Apple has learned how to salvage all the expensive, reusable parts from your old iPhone. And its “harvesting” technique — excuse us, buddy — is pretty cool.

Liam is a robot created to disassemble an iPhone after it doesn’t work anymore. Watch this short video about Liam and the work the robot does below.

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The post Liam is Apple’s Best Recycler [Video] appeared first on EcoSalon.

I don’t hate Taylor Swift.

As far as her music goes, I can’t say it’s moved me really. Although, I have shaken it off on a few occasions. As a forty-something working mom, pop music is not a priority (unless it’s a duet with Elmo), and truthfully, it just isn’t all that relatable anymore.

We sing cheery folk songs to our daughter at bedtime—the same ones my dad sang to me when I was a little girl. We’re also steeping our daughter in Edith Piaf’s collection. The Velvet Underground. Bjork. Howlin’ Wolf. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. Fela Kuti. I assume when she’s old enough to buy her own music she’ll be the one teaching me about artists who were influenced by Taylor Swift, Beyoncé and Miley Cyrus. Well, that is, if artists are making music for sale anymore.

And this is where Taylor Swift—regardless of whether or not we’re fans of hers—has just made history.

If you haven’t heard by now, Ms. Swift penned an open letter to Apple on her Tumblr page (“To Apple, Love Taylor”). The letter, I imagine, if handwritten, might have come on pink paper with scented ink and adorned with pretty stickers.

In her sweet-yet-fiercely-confident way, Ms. Swift explained to the mega-technology corporation why she’d be withholding her album “1989” from the new streaming Apple Music service, just as she did with Spotify. The reason, she explained, is the program’s three month free trial period (for consumers) won’t pay artists who are streamed during that time. Ms. Swift says, and many agree with her, this is unfair to artists who are considerably less profitable than Ms. Swift herself. As she explains:

This is not about me. Thankfully I am on my fifth album and can support myself, my band, crew, and entire management team by playing live shows. This is about the new artist or band that has just released their first single and will not be paid for its success. This is about the young songwriter who just got his or her first cut and thought that the royalties from that would get them out of debt. This is about the producer who works tirelessly to innovate and create, just like the innovators and creators at Apple are pioneering in their field…but will not get paid for a quarter of a year’s worth of plays on his or her songs.

These are not the complaints of a spoiled, petulant child. These are the echoed sentiments of every artist, writer and producer in my social circles who are afraid to speak up publicly because we admire and respect Apple so much. We simply do not respect this particular call.

Some critics are calling Ms. Swift’s bluff on this—that her motive is more selfish than it is in solidarity with lesser-known artists. While she insists she is able to pay herself and her massive staff, certainly she wouldn’t be taking this stand if she didn’t have concerns over the long-term viability of selling music. She may be transparent, but she has a point.

And it seems, Apple has listened.

Apple’s senior VP of internet services, Eddy Cue, spoke with Ms. Swift over the phone after her blog went viral and told her, in essence, that Apple would be immediately changing its policy and paying artists during that trial period. This is kind of huge.

Not only does it cement Ms. Swift’s power as a voice for her generation (Proof we’ve evolved: nasaly-awkward-looking-kinda-grumpy Bob Dylan was the voice of his generation just fifty years ago. You can suddenly see the parallels between “Blowing in the Wind” and “Shake it Off’, right?), but it also validates the struggles of real musicians, those who are often willing to give away their music for free in hopes that sooner or later, it will help them earn a livable salary doing what they love.

I know quite a few people in the music business (my writing career actually started at a world music magazine). Most of them don’t make very much money at it. Some of them have other jobs while making music when they can. Some prefer to live with less so they can make music full time.

According to author, professor and a failed professional musician himself, Timothy Caufield says the average musician makes about $7,000 a year (in Canada), “that is less than half the amount the Canadian government has set as the poverty line for single people and thousands less than the average income threshold for poverty for single people in the United States,” he wrote in his latest book “Is Gwyneth Paltrow Wrong About Everything? How the Famous Sell Us Elixirs of Health Beauty and Happiness”. There are no all-night hotel room parties for most working musicians—more like unrelenting touring, usually in cramped, hot vans, and lots of couch and floor sleeping. Caufield says that according to music industry expert Moses Avalon, more than 40,000 submissions go to major music labels annually, with only about two thousand of those ever being offered record deals. And just because a musician or band gets a record deal doesn’t mean they’re going to sell a significant amount of records. Those chances are significantly slim, especially in today’s low-record-sales music industry.

