By all accounts, Apple’s MacBook Pro with the Retina Display is an elegant, capable machine with a dazzling screen. That beauty, it turns out, is only skin deep. If you crack open the case, you’ll discover like iFixit did, that the laptop’s innards are a disaster for people that like to repair and upgrade their own computers. […]
CES 2012: Samsung’s secret to climbing the sustainability rankings
Video: While the press flocked to Samsung’s sexy ultrabooks and dazzling displays (it has its own 55-inch OLED, *drool*) during CES, something no less important went under-reported. It turns out the company has something to say about its products before and after they leave the factory. In the YouTube video below, the company offers a glimpse […]
Banned! Apple nixes conflict mineral-y, e-waste-y Phone Story app
Game maker with a message, Molleindustria (NSFW), may have stumbled on a sure-fire way to shine a light on the dark side of the electronics industry: create an iOS app about it and get it banned by Apple. Long story short, the company created a game called Phone Story based on the unsavory practices surrounding the […]
Designed for the dump: The Story of Electronics
Video: Conceptually, e-waste is a simple concept. Businesses and consumers buy up gadgets that nowadays cost more to repair than re-acquire or upgrade. This causes mountains of toxic-laden trash to pile up in landfills or “recycling” centers overseas. Obviously, not a good thing. The issue becomes more complex when when you take into account how […]
Collaborative Consumption: The fifth ‘R’
Video: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Repair. Let’s add Redistribute to the list. Rachel Botsman, co-author of “What’s Mine Is Yours: The Rise of Collaborative Consumption,” has a great TED Sydney presentation on how social media and the “frictionless” aspects online community building are changing the behavior of consumers. From item swap sites to car sharing […]
Bookmark this! iFixit
iFixit.com Who’s it for? Gadget lovers, DIY types, green geeks Why should I bookmark this? Because you want to extend the life of your gadgets, hate e-waste and like to save money. OK, Tell me more. Sure thing! While writing about the green virtues of Dell’s touchscreen tablet, I realized that it had been a […]
iRobot: Landfill is Roomba's Final Resting Place
Shock and dismay. iRobot, the company behind the geek- and cat-friendly Roomba family of robotic vacuum cleaners is dispensing some terribly outmoded waste disposal advice. After receiving a non-functioning refurbished Roomba Scooba, iRobot quickly mobilized to send Graham Hill of…
Surprising E-waste Stat of the Day
As a nation, we love our TVs. So much so that we’re keeping nearly 100 million of old, likely CRT-based relics collecting dust. The New York Times reports: The Environmental Protection Agency estimates 99.1 million televisions sit unused in closets…
Will Emerging Countries Drown in Green IT's Toxic Wake?
You’ve probably seen pictures or footage of people in emerging countries, many of them very young, mired in toxic compounds as they scavenge for useful materials from mountains of e-waste that’s shipped from the U.S. and other wealthy nations. To…
Dell Recycling Program Spreads
Now 18 states are covered! Heather Clancy of GreenTech Pastures reports: Dell and Goodwill Industries have expanded the scope of their consumer technology recycling program (called Reconnect) to cover Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, New Mexico, Oklahoma and West Virginia. Visit…
