Carbon Footprint of a Mac Product

[dereklandon]

Have you ever wondered about the environmental impacts of an Apple product? I'm doing a project on the Carbon Footprint of my Macbook Pro. They're shipped to locations across the globe, emitting immense amounts of CO2 into the air via airplanes, ships, or trucks.

I've kept a screenshot of my FedEx delivery route and decided to to input the data into a carbon calculator from Terrapass:

http://www.terrapass.com/flight/flightcalc.phphttp://www.terrapass.com/flight/flightcalc.php

This provided me with my CO2 emissions that were caused by flying my Macbook Pro to where I live. I do realize that this is a ballpark figure and it does not take into account the route of the FedEx delivery trucks or the minor stops inbetween.

It's a neat calculator that's extremely easy to use and requires hardly any time at all, so give it a shot.

I'm also interested in the packaging and the materials of a Mac product.

I've read on their website about the massive change in the amount of packaging Apple is using and the technology such as LED back lighting, which doesn't contain or emit Mercury like the other fluorescent screens.

I would like to figure out how much carbon and energy goes into creating a mac product, specifically, a Macbook Pro. Looking at things like the materials used in the construction including the aluminum, which I believe is recyclable, and the packaging including the styrofoam, cardboard box, plastic bags, paper instructions, CD casings.

I know it's a lot but I was wondering if any of you had insight into the environmental aspects of a Mac product.

 

[imac/cheese]

Using the terrapass website will give you an idea of how much a passenger plane uses per passenger but Apple will ship your mbp with a lot of other packages on a Fed-Ex plane and therefore the individual footprint of your computer will depend on how full the Fed-Ex plane was. If the number of packages on the plane were roughly the same as the number of people that fit on a passenger plane then the estimate would be pretty close, but I imagine that they pack those cargo planes pretty full and therefore your carbon footprint would be quite a bit less.

Still, it is an interesting website.

 

[ucfgrad93]

Have you ever wondered about the environmental impacts of an Apple product?

No I have not.

 

[Hummer]

I don't think people barely care. It's like asking do you ever wonder how that hamburger got to be a hamburger.

 

[decksnap]

I don't think people barely care. It's like asking do you ever wonder how that hamburger got to be a hamburger.

The slaughterzone, of course.

 

[eric55lv]

I know that Mac are better than pcs in viruses,protction,ect. but not in envirmantally products Apple says they but the truth is they are not