But as any artist knows, to limit self-expression by say, having a day job, can be more painful than skipping a meal because the budget won’t allow for it. Starving for art may be the only legitimate reason for starving in this world.

Taylor Swift may never have had to experience this type of sacrifice herself, but that doesn’t matter anymore. What does matter is she’s helping to remind us that most musicians do struggle to work, struggle to provide us with this quintessential facet of the human experience. And even if Ms. Swift’s motivations are transparent, it’s still something worth recognzing.

The point is we really don’t know where the music industry is going—it’s scary and a little bit exciting at the same time. But like Ms. Swift has reminded us, music has tremendous value. It’s critical to the human spirit, to help us make sense of and participate in the world around us. And that is worth something–anything–even if it’s just a few pennies for a few months while Apple tries to steal Spotify customers. Music is a craft, yes, but it’s also a legitimate service like any other we willingly pay for. Just try to imagine a world without it.

Find Jill on Twitter and Instagram

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Image: Eva Rinaldi

The post Can Taylor Swift’s Apple Victory Really Save the Music Industry? appeared first on EcoSalon.

Apple partners with The Conservation Fund to protect our nation’s forests.

The U.S. has more than 420 million acres of working forests and more than 45 million of those acres are at risk of development. Working forests are huge swaths of privately held forests that are often managed for forest products like pulp and timber. But when these working forests are sold, they’re broken up into parcels and sold for commercial purposes. But in an effort to maintain the forests, Apple is partnering with The Conservation Fund on The Working Forest Fund (WFF) to purchase more than 36,000 acres of sustainably managed working forest in Maine and North Carolina.

The working forests are the combined size of San Francisco and will be protected from development through easements, while ensuring that they’re sustainably managed.

“Apple is clearly leading by example—one that we hope others will follow,” said Larry Selzer, president and CEO of The Conservation Fund in a statement. “By all accounts, the loss of America’s working forests is one of our nation’s greatest environmental challenges. The initiative announced today is precedent-setting.”

The partnership will protect 32,400 acres of forest in Aroostook, Maine, an area home to abundant wildlife including Atlantic salmon, bald eagles, northern goshawk, and Canada lynx. The area will remain a sustainably managed forest in an effort to preserve jobs in the area. The other protected area is in the Brunswick Forest in North Carolina. The 3,600 acre area is home to pine and hardwood forests and adjacent to a 17,000 acre swamp preserve. This further expands an already conserved area.

“The status quo for America’s working forests is simply not acceptable,” said Selzer. “We will continue to drive innovative solutions that help ensure their protection and create a sustainable future for generations to come. Today’s announcement is both a turning point and blueprint for forest conservation,” he concluded.

Thus far through The Conservation Fund’s program, 400,000 acres of working forests have been conserved in 13 states. This means that they’re held by easements and if the land is purchased, the conservation easements must be maintained. This way these continuous forests and the habitats that they host will be around for years to come. The lands cannot be broken up into smaller pieces of land and sold for residential and commercial development purposes. It’s a big win for America’s great forests, too many of which have already been cut down.

Apple is also in the process of working with SunPower to build two new 20 megawatt solar farms. According to AppleInsider, “The new facilities will be constructed in China’s southwestern Sichuan province, within Hongyuan and Ruoergai counties in the Aba Tibetan & Qiang Autonomous Prefecture. They will be co-owned by Apple and Sichuan Shengtian New Energy Development Co., a joint venture between SunPower and a consortium of Chinese firms.”Apple seems to be taking major steps to expand its conservation role.

Related on EcoSalon

10 Ocean Conservation Groups Making a Difference

Fiber Watch: Finland’s Forests Providing Eco-Friendly Viscose

Can Barcoding Trees Protect Endangered Forests

Image of a sustainably managed forest from Shuttershock

The post Apple Partners With The Conservation Fund to Buy a Forest the Size of San Francisco appeared first on EcoSalon.

