Using Apple as a role model for environmental sustainability is pretty flawed. They produce a massive amount of consumer goods, all electronic based and most re

Using Apple as a role model for environmental sustainability is pretty flawed. They produce a massive amount of consumer goods, all electronic based and most requiring batteries. The amount of material that must be extracted from the earth to create their gadgets is boggling. Their products must all be shipped, across oceans, across countries and into your home. Furthermore, because of their "cutting edge" manufacturing processes their products require an enormous amount of specialized tooling. Tooling for which all the materials must be extracted from the earth, shipped, smelted and so on. And then there's the packaging. Pounds and pounds of meticulously manufactured packaging per product. Where did all the glossy ink come from? Where does it go? What about the polystyrene? Or the mold used to make that inset? Production of consumer goods is pretty gnarly, no matter how it's painted by the producer. Buying a few carbon credits, using a bit of solar (the materials for which must be mined) or giving your employees electric cars or using LED lights in your offices does little to offset all the damage done by all the things I mentioned above.