I wrote this on another site so if you heard it before that is why:
I will start by saying groups like greenpeace serve a useful purpose, which is to challenge the status quo in the hopes of improving things in the world.
However, greenpeace is far from being pure in their own methods. Anyone can point out what is wrong, it take people with true willingness to improve thing to find a solution, not just lobbing gernades into the middle of the table and running.
Notice how they never answer the questions about how to solve the problem they just say stop using chemicals like brominated flame retardants, with no regard that Apple does not make, or innovate PCB (printed circuit boards). Apple does not dictate or madate what is used to keep a PCB from going up in flames as does any company who uses PCB. The PCB industry does and the world wide public safey agency who say that the PCB will not catch fire and burn your house down have this responsibility.
Asked yourself, why hasn't the world's governments band bromited fire retardants when it is well know it is bad, really bad. because the best minds in the world have yet to come up with a cost effective alternative solution that will keep a PCB from catching fire and buring your house down. and still pay $200 for your iPod.
Trust me if greenpeace came up with a green PCB having no impact on the environment the world market would beat their door down to get it. Then they could stop having those poor long hair young kids coming around our neighborhoods asking for money to fight all those big bad companies. But that would be part of the solution instead of being part of the problem.
Part of the reason most companies do not listen to greenpeace is because, when they offer a solution many times they come back years later and say hey that is bad too. Prime example they and other groups told McDonalds in the 70's to stop using paper products to package their burgers, and told them to use styrofoam since it did not require the cutting of trees. Only to come back years later and say styrofoam was hurting the atmophere and they should use paper products. I think they forgot they told them using paper was bad too.
BTW, DELL and HP are trying to make the change not because greenpeace told them stop, because it make business sense. The world is changing and people are tired of seeing all this stuff end up in land fills. In Europe they are running out of space and they do not want to see all the nasty stuff end up in their eco system. Europe has said if you can not recycle it, you have to take it back. Again, greenpeace had nothing to do with this, it about trade and the fact that Europe makes less and less products ever year and importors more. It is a trade barrier disguise as protecting the eco system.
My comment to greenpeace and others is when you are naked in the woods living off the land and not impacting the earth yourself then you have room to critized what the rest of the world is doing. Think about how much greenpeace has impacted the earth getting their message out, all the computers, networks , chemicals, fossil fuel, nuclear engery that was used to just get this message to all of us. They never consider this, becuase they feel it is ok for them to impact the earth as long as they are doing it in the name of conservation.
Full disclosure, I own Apple stock and as well as I have given money to organization like greenpeace and the Sierra club