Apple is deifying the new iWatch, according to Russell Brand. Find the slow-mo Apple promo video erotic? Of course you do. Apple owns your ass, right Russell? He nails the brand for crimes such as hoarding enough cash off-shore to “literally end world poverty.” It’s a must-watch (see what I did there?). 

Find Jill on Twitter @jillettinger

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The post OMG! Russell Brand’s Rant About the iWatch is Priceless [Video] appeared first on EcoSalon.

This week’s Link Love we get a taste of craft beers from around the world, local goes up against organic, now you can drink “Game of Thrones” wine, EcoSalon’s own Fatima Olive and why Apple hates female anatomy.

5 of the best craft beers from around the world. [via Organic Authority]

Is local better than organic? [via Eat Drink Better]

“Game of Thrones” gets its own wine. [via Mashable]

Our own beauty expert Fatima Olive featured in Minnesota Monthly! [via Minnesota Monthly]

Apple won’t engrave what on your computer? [via Jezebel]

 Related on EcoSalon

Link Love: The Many Ways of Beauty + How to Wear Black in Summer + Eco Bedrooms

Link Love: What ‘Office Space’ Did for Humanity + The Tweeting Dress +  DIY Beehive

Link Love: Mila Kunis + Vegan Supermarket + Black People and Climate Change

The post Link Love: ‘Game of Thrones’ Wine + Fatima Olive Beauty + Apple and Female Anatomy appeared first on EcoSalon.

Corporations are criticized for putting the pursuit of profit above all else (and most do). But being a slave to the bottom line can also boost clean energy technologies that are as business-smart as they are planet-friendly.

Let’s get one thing straight: no matter what you’ve heard, corporations are not job creators. Big companies do not exist to make sure everyone makes a living wage or that our economy is progressing in the right direction. By law, the sole duty of a corporation is to make as much money as possible for its shareholders–a duty that is best achieved when overhead costs like labor are tightly controlled.

Although there are a thousand examples of how this mentality has harmed our culture and planet, I’ll save them for another time. Multinational corporations are here, most likely to stay, so why not focus on ways they can help?

Even though it’s still motivated by a desire to reduce costs and up profit, many of today’s most well-known brands are embracing clean energy technologies in a big way. While the powers that be remain remain handcuffed to fossil fuels, these bastions of capitalism are voluntarily making the switch to solar, wind, and more. Why? Because it’s cheaper, more efficient, and better for their bottom line.

1. Starbucks – Wind Energy

In 2008, the Frappucino giant set a goal to purchase renewable energy credits certificates (RECs) equivalent to 50 percent of the electricity used in its U.S. and Canada company-owned stores by 2010. While RECs aren’t the same as solar panels on the roof, their cost funds renewable energy projects pumping clean energy into the national grid. Encouraged by their early success, Starbucks set a new goal in 2011: to purchase the RECs equivalent to 100 percent of the energy electricity used in our company-owned stores globally by 2015. As of 2012, they were already more than 50 percent of the way there, making Starbucks one of the nation’s largest purchasers of American wind energy.

2. IKEA – Solar Energy

In 2012, this Swedish furniture powerhouse release its “People & Planet Positive” long-term sustainability strategy. Among other things, the plan revealed Ikea’s ambitious goal of relying on only the sun and wind to produce all the power it uses at its stores and buildings by 2020. Unlike others who’ve made big claims only to backpedal later, Ikea set about achieving its goal almost immediately. In the US, Ikea has increased the number of solar installations to 34 stores and distribution centers, with five more underway. Many of these arrays, like the ones in Maryland and Florida, are the largest in their states.

3. Apple – Fuel Cell/Biogas

As the unofficial brand of technology-savvy hipsters the world over, Apple knows cool. But hipsters are also concerned about the environment, and don’t want their iProducts with a side of eco-guilt. According to a 2012 EPA survey of companies that use the most renewable energy, Apple came in at a safe number 10, producing an impressive 537.4GWh, or 85 percent of its requirements through clean technologies. The company’s newest data center in Maiden, North Carolina, features the nation’s largest end user–owned, onsite solar photovoltaic array. The maiden campus also boasts an onsite 10-MW fuel cell installation that uses directed biogas to provide more than 83 million kWh of 24/7 baseload renewable energy annually — making it the largest non-utility fuel cell installation operating anywhere in the country.

