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Is shipping really a significant part of the environmental impact of making electronics in China and selling them in the US? Shipping is way more efficient per
by username223 13y ago
Is shipping really a significant part of the environmental impact of making electronics in China and selling them in the US? Shipping is way more efficient per mile than most other forms of transport, and IIUC much of the environmental impact of devices comes from disposing of them and the toxic chemicals they contain.
- SixSigma 13y agoIf they were really not profit centered then the making of electronics wouldn't be in China.
- username223 13y agoI don't think anyone's claiming Apple's a charity -- at least I'm not. I actually had an honest question about relative environmental impacts, but that's probably not what we're talking about here, so nevermind. "Trying to make money" is not the same as "trying to make money in every possible way, no matter the consequences."
- SixSigma 13y agoEfficient per mile only in terms of cost of operation. Pollution wise, planes would be less. The market is not very good at correcting for the future. Regulatory pressure would be the primary mechanism for change. But again, if Apple wanted to be more regulated they wouldn't be manufacturing in China.
- username223 13y agoPlanes? A bit of quick searching backs up what I thought -- ships are way less carbon-intensive than planes, though, to my surprise, less efficient than rail: http://carbonfund.org/how-we-calculate http://carbonfund.org/how-we-calculate And while I'm all for regulation, I'm basically pessimistic. Then again, overpopulation and nuclear escalation turned out less bad than I expected, so what do I know?