Macbook Air: Green Equals Sexy!
Steve Jobs just finished giving they keynote speech at the MacWorld 2008 conference, where he unveiled the super-sexy new Macbook Air (check Gizmodo for more techie coverage). So, besides the fact that this computer looks totally gorgeous, it is also a serious GREEN MACHINE.
The 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)
Congratulations and applause all-around to Apple for making good on all their promises to make their computers and peripherals more eco-friendly.
Thanks to Chris Baskind for showing me the sexy green!
Starre Vartan
Starre Vartan is founder and editor-in-chief of Eco-Chick.com and the author of the Eco-Chick Guide to Life. She's also a freelance science and environment writer who has published in National Geographic, CNN, Scientific American, Mental Floss, Pacific Standard, the NRDC, and many more. She lives on an island in Puget Sound with her partner and black cat. She was a geologist in her first career, and still picks up rocks wherever she goes.