Image: Thin film solar panels being installed on a Wal-Mart in Mountain View, Calif.

The post 3 Trendy Brands Embracing Clean Energy in a Big Way appeared first on EcoSalon.

Cell phones are changing the world, in both good ways and bad.

Last week’s highly-anticipated release of the iPhone 5 signaled to the world that despite a global recession, the cell phone industry shows no signs of slowing down. It is estimated that 85 percent of the world’s population currently has access to a mobile phone, and a new report by Ericsson predicts that by 2017, that same percentage will have access to 3G mobile Internet.

This level of global connectivity and access to information is unprecedented in human history, and social entrepreneurs are quick to jump on mobile technology as a solution to problems like poverty, inequality, and disease. At the same time, the cell phone industry has come under fire for its use of potentially harmful materials, questionable labor practices, and manipulative marketing schemes that encourage disposability, planned obsolescence, and unnecessary consumption. This week’s Behind the Label weighs the benefits of mobile technology against the downsides of the cell phone industry.

In 1983, Motorola released the first mobile telephone, futuristically dubbed the DynaTAC 8000X. The $3995 phone was almost comical in its heft (2 pounds) and design (remember cordless phones?). However, the release of the phone forecasted a future in which people could be connected, even when they were on the go.

Through the 1990s and early 2000s, phones became smaller, slimmer, and more affordable. Companies like Nokia, Motorola, and Kyocera led the charge with models that blended form and function (who could forget Nokia’s funky removable faceplates?). At the same time, companies like Palm, Handspring, and Blackberry began developing mobile devices that doubled as personal digital assistants.

This evolution and proliferation of cell phones set the stage for Apple‘s release of the first-generation iPhone smartphone in early 2007. The phone’s sleekness, simplicity, and functionality made it an instant game-changer, one that continues to spark rumors and draw record sales with every new release.

The Good

The spread of mobile technology, particularly in the developing world, makes the cell phone a useful tool for tackling global issues. In a recent article, Mashable highlighted five ways that mobile is the future of sustainable development:

• Disease response, with the example of how using phones to report malaria outbreaks has cut response time from four weeks to three minutes in Africa.
• Education through gamification, with the example of how the new Half the Sky mobile games teach women valuable health and business skills.
• Monitoring government accountability, with the example of how SMS messages can be used to track government absenteeism and improve services in Karnataka, India.
• Preserving the rainforest, with the example of an Android app that is helping members of an Amazon jungle tribe measure their land’s carbon stock and sell carbon offsets.
• Disaster response, with the example of a Red Cross app that helps teach emergency preparedness.

These are just a few ways that mobile has had an impact in the developing world. But even in the developed world, cell phones have yielded benefits. Remember when you couldn’t call a friend to say you were running late, or look up that song lyric that was driving you crazy? Problem solved, thanks to smartphones.

Mobile apps assist millions of users with services like email, maps, and weather forecasts, and some have revolutionized entire industries. If you want to purchase music, you no longer need to buy a plastic-encased CD with a paper leaflet – you can download individual tracks, or better yet, stream them. Avid readers don’t need to contribute to deforestation by purchasing physical copies of books, newspapers, and magazines – they can access the information online through free or subscription-based services. Then, of course, there are the dozens of mobile apps we’ve highlighted here on EcoSalon, which can help you live a more conscious lifestyle by reducing your carbon footprint, getting in touch with nature, eating better, and becoming a more socially responsible shopper.

The Bad

In recent years, dozens of environmental and ethical issues related to cell phone production, marketing, use, and disposal have come to light.

It starts with the production of the phone. According to a UL White Paper on the Life Cycle of Materials in Mobile Phones, most cell phones consist of approximately 40% metal and 40% plastic, with the rest of the gadget comprising glass, ceramic, and miscellaneous material. A significant environmental consideration is the energy required to extract the metals used in cell phones, particularly copper, gold, silver, and palladium. In addition, materials like gold, tin, tantalum, and tungsten are often mined in conflict areas, earning them the title of “conflict minerals” by organizations like Raise Hope for Congo, which attempts to educate consumers about the relationship between consumer electronics and violence in Eastern Congo.

