News, info, and opinion by Mac users, for Mac users.

April 17, 2007

apple

Apple is scolded for polluting California’s air

Posted Apr. 17, ’07, 5:45 PM PT by Thomas Gagnon-van Leeuwen
Category | Apple

elkgrovesmoke.jpg

Ah, Apple. How can you have such a fruity name and be so obnoxious to Mother Nature? First you upset Greenpeace, now Sacramento’s Metropolitan Air Quality Management District is mad at you.

The Sacramento Business Journal is reporting that Apple will be forced to pay a $43,200 fine for using an emergency generator during several days for a non-urgent purpose. This incident occurred in April 2006, a year ago, at a facility located in Elk Grove. If you’re wondering what Apple does at this site, I can’t enlighten you, although I noticed that my two refurbished iPods shipped from Elk Grove. The article mentions “several hundred employees” work there, but that’s about it.

Regardless of that facility’s purpose, it’s sad that Apple would pollute the air with this emergency generator for no apparent reason. Considering the hefty fine, I could see the guy responsible for producing this smoke being fired… fire, smoke, get it? Yeah, that was a bad joke.

[via Macworld UK]


4 Comments

alej744 said:

After I read the last two lines, I thought "okay I know who wrote this one" ;). MH forums... good times, good times.

April 17, 2007 6:26 PM
Wes Harden said:

C'Mon Tom, give Apple a break.

You, with this article, have just thrown gas on the fire of FUD that Greenpeace has started up. Their claims of Apple's environmental irresponsibility are totally skewed.

Read this : http://www.roughlydrafted.com/RD/Q4.06/05F99CE1-100E-4463-A73D-09EC8FB97D0E.html

and this

http://www.roughlydrafted.com/RD/Home/E83D58B3-10E0-4A9C-8847-BCE665EE235C.html

basically what they say is that HP and Dell make TONS of crappy boxes that brick in 2 years that are dumped off to consumers at a wholesale price contribute WAY more to e-waste than does apple, whose products last longer, not to mention Steve Jobs has a history of persuing energy efficiency in all of his projects.

and this story, this is just bad. Don't sensationalize something that is probobly some stupid fluke that was a result of a few idiot employees who ran a generator to push out a few more ipods that week and SURELY not AT ALL grounds upon which to pin Apple down as UNENVIRONMENTAL.

cool it with the convictions everybody! apple is a responsible company!

this is not on par with what HUNDREDS of mega-polluting companies have been doing for years, dumping all kinds of stuff into our rivers and air.

get real, people.

April 17, 2007 8:57 PM
wes Harden said:

sorry if i was harsh on you tom, i actually like your entries.

April 18, 2007 10:43 AM
Thomas GvL Author Profile Page said:

Hey Wes, no problem, it's always nice to get a different perspective on things :)

I also don't think Greenpeace's claims are entirely true -- in my opinion, the truth lies, as usual, somewhere in the middle.

As for this particular issue, it's true that it's not that big of an thing. Sorry if I sensationalized it, that certainly wasn't my intention. But, I do stand by my "fire-smoke" pun ;)

April 18, 2007 2:25 PM

Leave a comment

 



Visit other IDG sites: