's mine in Rapu Rapu
© Gavin Newman/Greenpeace
The Esperanza is now at the island of Rapu Rapu in the Philippines, leading a flotilla of 70 protesting boats against the Lafayette Mining company's
"There are 67 of them. Wooden outriggers in light blue, pink, green and yellow circle around the Esperanza, flags at their stern: "No to Lafayette! No to Marine Pollution!" Men and women are standing on the ships roofs, dancing, waving to us. We all watch from the poop deck, and no matter who you meet this morning of the Esperanza crew, everybody is smiling. We are leading a flotilla against the destructive Lafayette gold- and silvermine on the island of Rapu Rapu. And we all feel we are on the right side."
Defending our Oceans: Flotilla Power »
Watch Ocean Defenders TV: Undermining Paradise »
Stop Lafayette From Polluting Our Seas!
Lafayette Mining Operations No-Win Situation For Rapu Rapu »
Baked seaweed in your laptop?
According to Nature.com, French researchers have found that high-tech electronic devices can be made from a natural substance - seaweed. When baked to a charcoal, the seaweed can be used for making the electrodes in state-of-the-art supercapacitors. The environmental issues surrounding harvesting vast tonnes of seaweed and baking it are open to speculation, but it already sounds better than using toxic, highly-industrialised methods of creating microelectronics. So expect your next computer to smell fishy.
Nature: Baked seaweed and chips »
Massive oil spill in Lebanon
This caught my eye on the Mother Jones Blog this morning:
It looks like an eco-nightmare is taking place on the beaches of Lebanon. Reports coming in say beaches are being clogged with oil because five out of six oil tanks at the electricity plant in Jiyeh were destroyed by Israeli bombs.
It sounds like a combined health, economic and environmental disaster. I checked up on it via Google news and found a story by the Lebanon Daily Star:
South American Queen of Carnival meets EU - Latin American Heads of State!
I bet they never expected this! Evangelina Carrozzo, the Carnival Queen of Argentina, showed up today at the EU - Latin American Countries Summit in Vienna, wearing a rather provocative outfit, to implore Presidents Vazquez (Uruguay) and Kirchner (Argentina) to find a solution to the pulp mills conflict that has led both countries to the International Court of Justice of The Hague.
See the photo! »
Another view »
Or here »
Alaska pipeline being shut down due to corrosion
Two oil pipelines on Alaska's North Slope are going to be shut down because of internal corrosion. At least something's happening - this was the cause of a huge spill earlier this year in the aging Prudhoe Bay oil field.
"The line was not producing a continuous flow. An X-ray of the pipe showed internal corrosion in an arrow shape, indicating the damage was being aided by the velocity of fluid moving through the pipe, Johnson said."
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