That’s not to mention the labor issues that were revealed in an episode of NPR’s “This American Life” earlier this year. The piece, which was excerpted from Mike Daisey’s one-man show, “The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs,” sought to expose the unethical working conditions at Foxconn Technology, the massive Chinese manufacturer that supplies companies like Apple, Motorola, and Nokia. Though the piece was later retracted due to faulty evidence, Foxconn’s reputation was dealt a hefty blow, particularly after reports of mass suicides and worker riots, and the publication of an undercover expose from The Shanghai Evening Post on working conditions leading up to the iPhone 5 release.

Then, there are the ethical issues involved in using a cell phone. Most smartphones rely on accessing data stored in “the cloud,” a digital infrastructure that allows companies to deliver services over the Internet. Though the term sounds nebulous, this infrastructure, in reality, is powered by massive data centers that, “by design, consume vast amounts of energy in an incongruously wasteful manner,” according to a recent special investigation from The New York Times. The article went on to explain that these digital warehouses use about 30 billion watts of electricity, but only about 6 to 12 percent of that electricity is used for actual operations. According to the analysis, “the rest was essentially used to keep servers idling and ready in case of a surge in activity that could slow or crash their operations.”

And finally, there’s the disposal of your cell phone once it’s reached the end of its useful life. Cell phones are classified as a form of toxic waste, thanks to high levels of lead, copper, nickel, antimony, and zinc present in most phone bodies and batteries. Once these gadgets reach the landfill, they leach dangerous amounts of toxins, which then infiltrate the land and nearby water sources. Most of America’s toxic “e-waste” is exported, often to landfills near poor communities in the developing world. A recent CBS News 60 Minutes report tracked one carton of “e-waste” from Colorado to the western Chinese town of Guiyu, where reporters found unbreathable air, undrinkable water, and the highest levels of cancer-causing dioxins in the world.

Layered on top of these life-cycle concerns is the troubling issue of the mobile industry’s manic marketing machine, which often turns a new phone into an unfashionable or unusable relic in a matter of a few years. This business strategy even has a name: planned obsolescence. The New York Times’ David Pogue described it well:

The electronics industry itself is built upon frequent renewal. The iPhone, iPod or iPad you buy today will be obsolete within a year. Every pocket camera model on sale today will no longer be sold six months from now. And Android phones — forget it. They seem to come out every Friday afternoon.

But while we can certainly blame the cell phone industry for this phenomenon, we may be equally to blame, says Pogue.

Does technology really advance that quickly? Or is planned obsolescence at work? It doesn’t matter. In the end, we’re as much to blame as the electronics companies. The manufacturers are simply catering to some fundamental human drives. It’s style; it’s status; it’s the confidence of knowing that we’re not missing out on anything. Owning outdated technology makes us feel outdated ourselves.

So What Now?

Though mobile technology provides a definite benefit to the world, the industry is still plagued with environmental and ethical issues. There are, however, ways you can make your mobile habits more socially responsible. Here are a few.

Assess Your Needs

If you use your cell phone primarily to talk and text, a simple flip phone may be all you need to stay connected. But if your phone serves as your digital camera, your music player, your GPS device, your news reader, and your very best friend, you’re probably better served with a functionality-packed device like the iPhone, especially if owning that one device eliminates the need for all those others.

Consider a “Green” Phone

According to Juniper Research, sales of environmentally-friendly cell phones – defined as those that are free of hazardous chemicals and contain half or more recyclable materials – will reach 400 million by 2017. Treehugger recently published a round-up of the most eco-friendly cell phones on the market, which includes the Samsung Galaxy Exhilarate (AT&T) and the Samsung Replenish (Sprint). In addition, UL Environment recently created a sustainability standard for cell phones, which takes into account the phone’s materials, energy consumption, energy consumption control, available networks, packaging, and end of life options. Currently, 29 mobile phones are included in ULE’s Sustainable Product Database.

