In a recent New Yorker article, Elizabeth Kolbert interviews the environmentalist Amory Lovins. At one point in the story, Kolbert mentions “thinking outside of the box” and is quickly informed by Lovins, “there is no box.” What a great way to understand environmentalism! We want to promote solutions, solve problems, sure- but why limit ourselves to “box”solutions? Let’s think wide; let’s think about what needs to be done, and then, let’s innovate.
I’m reminded of a story told to me by our Greenpeace Campaigner before Mac World. She said, For years we pushed to remove lead from products because it is hazardous to human health. The industry kept telling us, “there’s no solution- we need lead in these products.” Did we give up? Did we say, “oh, there’s no way out of this one, I guess we’re stuck with a dangerous toxin like lead in our products forever.”
Did we?
No.
Instead, we pushed for, and got, a phase-out of lead in Europe. What happened next? Industry found a solution. Industry replaced lead with something less hazardous.
That’s a story of environmentalism without a box. And this is why I’m so enamored with the Apple campaign. Here we are with a lot of problems. Apples are full of chemicals like toxic brominated flame-retardants (BFR’s), and polyvinyl chloride (PVC). When people throw out their old macs they end up being dismantled, often by children in third world countries, who are exposed to a dangerous toxic cocktail that threatens their health and the environment. This kind of environmental injustice is unacceptable. We need a solution. The exciting part— Apple is not a company stuck “in the box.” They are innovators. What we’re asking for is more innovation and fewer toxic chemicals in the products we all love. Steve Jobs as an innovator has the chance to make Amory Lovins, and all of us, proud.

Read about the article here (I couldn’t find the print version online): http://www.newyorker.com/printables/press/070122pr_press_releases