Seemingly overnight, Apple has become the poster child of the responsible, Green company. (Apple recently posted all the details of its efforts; Greenpeace is now BFFs with Apple.) In fact, it’s so pro-enviroment (as if anyone is anti-environment!) that it just quit the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which is a huge organization that represents business interests to the various powers that be. The USCC, however, is all up in arms about all this “nonsense” about new laws designed to protect the environment and whatnot, so it’s doing its damnedest to ensure that those laws don’t get passed. That’s what has upset Apple.
It’s sorta hard to describe what the USCC is, but you can safely think of it as a super powerful lobbyist. It has lobbyists on staff, yeah, but it also so damn influential that it hardly needs to muck about with lobbying, like a common schlup. Its mission statement is:
To advance human progress through an economic, political and social system based on individual freedom, incentive, initiative, opportunity, and responsibility.
So yeah, it represents the interests of big business to the People Who Matter.
Back to Apple. Cupertino, sick of Greenpeace bitching about its every move, recently published the details of what, it feels, makes it one of the greenest (big) companies out there. As such, Greenpeace now likes Apple.
But while Apple is now Green Green Green, the USCC isn’t too keen on laws meant to limit greenhouse gas emissions. While I’m sure no one in the USCC would prefer to pollute the atmosphere with absolute garbage, the fact is that it’d cost a boatload of money to retrofit factories, to change manufacturing methods, etc. to limit such pollution. And that, of course, costs money; money is more important that the environment, you see.
So Apple has left the USCC, saying this on its way out:
We strongly object to the chamber’s recent comments opposing the E.P.A.’s effort to limit greenhouse gases. … We would prefer that the chamber take a more progressive stance on this critical issue and play a constructive role in addressing the climate crisis.
I guess my only question is: how much do you guys care about how “green” a company is? Personally, I could give a toss. I have enough “real things” to worry about that I’m not about to add pollution statistics to that list.
via Huffington Post
Smart Apple….leave one of the largest business fellowship entities in the world to follow the teachings of Al Gore.
Smart….
Yeah, but Apple can feel all warm and fuzzy about how foxcon treats it employees and the environmental wreck that China has become. All Apple is doing is exporting pollution and killing the US manufacturing sector.
I respectfully disagree.
I guess as long as Chinese workers are being abused and the Chinese environment is getting trashed, you are OK with that.
What NIMBY treehugger.
No, I am not okay with that, but that really isn’t the issue at this point in time. Regardless of what is happening in China they are still working on improved EPA Regulations here in the US. Progress is still progress.
I guess the double digit pollution gains in China can some how be offset by the single digits reductions in the states. I guess your are government account with that thinking.
Agree.
If I had the choice between a green company and a non green company, I would buy from the green company every time even if it cost more money.
However, I am always weary of Greenwashing(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenwash) which seems so popular now a days. This really makes me respect apple more now, I hope other companies jump on this bandwagon and get some environmentally conscious people in the forefront.
Such a tool. Being duped by green guilt.
Such a miscreant. If only I had the ability to live with no remorse, no sense of social responsibility, and no sense of tact.
Hey, people do that all the time. Case in point, posting on blogs. And yes, I do resemble that remark.
“Personally, I could give a toss. I have enough “real things” to worry about that I’m not about to add pollution statistics to that list.”
That is the most ignorant comment I have ever read. You probably don’t vote either. Go back to your cozy life, let your grandchildren worry about how they will breathe. Tosser.
He didn’t say that he didn’t care about pollution. He said that he doesn’t care about the idiots that get all up in arms because company A’s “pollution numbers” are bigger than company B’s.
Speaking of ignorant comments. Maybe you should read into the context of the sentence you’re quoting before getting in a twist.
Seriously it seems kind of silly considering they produce a lot of their stuff in China where there is not a lot of regulation on carbon emissions, etc. Sure I’m completely naive about their factories but seems odd.
Good deal. Maybe the USCC will have to run one less slanted, half-truth, fear-mongering attack ad next election cycle. “Unions and Apple Computers are bad!”
Oh yeah, there is no half truth or fear mongering in the BS climate change/global warming junk science arena.
Cause we all know the best way to save the environment is to power up millions of tiny electronic devices and in 3 years when we’re done with them, toss them in a landfill. I’m all for environmental protection, etc. but it’s hypocritical to produce on a mass scale electronic devices (which yes are made in china, and they have NO environmental regulations, they passed us up in 2008 to become the world’s largest polluter.) These devices contain, lead, mercury, etc. and that’s about the worst possible thing you can throw in a landfill. so to truly show how environmentally responsible they are, what are they doing to cut down on pollution when the life of the device is over????? Ole Stevie changed his mind about life after he had a few health scares, he should read more Micheal Crichton and less Al Gore…. ps…. I’m from Louisiana, we haven’t had a hurricane yet this year, what’s up with the warming ocean that’s supposed to create more and more violent hurricanes? not even a tropical storm has come our way this year.
Funny how Jobs tired the live this ultra pure hippy lifestyle and still got cancer and still needed a liver transplant. So much for that theory
USCC = Another organization to protect the rights of the truly rich.
PHilbert sure has a lot of time to prattle about how Apple is such a terrible company. Next time, maybe pay a little more attention to spelling and grammar if you are going to waste your energy refuting everyone else’s point of view.
Maybe you can choke on your iPod and get some heavy metal poisoning. I love you greenie idiots. Or, you can shove your iPhone up your ass, I think they have an app for that.
English is my second language you fool.
I’m assuming your first language is Troll.
It’s better than speaking douche bag as a first language.
“I guess my only question is: how much do you guys care about how “green” a company is? Personally, I could give a toss. I have enough “real things” to worry about that I’m not about to add pollution statistics to that list.”
Someone just got their websites adbock exception removed. Nice job.