Compare Service Providers

EcoSalon recently compared the eco-credentials of AT&T and Verizon, with Verizon winning out for its environmental accomplishments, which include reducing carbon emissions by more than 793 million pounds in 2009, reducing energy consumption by 84 million kilowatt hours in 2009, and establishing the telecom industry’s first energy-efficient standards in 2008. But don’t just take it from us; before you sign a contract, research and inquire about your cell phone provider’s environmental commitment.

Dispose Responsibly

If you must get rid of your phone, make sure you do it responsibly. First, follow the proper recycling procedures: cancel your service contract, delete all personal information, and remove your SIM card, battery, and accessories. A number of retailers, like Apple and Best Buy offer buy-back and recycling programs, which tend to offer credits or discounts toward future phone purchases. You can also donate your phone to a non-profit like 911 Cell Phone Bank, which provides emergency phones to victim service organizations, or Cell Phones for Soldiers, which donates phones to military veterans.

SEE ALSO:

Behind the Diamond Engagement Ring Industry

Behind the Mother’s Day Flower Trade

Behind the Label: The Lululemon Manifesto

Check out all Behind the Label columns here.

Images: Peretz Partensky, Erik Hersman

The post Behind The Label: The Cell Phone Industry appeared first on EcoSalon.

A trip to Amsterdam requires adventures in the kitchen upon return.

I was destined to fall in love with the appeltaart.

When I travel I have a tendency to fall for local foods. It may be the most basic of foods in that location, but when you’re an outsider, it’s exotic. And so I identify a local dish that’s easy to find in a variety of places and I order it wherever I go. It could be called a weird travel quirk, but when you find a local food that you love and you stick with it.

And so it was with the appeltaart.

The famed appeltaart at Winkel

On our first afternoon in Amsterdam we were wandering the neighborhood in search of lunch and a double espresso. In the middle of summer, with the sun shining and every cafe known to man having an extensive outdoor seating area, this is not hard to do. So we randomly picked one that had a nice wooden table right next to the entrance and sat down.

Towards the end of our salads, I realized that everyone else was ordering huge pieces of apple pie covered in whipped cream. When every table around you is ordering the same thing, you know that you must do the same.

It wasn’t until later that I realized that we had serendipitously ended up at Winkel, the one cafe that an acquaintance had tipped me off to as having the “best apple pie in Amsterdam.” Some foodie affairs are just meant to happen.

What ensued was a week long obsession with appeltaart, and an even larger obsession with trying to make it myself once I returned home. Fortunately, there’s this thing called the internet. Thanks to Food Nouveau who carefully laid out not only the Winkel appeltaart, but also the one served at ‘t Smalle Cafe (another Amsterdam favorite), I now had a recipe to work with, and maybe I could kick this feeling of being sad about leaving Amsterdam. I even went out and bought a springform pan; sometimes travel also reminds you of what your kitchen is lacking.

As with most recipes, I had to give it my own spin, so this appeltaart is heavy on the cardamom and completely gluten free. It took a bit of experimentation to get it right, my first crust being much too dry. But thanks to some tweaking and incorporation of almond meal (a go to gluten free flour when I am baking) the end result is a tart that’s a little softer than the Amsterdam classic, but still retains the right amount of sweet thanks to the combination of crisp apples and raisins. A traveler’s rendition of a classic dish.

This is not your American Apple Pie, so throw those expectations out the window right now, and keep in mind that it’s best served with fresh whipped cream and a double espresso, of course.

Anna’s Dutch Appeltaart with Cardamom

Ingredients:

Crust:

• 1 1/4 cup sorghum flour
• 1 1/4 cup rice flour
• 2 1/4 cup almond meal
• 2 1/2 teaspoons xantham gum
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon cardamom
• 375 grams butter (about 1 1/2 cups, or 3 sticks)

Note: this recipe is meant for a 9-inch springform pan, resulting in a very big appeltart. If you’re using a smaller pan, you may want to cut the recipe in half, or just bake two.

Filling:

• 8 apples (use a harder/crispier variety)
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup raisins
• juice + zest of 1/2 lemon
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon cardamom
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch

Directions:

Start by preparing the crust dough. Cream butter and sugar and set aside. In a separate bowl, mix together all dry crust ingredients.

