Was That New MacBook Really Green, After All? (VIDEO)

When it announced its newest laptop computer, Apple touted it as a more environmentally-friendly model, citing less energy use and more efficient construction. For example, the body of the computer is one aluminum piece, cutting down heavily on plastic. Some users are even reporting that they think the new MacBooks are running cooler than their predecessors -- which are known to get pretty hot.

Here's a quick summary of the good (at the beginning -- feel free to stop watching when it transitions to "glamping," or "glamorous camping"):

But Green Inc. reports that some experts remain skeptical of the "greenest" MacBook:

Well, as green gadgets go, the machine performs well. It achieves both Energy Star 4.0 compliance, as well as a gold rating from the Green Electronics Council. (Of course, 103 other notebooks have received gold status, too.)

The new MacBook has received mostly positive reviews from green-gadget watchers elsewhere -- albeit with caveats. "Its new laptops are definitely better," Casey Harrell, Greenpeace International's toxic campaigner, "told the technology news service Newsfactor, adding: "But not all toxic pieces have been eliminated yet."

Hank Green, founder and editor of EcoGeek.org, saw a different problem. "Although the computer is very efficient and uses less toxic and more recyclable materials," Mr. Green said in an e-mail message, "the one revolutionary aspect of the Macbook -- its solid aluminum brick construction -- is not green at all."

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Comments

[bmwracer]

Typical Apple: Misinformation.

[g4dualie]

There will never be an earth-friendly computer. Ever!

Its decay footprint will continue to stain the earth until they are made from 100 percent organic material.

If I were to put money on it, Apple has as good a chance as anyone to accomplish this.

[2grainsofsalt]

Fortunately, your insipid comment will be gone before you can say "

[Semaj51]

Truth be known truth101, there are some aspects of computers you are not aware of. Using your figures, you are susposing that this MacBook never goes into the power saving mode and remains open/active for twenty full days every month. No where near the typical usage for a laptop. So, before blaming MacBooks for the destruction of the polar ice caps, please get your facts right.

And by the way, I'm not a Mac fan -- never owned one and strickly a Windows kind of guy.

[truth101]

"When idle, Apple says the MacBook uses one quarter of the power of an ordinary 60-watt light bulb"

15 watts per hour for IDLE laptops is ok if its one hour, but the truth is that this is very very very often several HUNDRED hours per month.
MULTIPLY 15 times say 500 and you get a whopping 7500 watts a month which is enough to light up the national christmas tree. IDLE
LAPTOPS like this are responsible for the end of the polar bear and
the expansion of the tropical zones northwards and all the incurable
tropical diseases.......aplle is clearly a global warming company and
the claim to being green clearly no better a tale invented by
a marketing team savy to what the public wants.......7500 watts
per month of global warming for being idle.....WOW!!!

[Sumocat]

Idle is not sleep. Closing the lid on a Macbook puts it to sleep, in which case consumption drops to less than two watts (drops to less than one watt in "deep sleep"). Idle is when the notebook is running, but you're not doing anything on it, like when you take a bathroom break or drink some water. It would take a very negligent user to stretch that into several hundred hours per month. You'd basically need to leave your Macbook on all the time with no power savings settings applied.

[truth101]

of course idle is not sleep. the screen is still lit up. people tend to check their emails when they wake up and leave the screen lit till they walk out the door. this can be several hours of idle. the truth is laptop users are not really into sleep. after all uou
have to click a key or the mouse to come out of sleep. idele is better. man is a lazy animal........one click is one click too much......this is just human nature.......orangatangs and gorillas are also lany. give them an apple laptop and they will always prefer idle.....they could care less about the 15 watts.....they dont have the ability to think about what "15" might means, let alone "watt"

[TheVicar]

Actually, that depends on what you mean by "idle". When Apple is talking about "idle", they mean "the computer is running and the backlighting is on and stuff is showing on the screen, but the user isn't doing anything." Most laptops spend most of the time either turned off or in sleep mode. If you're using "idle" to mean "backlighting off and the machine closed up", then the power consumption is significantly below 1 watt on all recent Apple laptops, unless the battery is also being recharged. (As far as I can tell from a little searching, the new Macbook Pro uses around three quarters of a watt when in sleep mode, while the new Macbook uses around two thirds of a watt.)