Fix It If You Can

One of the problems with so many of the things we buy is that they are difficult to fix. Usually they are cheaper to replace, too. What if you could find an easy way to repair rather than toss and replace?

iFixit is a site that has parts and repair help for Apple products and has teardowns of other gadgets so you can see what's inside and maybe get an idea on how to fix it. A step in the right direction to reduce our consumption and keep electronic waste out of landfills.

Macworld and the Macbook Air

The Macbook Air was introduced at Macworld today. One of the things being highlighted in this unveiling are the environmental features of the Macbook Air. Apple has been targeted in the past along with other manufacturers about plastics and chemicals used in the production of electronics.

The Macbook Air has full aluminum case to make recycling easier, mercury free display, arsenic free glass, less packaging and different circuit boards.

All of these factors are a step in the right direction. Unfortunately, Apple, and all manufacturers of any product, do not include lifecycle planning and recycling. Apple promotes itself as a different company that is more progressive than everyone else yet they are not taking the giant leaps that would leave everyone behind and force a move. Apple is quite profitable with the ubiquitous iPod and the iPhone is right behind it. They could afford to do something drastic that would put them over the top. They didn't go bankrupt when nobody bought anything they sold so I'm sure now that they have products in almost every household in America they can do something. Sure everyone is a critic but they are not afraid to ride their image to the bank. Either way the Macbook Air is running at $1,799 so I'm not rushing out to buy one. It's already on the Apple site so you can check it out.

The bill that costs the environment

This video is about a 300 page iPhone bill from AT&T. Wasted paper is an understatement.

How Green is the iPhone?

To be honest I haven't found out too much about the iPhone other than it's in the news everyday and that Apple doesn't own the name to iPhone. I did find some interesting info from Greenpeace. They created an alternative to Steve Jobs' address which I found interesting. They are also running a campaign called Green My Apple basically asking the company to improve their environmental practices.

I have posted about electronics recycling and donating electronics. Also, Greenpeace has performed a review of many electronics manufacturers and called it the Guide to Green Electronics. If you're in the market for new electronics and have old ones to dispose of please review the information and make the best choices you can.