environmental

Apple hits 75 percent renewable energy across the board

Apple is a lot greener than it used to be, the company said today.

The iPhone and Mac maker published a new annual environmental report this morning that tracks some of the improvements it has made. The key takeaway: 75 percent of the energy it needs at its corporate facilities is renewable, and the number is even higher at some of its data centers and its headquarters.

"We're committed to greening the grid wherever we have our facilities," Scott Brodrick of Apple's product marketing, told CNET.

The company currently has data centers in Maiden, N.C., and Newark, Calif., and is constructing an additional center in Prineville, Ore., that will run off a mix of energy sources. Apple is also working on a facility in Reno, Nev., though Brodrick would not say when that would be up and running.

These facilities are part of Apple's growing cloud services effort. These data centers have long served up digital content like music, movies, and apps. In 2011, the company added to that load with iCloud, its storage and sync service, which relies on the data centers to store user data and information. The data centers also play a role in powering Siri, the voice-assistant feature found on iPhones, iPods, and iPads.

The Maiden location in particular has quickly become the crown jewel of Apple's data center operations, and has been running on entirely renewable energy sources since last December, Brodrick said. Part of the reason for that is its solar array, which the company touts as the largest of its kind in the U.S. and is promoting in a video:

Among some of the other progress it made last year, Apple says it's now using bio-gas fuel cells along with solar photovoltaic technology at its headquarters. It's also greened some of its products including the newest iMac, which uses 68 percent less material than the previous model. There's also the AirPort Express wireless router, which Apple says uses bio-based polymers.

Even with Apple's progress, the company has not been without its critics. Greenpeace in particular went after Apple hard last year as part of its campaign to bring awareness to the greenness of data centers. It also knocked Apple for transparency on its progress as part of its 18th annual "Guide to Greener Electronics" which was published last November.

"Apple's announcement shows that it has made real progress in its commitment to lead the way to a clean energy future," the group said in a statement today. "Apple's increased level of disclosure about its energy sources helps customers know that their iCloud will be powered by clean energy sources, not coal."

Nonetheless, Greenpeace urged for more disclosure from Apple in any dealings with local utilities and state governments.

"Over the past four years we've reported more comprehensively than any company in our industry, and we've done this by focusing not only on our facilities, which is what many other companies do, but also on our products," Brodrick offered.

Update, 11:30 a.m. PT: Adds statement from Greenpeace.… Read more

Apple bows out of program for environment-minded products

Apple has decided to stop participating in a major program devoted to the production of environmentally friendly products, reportedly saying that its design direction is no longer in line with the program's requirements.

Late last month, Apple told the nonprofit EPEAT group that the company would no longer submit its products for green certification from EPEAT and that it was pulling its currently certified products from the group's registry.

According to The Wall Street Journal's CIO Journal site, 39 of Apple's products had received EPEAT's green stamp of approval, including laptops such as the MacBook … Read more

Google looks to patent tech that listens to calls to promote ads

Like something out of George Orwell's "Nineteen Eighty-Four" where "Big Brother is watching you," Google is trying to patent technology that could pick up on background noise during mobile-phone calls and then promote related ads.

The title of the patent application is "Advertising Based on Environmental Conditions," and it was first reported today by tech-news site The Next Web. Apparently, the technology will be able to listen in on background noise, like rain, music, or a baseball game, and then serve related ads, such as a spot for an umbrella, a new album, … Read more

GM's Lansing, Mich., plant meets Energy Star standards

General Motors isn't just interested in building energy-efficient vehicles; the company now says its Lansing Delta Township Assembly Plant is the company's first U.S. facility to become Energy Star certified. This means the plant has met strict energy performance levels set by the EPA from 2010 to 2011.

The Michigan plant, which builds the Buick Enclave, GMC Acadia, and Chevrolet Traverse, was designed to meet the optimum energy efficiency in heating, ventilation, and air conditioning without using steam, the company said in a press release.

The plant, which opened in 2006, has energy and water conservation features … Read more

Gore tweaks climate call with '24 Hours of Reality'

Climate change activist, former vice president, and near-president Al Gore will present a 24-hour live Webcast--"24 Hours of Reality"--on September 14-15 that's meant to counteract what a statement about the event calls misinformation on global warming.

The Webcast consists of 24 back-to-back screenings of a new multimedia presentation by Gore, introduced live by presenters in 24 different parts of the world, and in 13 different languages. It heralds a new focus for Gore's nonprofit Alliance for Climate Protection, which is changing its name to The Climate Reality Project. Reads a statement on the Reality Project's Web site:

This campaign comes at a critical time. As the impacts of climate change are growing more prevalent, so is the resistance to finding the truth and implementing solutions. Just like the tobacco companies that spent decades in denial that smoking causes cancer, oil and coal companies are determined to sow denial and confusion about the science of climate change, ignore its impacts, and create apathy among our leaders. This event is the first step in a larger, multi-faceted campaign to tell the truth about the climate crisis and reject the misinformation we hear every day."

… Read more

Wave-powered robot funded for sea missions

It started monitoring humpback whales, but Liquid Robotics expects its self-powered marine drone to be deployed for many other missions, including defense and industrial applications.

Liquid Robotics yesterday said that it raised $22 million from VantagePoint Capital Partners and has hired Bill Vass, a former Sun Microsystems president and COO with experience selling to the federal government, as CEO.

It's the first institutional funding for the company, which developed an autonomous ocean robot called the Wave Glider for environmental research when it was a joint venture between Jupiter Research Foundation and Roger Hine. That project evolved into the Liquid … Read more

Study: Meter data's impact depends on collective use

Americans who receive meter data on their home energy use reduce consumption on average by 1.8 percent after the first year.

That's according to a study of 750,000 households of varied demographics in six states conducted by energy-management software company Opower and sponsored by the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF). The study followed homes enrolled in various utility programs that provided home usage data via Web portal, text, or paper reports mailed to consumers' homes.

The figure may not sound like much. But if every home in the U.S. reduced energy consumption by 1.8 percent, nationwide … Read more

EPA approves new air conditioning refrigerant

Automotive air conditioning of the future will not be the environmental blight it has been in the past. The EPA on Monday announced it has approved the refrigerant HFO-1234yf for use in vehicles.

Designed by Honeywell and DuPont, HFO-1234yf has a global warming potential that is 99.7 percent less than the current chemical (HFC-134a) used in most car air conditioners.

General Motors last summer announced it planned to use HFO-1234yf in 2013 models pending final approval.

GM will be joined by other automakers eligible to receive greenhouse-gas emission credits for 2012-2016 models by adopting eco-friendly refrigerant, thanks to new … Read more

Environmentalists take aim at Fujitsu's eco-marketing tactics

The M440 ECO mouse is the latest entry to Fujitsu's Green IT line of ecologically responsible products that aim to reduce customers' environmental footprint.

The USB input device features an optical sensor underneath with 1000dpi resolution and an ambidextrous design suitable for both right and left handed users. Fujitsu also went with Halogen-free materials that includes Arboform, new petroleum-based plastic that biodegrades like wood, and Biograde, a material derived from European Soft Woods in sustainable forests.

But Fujitsu is also under fire from environmentalists that take issue with the company's press release, which claims the mouse is 100% … Read more