Archive for the 'sustainability' CategoryPage 3 of 4

Why the Poisoned Apple? Lets learn from the Shakers

Published
by
monkchips
on October 18, 2007
in chemicals and sustainability
. 0 Comments

Given its commitment to incredible industrial design, its a real shame that Apple doesn’t appear to be showing any leadership on green issues in product development. According to Techworld, a Computerworld publication:

Greenpeace has slammed Apple’s iPhone, saying it includes toxic chemicals that other mobile phone makers have already stopped using.

An analysis of a disassembled iPhone by an independent lab in the UK found toxic brominated compounds and hazardous PVC (polyvinyl chloride) in multiple components of the handsets. Bromine, a chemical used in fire-retardant compounds, was present in more than half the 18 samples taken, Greenpeace claimed, while toxic phthalates made up 1.5 percent of the ear bud cables’ PVC coating.

While the iPhone doesn’t violate EU chemicals legislation Apple is evidently well behind more established players such as Nokia, Motorola and Sony-Ericcson, which are all now PVC free. So let me get this straight- Apple came dead last in a recent Greenpeace study on PC manufacture, and now it is lagging in mobile phones too. Is this a Greenpeace vendetta or does Apple have systemic problems to address? Given that California-based Center for Environmental Health is now taking legal action against the company it’s somewhat harder for Apple to shrug the accusations off.

I have a two year old son, ergo no more Apple products until the company gets its act together. I know the firm’s product’s are gorgeous and very easy to use but its surely time for the company to make its beauty more than skin deep.

“Do your work as though you had a thousand years to live and as if you were to die tomorrow.”

The Shakers, a Protestant sect, had the most incredible design culture. Folks like Frank Lloyd Wright took design cues from the group. One thing that defined its furniture was that the joinery was just as attractive inside as out. As Shakers see it God sees the inside, not just the outside, of the furniture, which has obvious implications for quality and craftsmanship. According to Wikipedia:

Shakers designed their furniture with care, believing that making something well was in itself, “an act of prayer.” They never fashioned items with elaborate details or extra decorations, but only made things for their intended uses.

Am I saying Apple needs to discover Shaker religion? Obviously not. But a commitment to sustainability and clean manufacture and disposal would benefit us all. As fake Steve Jobs would say: “Namaste”. But not before calling Greenpeace a bunch of “fscktards”…

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The UK Gets A Green IT Conference: w00t!

Published
by
monkchips
on October 1, 2007
in electrics and sustainability
. 0 Comments

Exciting. Green IT 08 is a new UK conference for “IT leadership in Environmental Age.” Its really good to see this conference in London - its surely one of the first in the world, let alone the UK.  They are looking for green pioneers, sponsors and all sorts.

One of the thing I think is cool is that they are starting small, evidently trying to start a snowball to roll downhill, rather than pus a rock uphill. Its at the business design center, a small but perfectly formed venue in Islington.

The fact they put a web site online, without feeling the need to have every tab complete, is goodness. The community will drive the content, which is a good grassroots approach. All I can say is- I know what I am doing 9th and 10th April next year.

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Working water twice

Published
by
mark@movementdesign.org
on August 24, 2007
in Asia, sustainability, waste and water
. 0 Comments

I’ve spent the past few weeks emerged in the water sector and the opportunities that exist to tackle the problem that 1.1 billion people lack safe drinking water and 2.6 billion lack basic sanitation.

There are some fascinating people out there working to overturn assumptions and find new models of collaboration. There are also some great design ideas. Check out this system, or should I say cistern, which initially looks bizarre but is actually an astonishingly simple way of improving the efficiency of flush toilets. If we make toilets more efficient, they require less infrastructure.

picture-1.png

Bill McDonough points out that to develop a strategy of change requires genuine humility. He follows on with one of my favourite quotes to use with naysayers:

“If anyone has any trouble with the concept of design humility, reflect on this: it took us 5,000 years to put wheels on our luggage.”

Stuff like this shows how much we can redesign even the most familiar things. Thanks to Juergen Kikuyumoja Eichholz for the link.

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Go Green Nippon Style: Turn Your Server Off at Night

Published
by
monkchips
on August 14, 2007
in Asia, IT, SMB, carbon, electrics and sustainability
. 9 Comments

I recently met with Fujitsu Siemens Computer about green data initiatives, based on what the joint venture calls IT with a sense of responsibility. The underlying hook to the narrative is Japanese/German engineering excellence (not a bad peg, I am sure you’d agree).

Bernhard Brandwitte, director of product marketing for FSC and perhaps more importantly in the context of behavioural change an excellent story-teller, told me something that really rocked me on my heels: in Japan its common to turn production servers off at night. Yup- apparently the Japanese insurance industry tries to avoid fires in plants at night by offering much cheaper cover for companies that power down after dark.

What does that mean in practice? A much more coherent backup and recovery strategy for one. A commitment to not 24/7, not follow the Sun, not have uptime for its own sake.

I have been thinking about this issue for a while, but it was a tweet from Chris Dalby this morning that pulled the trigger:

yellowpark is going green. I’m turning my server off each night :)

Chris is someone I deeply respect. Another cool thing is that he won’t shop at supermarkets- all his shopping is packaging free, from a local farm shop. When he tweets a delicious lunch menu you know the vegetables were never wrapped in plastic. That is a pretty good metaphor for Chris: He is very real, very passionate, and focuses on local issues. He is all about change from the grassroots.

Chris’ commitment to server-off computing is cool because he is an expert in technologies such as Windows Small Business Server, which he sells into small and medium-sized businesses. I wonder if he could set up a service helping SMBs become more green, given his bona fides?

All I know is that much as we should all turn off our appliances at night, and our cellphone chargers, so we should ask - do we really need that server on all night?

 

picture credit: Chris’s dog, from his moo cards, saying… “Turn that bloody server off, I’ll be your watchdog…”

disclosure: Chris is a friend.

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Why Don’t You Just Turn Off The Television And Do Something Less Boring Instead?

Published
by
monkchips
on August 8, 2007
in carbon, electrics, global warming and sustainability
. 2 Comments

From 21st Century Citizen come suggestions for small things that could make a difference in the fight against global warming. One of the suggestions is turn off the TV and do anything. Join the Anything But TV club. Seems fair. We need to engage with challenges, not just watch them flickering past.

My own favorite small thing to make a difference is turning off the plugs at the wall when I leave the office, and when we turn off the TV in the evening at home. There is no need to power all of those appliances-or more pertinently their power supplies-overnight. Its good to turn off the plugs rather than just devices because otherwise you forget about phone chargers and so on…

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On Africa: The Bush Administration Does the Right Thing

Published
by
monkchips
on July 31, 2007
in Africa, Uncategorized, food, global warming and sustainability
. 0 Comments

And that’s something you don’t hear from me too often. According to the New York Times the US will now be able to buy local cereal crops when administering aid, rather than shipping US surpluses abroad. Grain dumping overseas is a bad thing- it punishes local farmers by wrecking market prices, and uses up unnecessary food miles. This article explains the problem in some depth.

Small changes can lead to large effects, while unintended consequences are a problem for any policy area. So its very good to see the US administration making it easy to buy local crops at times of extreme need. Buying local helps the economy in ways dropping in grain never could - and we use less oil. This is aid through the grassroots.

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