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Filed under: Features, Education, Other Events, Freeware, Internet, Apple, iPhone, App Store, iPod touch

Blog Action Day: Five apps to help save the world

TUAW is participating in this year's Blog Action Day on 10/15, an annual event in which bloggers around the world aim to spark discussion and awareness of serious and important issues. This year's topic is climate change, and fortunately, just like last year, we in the Apple community are in a pretty good place -- the company makes it a point to stay as green as possible, they have Al Gore on their board, and they make it safe and easy to dispose of their products in an environmentally friendly way. But there's always more we can do, from person to person -- making the earth a better place to live is going to take all of us working together.

And so, here's five iPhone and iPod touch apps you can use to find out what you can do to take action on climate change. Some are paid, some are free, but all of them will give you fun and useful ways to help find approaches to dealing with climate change in your own behavior and life.

Continue readingBlog Action Day: Five apps to help save the world

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Apple Corporate, Apple

How green is Apple?

Is Apple a "green" company? Today is Blog Action Day, where 15,000 blogs are publishing posts about the environment. I have always thought of Apple having an eye towards the environment, but perhaps I think this is because I remember Apple eschewing extra paper on their boxes way back in the early days. You see, to get optimal 4-color print on a shipping box you have to wrap that box in an additional layer of glossy paper. For a while, Apple was content to ship the monochrome brown box with black ink, thus saving trees and ink. The original Mac boxes were white, but didn't use the glossy stuff.

A year ago you may remember Apple being taken to task regarding their recycling efforts. In fact, Apple has been taken to task on their computer take back program, their packaging and now the scary hazardous chemicals in the iPhone. Shock, horror! Yes, it is obvious Apple is determined to coat the Earth in a fine sheen of clear plastic, aluminum and bromiated compounds. Evil I tells ya, evil.

In their defense, Al Gore is on the board. OK, they have more than just Al. Steve Jobs issued a statement just a few months ago for a greener Apple. Naturally, there are still plenty of skeptics, but the site Green My Apple provides constructive criticism and a fairly healthy outlook for the future. Apple appears to have listened! Of course, they could just hire the Professor and make iPhones from coconuts, right? Given the fact that consumer electronics is about as un-green an industry as you can get, it'll be a very long road indeed before everyone is happy. Then again, as we know too well, there's no way to make everyone happy. The hope is that Apple will continue to innovate with "green" in mind. Not the back of the mind, but right up there in front where it'll do the most good.

Filed under: Apple Corporate

Apple boardroom now includes special "Nobel laureate" chair

It's official: Apple's board of directors now has a shiny new certificate to pin up over by the coffee machine, between the volleyball game announcement and the worker's-comp sign. Board member Albert Gore, Jr., who had some government gig before he won an Oscar, is a co-laureate (with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize, honoring his work in climate awareness.

TUAW extends congratulations to Mr. Gore and to the Apple board, who now have a much better shot at getting the Dalai Lama and Nelson Mandela to endorse the iPod and Leopard.

Update: Apple's home page currently shows a tribute to Al Gore, and Apple is "bursting with pride." Picture if you read on. [thanks Martijn]

Continue readingApple boardroom now includes special "Nobel laureate" chair

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