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Green groups shine light on safety of Apple iPhone

Sunday, November 4th, 2007

The British launch of the Apple iPhone is set to be overshadowed by pressure from environmentalists who want the gadget to be made greener.

Green groups are demanding that the UK version of the phone, which goes on sale on Friday, should be free of the toxic chemicals, such as brominated flame retardants, that Greenpeace alleges are contained in its American counterpart.

Zeina Alhajj, campaign co-ordinator for Greenpeace, said: “The iPhone is a unique product and for us it is a missed opportunity for Apple to combine the innovation of the product with a green performance.”

The campaign was announced as Apple and its UK partners, O2 and Carphone Warehouse, outlined ambitious sales targets for the iPhone, which is Apple’s first foray into the mobile market. Carphone hopes to sell 10,000 of the phones on launch day, and O2 has ordered “several hundred thousand” units for sale over the next couple of months. Apple insists that the iPhone complies with the European Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) Directive. The company points out that it has already pledged to eliminate the use of PVC and brominated flame retardants in its products by the end of next year.

But the phone – the year’s most eagerly awaited gadget – is fast becoming the focal point for a wider assault on the multibillion-pound mobile sector and its alleged lack of eco-credentials. Green lobbyists say that the sector – which accounts for about 5 per cent of the global stock market – is a significant polluter and that mobile companies must work to address the problem.

“Over the life cycle of a phone there is massive pollution,” Ms Alhajj said. “The phone companies are making big changes – transparency and reporting is far ahead of what it was four years ago, for example – but it is still far away from being a really green industry.”

In a report this year, Greenpeace claimed to have found evidence of widespread contamination of rivers and underground wells with hazardous chemicals in the countries in which electronics goods are produced. The increasing ease with which Western consumers discard their old phones for the latest model is another concern. Only a small proportion of old phones are recycled. Nokia, the world’s biggest mobile handset manufacturer, says that about 48 per cent of old handsets are left forgotten in a drawer.

Another problem is encouraging the mobile phone giants to be accountable for the practices of their suppliers. Although five companies may help in the manufacturing of a phone, the firm with its brand name on the final product must take responsibility for what is going on in the entire chain, green groups say.

Aware that its practices are being scrutinised ever more closely, the mobile industry has made moves towards becoming more eco-friendly. Its interest has been fuelled in part by directives such as RoHS and WEEE, which pertains to the waste of electrical and electronic equipment.

The fashionability of the green cause – and the keenness of consumers to embrace businesses they deem to be environmentally sound – has proved motivational, too. Nokia asserts that up to 80 per cent of its handsets are recyclable. It publicly identifies all the materials in its handsets, and last year it cut the packaging it uses by 54 per cent – enabling it to put about 1,200 fewer lorries on the road, it says.

Vodafone, the biggest European mobile operator, boasts that renewable energy accounted for 17 per cent of its network energy use last year, an increase of 28 per cent on the previous year. Most of Britain’s big operators are signed up with companies such as Fonebak, which operate recycling schemes.

Many manufacturers acknowledge that greenness can be good for business. Markus Terho, the director of environmental affairs for Nokia, said: “Companies that care for the environment are viewed as better employers.”

World of waste

–– In the Western world, phones made to last ten years typically are discarded after 18 months
–– 105 million phones are thrown out in Europe every year. In Britain alone, about 15 million mobile phones are replaced each year
–– There are nearly 50,000 network base stations in the UK
–– The mobile industry in Britain accounts for about 0.7 per cent of CO2 emissions
–– Each mobile subscriber is responsible for about 55 kg (120lb) of CO2 emissions a year
–– To source the gold in a single phone circuit board, about 100kg of mine waste is generated
–– Nokia, the world’s biggest mobile handset maker, says that up to 80 per cent of the materials in its devices can be recycled Nearly 50 per cent of old phones are sitting in a drawer
–– Two thirds of the power consumed by a mobile phone during its use is lost when the battery is full but the phone is left attached to a charger still plugged into the mains

Source: Forum for the Future, Earth Calling report, Fonebak, Nokia

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What the media isn’t telling you about the Democrats

Sunday, November 4th, 2007

IN A MATCH UP with Giuliani there is no more than a 3 point difference between Clinton, Obama or Gore in our three poll moving average. What this means is that people are making their choices based on party rather than individual.

