Apple

Climate change finally hits Apple geeks where it hurts: Mac shortages

As Bangkok dries out from epic floods that the IPCC says will only get worse as climate change accelerates, its leaders are contemplating moving the entire capitol city to higher ground. But I know what you're thinking: How does this affect me? Answer: It’ll hit you right in the hard drive. Now that supply chains […]

Is post-Jobs Apple going to stop poisoning China?

While Steve Jobs was head of Apple, the company was one of "America's least philanthropic companies," lacking even a basic corporate charitable arm. Apple also often seemed reluctant to green its operations. But under new CEO Tim Cook, that might be about to change. In the meantime, many of Apple's suppliers are still poisoning the […]

iPod inventor’s next trick: a smart thermostat

I've said before that the next Steve Jobs would be in energy, not in information technology, but I had no idea that day would arrive quite so soon. As filmmaker and design critic John Pavlus reports at Fast Company, Tony Fadell, who invented the iPod, is working on a thermostat as intuitive and potentially revolutionary as … […]

What's the greenest business?

From Apple to News Corp.: Here's why we need new criteria to rank truly "green" companies.

The iPhone game that will make you ashamed for having an iPhone

Aw look, it's Phone Story, a fun little game where you produce things and catch things and shoot things at people! It's like Farmville AND Cut the Rope AND Angry Birds! Except that instead of saving your eggs or feeding your dinosaur, you're simulating the production of your iPhone -- which means you're actually abusing workers and manipulating consumers in order to score your points.

Critical List: Federally backed solar company closes; London drops carbon offset plan for Olympics

Solyndra, a solar company that had received more than $500 million in federally backed loan guarantees, is shutting down.

Vermont's still reeling from Irene.

Oklahoma lawmakers are looking for ways to block the Keystone XL pipeline locally.

The organizers of the 2012 London Olympics are dropping their plan to offset the Games' carbon emissions. Weak.

Ask Umbra Book Club: How sustainable is minimalism?

Welcome to the first day of discussing Ask Umbra's July book club pick, The Joy of Less: A Minimalist Living Guide.

As suburban office parks lose steam, Apple unveils the ultimate example

Back to the future in the Apple spaceship.Screenshot: Apple via YouTube The old-school suburban office park seems to be having a midlife crisis. A special report in Crain’s about Chicago-area businesses such as Sears, AT&T, and Sara Lee looking to relocate from the suburbs to the urban core — along with the news that Swiss […]

Getting green and happy by exporting pollution and misery: not cool

Do you know where your Apple gadgets come from?Two things I’ve seen recently have got me thinking about how the Western world solves its problems by exporting them. First, over the weekend I saw The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs, a one-man theater performance from Seattle’s own Mike Daisey. It’s an absolutely brilliant […]