how green is the new macbook?

cool article in today's NYTimes (quotes Ecogeek, too!) about the new macbook.  apple is pitching the notebook as its "greenest yet," but looks like there is still work to be done...the article breaks down some of the green and not-so-green parts that go into it.

some of the complaints are that not all toxic materials that go into the machine have been eliminated (eg. contents made of PVCs and BFRs, which are noxious when burned).  perhaps most strikingly, the computer is made totally of aluminum brick!  Ecogeek makes the good point that the highly processed aluminum has a "huge amt of embodied energy (from the mine through the final milling process)."

check out this link to read more.  thoughts of pro/con???

This type of criticism from the NY Times and Ecogeek really frustrates me.  From what I've read about the new Macbooks, they're a drastic improvement in almost every way.  Can everyone just take a few minutes to applaud Apple's efforts?  Instead, many are looking for the one area where maybe they're using too much energy.  At least the laptops don't contain toxic chemicals and are entirely recyclable.  Do people realize how much better that is?

And where Hank (Ecogeek) is completely off base is on the durability factor.  Anyone who's owned both a plastic cased laptop and one with a higher quality metal enclosure will tell you there is no comparison.  My magnesium encased IBM Thinkpad was indestructible compared to what else is available on the market.  Even if the aluminum case allows one out of every 50 laptops to last an additional year (and I bet it's way better than that), it's a huge win.  And when it does reach the end of its life, it can be recycled while not containing any toxic chemicals.

Please give credit where credit is due.

For those interested, here are some pics of the manufacturing process with some explanation:

Apple Insider

Yeah I agree with teej here.  I think the NY Times article was pretty fair, but Ecogeek really focused on the aluminum case.  The numerous improvements in the new macbook were barely even mentioned.

Whether the aluminum case is a good idea from an environmental standpoint isn't really clear.  It depends on a number of factors like what they do with the excess aluminum, how the durability does stack up, etc.  But the other improvements like reducing energy consumption, mercury, arsenic, PVCs, etc. are a great step in the right direction.

I agree. In general, we should try to applaud ANY step in the right direction and not be picky about things that leave room for improvement. This laptop sounds vastly better than anything else on the market, so considering the alternatives and until something better comes out, this sounds like a winner!

I sometimes feel that there is a greenwashing witch hunt going on... ;)

I definitely felt like the witch hunt was in full effect a few times at Green Fest this past weekend. We work our butts off to create this site that is currently a resource on sustainability and green products to thousands of people every month, but because the basil seed packets we gave away at our both didn't explicitly say "organic" on the packaging, we may as well have been selling baby seal pelts...it was tough at times.

Exhale.

All right, I'm back :)

 Hahaha...  I heard that Green Fest was a test of stamina and patience, for sure. I think the Huddler team deserves a day off this week.

All in favor...

So back to the discussion of Macbooks...

What do you all think of this commercial?

The greenest family of notebooks?  Greenwashing or not?

I think it was a perfectly fair commercial, outlining the eco benefits of the Macbook.  I'm not aware of any 'greener' notebooks, so I don't think it's greenwashing to say that.