One thing could change this dramatically: if one candidate became an easier target for the Republicans than the others. And only one candidate is a logical contender for this dismal role: Hillary Clinton. Clinton is currently in a bubble of protection created by a media that steadfastly refuses to mention her sordid past. But if the bubble is burst - as it likely will be - by the Republicans after her nomination, it will be a whole different ball game.

There is simply no comparison between Obama and Edwards on the one hand and Clinton on the other when it comes to personal integrity. The former are far from perfect but it is likely that we have heard the worst about each. This is not the case with Clinton, witness the Chinatown funny money scandal that much of the media is choosing to ignore.

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De Menezes killing: what the witnesses saw

Sunday, November 4th, 2007

As the Met chief fights to keep his job, the hidden story of the Stockwell shooting is about to be told. Andrew Johnson reports

Graphic eye-witness accounts of the last seconds of the life of Jean Charles de Menezes, the Brazilian mistakenly shot by the police in July 2005, will be released to the public for the first time this week.

The release of the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) report is one of three hurdles the head of the Metropolitan Police, Sir Ian Blair, will have to clear in the next 12 days in order to keep his job.

Britain’s most senior policeman is so far defying calls for his resignation since the Met was found guilty on Thursday of “fundamental failures” in the anti-terror operation that led to the 24-year-old Brazilian’s death in a Tube carriage at Stockwell station the day after a failed bomb attack on London.

However, it appeared last night that Sir Ian could escape personal censure in the report, although it will criticise Commanders John McDowell and Cressida Dick, who ran the operation that led to the death of Mr de Menezes, according to a the News of the World.

The IPCC is believed to have suggested that prosecutors must consider if Commander Dick was “grossly negligent”. It also reportedly concluded that Commander McDowell failed to brief colleagues properly.

Sir Ian could also face a vote of no confidence this week by the Met’s political watchdog, the Metropolitan Police Authority. He must also appear before the Greater London Assembly.

The IPCC will tomorrow decide when to make its report into the incident public. Kept secret while legal action over the shooting took place, the report contains evidence that has not yet entered the public realm, an IPCC spokesman said.

“The report will fill in a lot of the gaps,” he said. “The trial did not give a full picture in that certain witnesses were not called. It will give a clear idea of what happened on the Tube train itself.”

The report sets out the law and will make recommendations for the future. It has already been considered by the Crown Prosecution Service, which decided there was insufficient evidence to charge individual officers. But details of Mr de Menezes’ last moments – he is believed to have been shot seven times in the face – will reignite debate over the Met’s handling of the case and make clear whether or not the 27-year-old electrician acted aggressively towards the police.

A key defence of the Met is that in the immediate aftermath of the 7 July bombings and the failed bomb plot of 21 July, the armed officers had to make a split-second life-or-death decision on whether Mr de Menezes – mistaken for a terrorist – was carrying a bomb.

The Met was fined £175,000 on Thursday, plus £385,000 costs, after it was convicted at the Old Bailey of exposing the public to unnecessary risk under health and safety law. Critics of Sir Ian Blair say he should take responsibility for the force’s failings and what were described as 19 ” catastrophic errors”.

One former senior officer alleged that Sir Ian, 54, has lost all support among rank-and-file police and some senior officers. “He should quit,” he said. “Blair is out of his depth… A member [of] the selection panel [when Sir Ian was chosen] said if you’re faced with three lemons and a raspberry you go for the raspberry.”

Sir Ian does have important backers, however. The Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, is unswerving in his support, as is the Home Secretary, Jacqui Smith.

His supporters point out that the jury found that no individual should be held responsible for Mr de Menezes’ death and that the failings were not ” systemic”.

Glen Smyth, Metropolitan Police Federation chief, said: “Sir Ian has not been treated fairly. It is nothing but naked political opportunism to seek his resignation.”

Next in line? Contenders for Met’s top job

Sir Hugh Orde

Chief Constable of Police Service of Northern Ireland. Former Met officer who helped develop race relations strategy. Has spent five years in Belfast.

Ian Johnston

Head of the British Transport Police and former Assistant Commissioner of the Met.

Sir Ronnie Flanagan

Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Constabulary who advised on reforms to Iraqi police. Former Chief Constable of Royal Ulster Constabulary and its successor, the Police Service of Northern Ireland.

Mike Todd

Chief Constable of Greater Manchester and former Met Assistant Commissioner, where he was in charge of policing the Notting Hill Carnival. A skilled media operator.

http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/legal/article3127412.ece

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