Fast Facts: The New Mac mini

(apple.com)

Our favorite fruit in the form of a computer is notorious for its silent treatment. Sure the product is green, but how about the means of making it? Steve Jobs ain’t in the mood to dish. (Fishy? Perhaps.)

Still, here is what Apple did share with its loyal, dedciated (…obsessive, and that includes myself) fan base about its new Mac mini.

• This Mac mini is more energy efficient, using up to 45 percent less electricity when idle than its pint-sized predecessor. 
• It met the Environmental Protection Agency’s low power standards, meaning that it is Energy Star Certified. 
• Determined by its design, its use of energy, and its recyclability (did I just make that up?), Mac mini has earned the highest Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT) rating: Gold. 
• Apple claims they have a better control of their carbon footprint since they oversee the entire engineering of their products, making ingredients easier to trace. 
• This mini’s box is 31 percent smaller, and the volume of its shipping box is down by 60 percent. Smaller boxes mean more room in the FedEx van for a more efficient and eco-friendly delivery system. 
• Its casing is made from recyclable aluminum and polycarbonate. And it only uses 6.5 x 6.5 x 2 cubic inches of the mix per product. 
• Removed toxins include flame retardants (BFRs) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC), common elements in computer manufacturing that got the cut in order to imitate Mac’s “greenest family of notebooks”.

There’s the short list. There’s a bit more we’d like to know, such as just where they have traced their product materials back to, not just that they’re proud to be able to trace them. Still, the Mac mini is a smaller carbon footprint in a greener direction. Thoughts?

XO, The Green Gamine

Obama: The Wizard of Oz?

(treehugger.com)

President Obama seems to have designed a stimulus plan that will turn our whitewashed capital into the Emerald City. Now, with that plan passed in part, our president can lay the first brick in our yellow brick road back to economic stability. He’s spoken about greening the country and the economy, offering more opportunities for the newly coined “green collar” worker. But just how green is Obama’s new plan?

In an EcoSolutions article featured on CNN.com, some experts weighed in. World Resources Institute worker, Robert Heilmayr, says that, “green components have a long-term efficiency gain.” He also claims that for every billion dollars invested in green energy, there will be a $450 million surplus.

Obama himself has said: “I don’t care whether you’re driving a hybrid or an SUV — if you’re headed for a cliff, you’ve got to change direction. Some alternatives to our current, wayward path? Improved fuel efficiency, for starters, along with the state-regulated, vehicle emission standards. 

However, some startling amendments have been made to the stimulus bill. The energy efficient federal building fund has gone from $7 million to $3.5 million, only 25% of the Environmental Protection Agency Superfund has stuck, and the Energy Loan Guarantees are out entirely.

Seems like a Catch 22. We need to jump start the economy as fast as we can and yet, does that mean we disregard our immediate surroundings, without which a stable economy would be irrelevant? I’m sure Obama will find alternatives; green tax cuts, for instance, have been proposed. The problem seems to stem not from a misunderstanding on the part of our new leader, but on his fickle senate.

The long-term investment in energy is just the first step in creating an economy that will last us beyond the Obama administration. Science and studies have proven that we can trust in the technology and in the kickback. What are we waiting for?

XO, The Green Gamine