Add eggs to the butter and sugar, mixture saving about 1 tablespoon of egg to top the crust with before baking. Add in flour mixture in thirds and mix until dough forms a ball (you can do this by hand or in a food processor). Set aside. Note: if you chill the dough, it will be a little easier to press into the pan.

Peel and quarter all of the apples and cut into small, bite-size pieces. Mix in rest of ingredients until apples are well coated.

Grease a 9-inch springform pan. Set aside about 1/4 of the crust, and place the rest in the bottom of the pan. Push out until the bottom and sides are completely covered. Fill with apple mixture and top with rest of crust dough. Brush with egg and sprinkle with brown sugar (optional).

Bake at 400F for about 45-50 minutes.

Want more food inspiration? Check out the rest of our Sunday Recipe series. 

The post Sunday Recipe: Anna’s Dutch Appeltaart with Cardamom appeared first on EcoSalon.

Bound for the garbage heap?

What’s more important to you: A gleaming, sleek computer, or knowing that your purchases are eco-friendly?

Apple is gambling that consumer addiction to its famously beautiful products will outweigh the fact that it recently dropped out of a voluntary green electronics certification program, called EPEAT. The Wall Street Journal reports that last month Apple asked EPEAT to pull its desktop computers, laptops and monitors from the registry. EPEAT certifies that electronics are recyclable, maximize energy efficiency and minimize environmental harm.

It was a controversial move on Apple’s part, made even stranger by the fact that Apple helped create the program in the first place. The program is funded by the Environmental Protection Agency and manufacturers, but its standards were formed jointly with Apple, advocacy groups and government agencies. When Apple removed all 39 of its computers from the registry, they were, in effect, refusing to comply with the very standards that they helped to formulate.

Apple won’t confirm publicly why they pulled their products off the registry. Numerous sources speculate that the newest Macbook Pro with the “Retina” display—which debuted just about a month ago—failed to meet EPEAT standards. The laptop is almost impossible to disassemble, because its battery is glued to both the case and the glass display. EPEAT’s standards require that the product be easy to disassemble with common tools in order to remove toxic products, like a battery.

It’s hard to imagine that a move like this wouldn’t hurt Apple’s sales. U.S. law states that 95% of electronics purchases made by federal agencies must be EPEAT-certified. EPEAT doesn’t certify tablets or phones, so government agencies can still purchase iPhones and iPads. But more forward-thinking cities might follow the example of San Francisco, which recently stated that no government officials will purchase any Apple products. Moreover, dozens of prestigious universities require that their purchases be EPEAT-certified. Cornell and the University of California-Berkeley are already reviewing their Apple purchases.

But despite withdrawal, Apple is still far ahead of the curve in terms of environmental transparency. If you’re nervous about your newly un-certified MacBook, check out Apple’s environmental reports here.

UPDATE: Apple admitted they goofed. (Thanks to Capri Rasmussen for the tip-off).

Image: jaudrius.

The post Apple Addicts Choose A Sleek Design Over Environmental Responsibility appeared first on EcoSalon.

Get your popcorn out.

In this week’s infographic installment, we tackle the big business of film. Whether it’s breaking down famous quotes into pie charts, tracking the appearance of Apple products as extras, or highlighting how studios are greening their operations, these infographics feature different various facets of the movie industry with facts, humor, and lots of color-coding. Cue applause.

The Most Popular Movies of All Time: See if you can match the movie with the quote in this colorful round-up of the industry’s highest-grossing films.

Hollywood Goes Green: A look at how different film studios are adopting more environmentally-friendly practices.

Apple Products Throughout Film History: Check out how the Macintosh has played a supporting role in films from “Back to the Future” to “Sex and the City.”

The Best Movies of All Time Map: Take the top 250 films of all time, break them down by genre, and see where they intersect in this subway map-style infographic.

Film Industry by the Numbers: The dollars and cents of the multi-billion dollar movie business.

Famous Movie Quotes: A graphic interpretation of film’s most famous sayings.

Famous Movie Quotes, Part 2: The first was so good, they had to make a sequel.

The 12 Movies With the Dirtiest Mouths: As measured by use of the f-bomb.

The Future According to Films: Looks pretty bleak.

How To Make A Movie: A humorous flow-chart on the real business of movie making, as only the French can do.

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