Green Options » Mac

ZapRoot: Environmental Bad Boys and Corporate Greenwashing

Timothy B. Hurst — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 21:04:50 +0000

This week from our friends at ZapRoot: Environmental bad boys: EPA’S most wanted on the run and corporate greenwashing.

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Apple Demonstrates Energy-Efficient MacBook Battery at MacWorld

Ariel Schwartz — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 04:44:17 +0000

Steve Jobs’ absence hasn’t prevented exciting things from happening at this week’s MacWorld Expo in San Francisco. This morning, Apple unveiled the new 17 inch MacBook Pro, complete with a new energy efficient lithium-polymer battery.

CO2 vs. Fluorocarbons: The Battle for the Automotive Air Conditioning Market Rages On

Lisa Wojnovich — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 23:35:25 +0000

Ever heard of HFO-1234yf? No? Well, give it time. You will. That random alphanumeric string is the trade name of a new chemical refrigerant (whose technical name is an even bigger mouthful, 2,3,3,3-tetrafluoroprop-1-ene) jointly developed by Honeywell and Dupont. And after December 8, when the Society of Automotive Engineers’ International Research Program endorsed it as the best answer to Europe’s new, stringent, and impending regulations governing mobile air conditioning (MAC) systems, HFO-1234yf looks to be poised to become the latest industry standard.

Apple Looks at Solar to Power Next Generation of Mobile Devices

Courtney Carlisle — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 06:00:01 +0000

A couple weeks ago Apple filed a patent to explore the use of solar power in their next generation of mobile devices. With battery life being a long running issue for Apple’s laptops and mobile phones, solar power could help extend use time without having to plug in.

The patent filing discusses placing the solar technology behind the LCD screen of the devices so that the panels would absorb ambient light without adding additional width and bulk to the device. While the technology could be difficult to implement (Motorola filed a similar patent for their mobile devices in 2001 but is yet to be able to successfully integrate solar technology into their devices), having a company as large and influential as Apple roll it out could mean cross product integration with iPods and MacBooks in addition to the iPhone.

The company takes a lot of knocks for not being environmentally conscientious, but downloading tracks and movies instead of buying copies and using maps on mobile instead of printing directions does help limit impact. Making their products more energy efficient is a winning venture for the mega-brand.