Here are a bunch of (simulated) apps that, judging by Apple’s recent treatment of similarly socially conscious fare, will never, ever make it onto an actual iPhone. Luckily we still have the web, which Jobs did not manage to own before being sent to the great reincarnation lotto in the sky.
Mother Jones created these apps, and they’re worth checking out. Here are the highlights:
It’s no coincidence that Apple’s naughty environmental practices go hand in hand with abuses of labor. Indeed, as Kathia Laszlo of Saybrook University has cogently argued, “There is no environmental sustainability without social sustainability.”
The point is beyond obvious, but it’s worth making: The poor and oppressed do not have the luxury of caring about a sustainable future that they and their offspring may or may not stick around long enough to experience. Also, they’re vulnerable to exploitation by powers who would strip them of their resources. (E.g. Haiti on both counts.) As Laszlo notes:
Social issues are intrinsic to environmental issues. As long as there are people living in poverty, we won’t be able to protect forests or clean lakes. Poverty is not only lack of economic opportunities, but also lack of educational and meaning-making opportunities.
