According to Greenpeace, “Sometimes companies need to be reminded of their environmental commitments–like HP’s 2007 promise to stop putting toxic chemicals in their computer products. That’s why our activists climbed to the top of HP’s global headquarters in Palo Alto California today, and William Shatner (yes, Captain James T. Kirk) recorded a special voice message for all the staff in the building.”
Greenpeace’s website proclaims:
We painted a huge message “Hazardous Products” onto the roof of the Hewlett-Packard building (the paint was toxic-free). Meanwhile a voice mail from actor William Shatner was delivered to all the phones in the building with an automated system.
HP was being called-out for backtracking on its commitments to phase out toxic chemicals from its products by the end of this year. It cost them a penalty point in our Guide to Greener Electronics last month, along with Dell and Lenovo. So to get them back onto the straight and narrow, we’re delivering reminders to the company at their buildings, in the press and online.
Today’s action follows similar demonstrations at HP offices in China and the Netherlands highlighting the continued presence of toxic chemicals in its products.
Earlier this year, HP postponed its 2007 commitment to phase out dangerous substances such as brominated flame retardants (BFR) and PVC (polyvinyl chloride) plastic from their computer products (excluding their server and printer lines) from 2009 to 2011.
It’s shameful that HP is continuing to put hazardous products on the market, despite the promises it made. It should be following the lead of companies like Apple, which has led the sector in phasing out these toxic chemicals.
Apple’s new computer lines, virtually free of PVC and completely BFR-free, demonstrate the technical feasibility and supply-chain readiness of producing alternatives to these hazardous substances. Dell, Lenovo and Acer have also stayed ahead of HP, putting models on the market that are free of, or at least significantly reduced in their use of, PVC and BFRs.
So it can be done, other companies are moving much faster that the world’s number one seller of PCs. If HP wants to remain a market leader and not just another purveyor of harmful products, it needs to get back on track and eliminate BFRs and PVC from its products by the end of this year, as promised.
Full article, including William Shatner’s message to HP, here.
MacDailyNews Take: The militant kooks at Greenpeace never fail to at least partially hop onto Apple’s coattails for some free PR. They lost sight of their original mission so long ago, it’s a miracle they can even remember to use the word “environment” in their self-promotional propaganda. They’ve obviously also never heard of the words “criminal trespass and vandalism.” HP needs to fire those responsible for building “security.” And William Shatner should know better: Vi estis manipulita.
… come and attack my house in Palo Alto. Tear it all down. It uses materials which are no longer to code, asbestos and other toxic chemicals. If you come and burn it to the ground, I promise I will build something environmentally friendly in it’s place… like a big glass cube.
“Greenpeace: The Wrath of a Con” coming soon to a circus near you….
“criminal trespass and vandalism”
Yep, next thing you know …
They’ll be “Storming the Bastille”
Some lil’ ol’ Lady won’t move to the Back of the Bus
Or “Your Great-Grand-Mama” will try to Vote
If “criminal” activity like that is allowed or encouraged
Probably be the downfall of Civilization as we know it
BC
“Silent leges inter arma” – Cicero
“Apparently you’d rather tolerate manufacturers utilising hazardous materials in their products than applaud anyone who gets off their arses- which you, of course, would never do, and tries to do something about it?”
Wrong, what we would do is stay within the law. Please explain how vandalism solves the ‘problem’? The answer, it doesn’t. Furthermore, just because we don’t follow your crackpot agenda does not mean we are too lazy to get off our butts. It means that this isn’t something we are willing to stand up for….which is our right.
Green Peace has no problems vandalizing others property so I thought that I’d do the same.
This is their American Headquarters in Washington D.C.
“Some lil’ ol’ Lady won’t move to the Back of the Bus
Or “Your Great-Grand-Mama” will try to Vote
If “criminal” activity like that is allowed or encouraged
Probably be the downfall of Civilization as we know it”
The problem here is that:
1. This isn’t a civil rights issue
2. The little old lady didn’t vandalize the buses in the dead of night, she stood up for her own rights. Furthermore, she was willing to face the consequences. Greenpeace does their damage when nobody’s looking and then hides behind their numbers.
” … does their damage when nobody’s looking and then hides behind their numbers.”
Yes, Quad Core, can be quite a philosophical conundrum
As it’s said, “One man’s Terrorist is another man’s Freedom Fighter”
Next they’ll be dumping Tea in the Harbor ?
BC
Get the political bull crap off this site already! It’s stupid. Is partisan free Mac news too much to freakin’ ask for?
I know one thing, HP isn’t the type of company who will put up with this kind of crap. I’d expect some criminal charges and a lawsuit against Greenpeace over this, and deservedly so. Environmental Activism is one thing, and a good thing in many instances, but criminal, ham-fisted stunts like this that obviously require breaking laws and result in defacing of property whether public or private, shouldn’t be tolerated. Greenpeace deserves to be punished for this.
Terrorists. They should be put on the terrorist watch list. These people are the scum of the earth.
Okay people…..do I have to bring out the old parents adage “Two wrongs don’t make a right?”
And BC Kelly….I appreciate the point you tried to make but I would hardly equate Voting or sitting at the front of the bus with Vandalism. Women voting and blacks sitting in the front may have been socially unacceptable at the time but neither acts were considered illegal.
Just like shooting an Abortion doctor because he’s performing abortions is the INCORRECT response for a Pro-lifer…….(albeit more serious than vandalism) it is not right to damage someone’s property and break the law because they don’t fall into your politcal agenda.
Again…..two wrongs do not a right make….
Loved Star Trek, but what an undynamic duo. I mean who the hell cares what these two has beens have to say?
MDN,
do you post these articles and then sit back and watch us, chuckle, and say “Dance puppets dance?”
@Rober’
Um, hate to tell you this Rober’, but Tom Delay was NEVER Speaker of the House. That being the case, please let us know how he was the worst? Inquiring minds, and all…
I hate hatelists, and, therfore, all right-wingers.
Let’s avoid politics, shall we? Ignorance is not bliss, obviously.
I’m allergic to nuts, too.
MDN: Stop being so hysterical about Apple. They mentioned Apple once, and then in a positive way, so they aren’t riding their coattails. It’s not all about you, you know.
And for a bunch of you: painting on top of a building is one of the lightest examples of “vandalism” I’ve ever seen. They didn’t even actually harm the property–it can be cleaned up. In the meanwhile, they acted in civil disobedience in order to bring attention to a corporation’s lies and misbehavior in the interest of the public. Would you rather they had issued a strongly-worded statement which would be ignored? Or would you have rejected even that as grandstanding, since Greenpeace is on your shitlist? Would it have been better if they had said nothing, and HP continued to lie and dump toxic chemicals unnoticed?
Or is holding major multinationals accountable contrary to conservative principles?
But the HP laptop is cheaper!!!!
Ha, ha. You get what you pay for. If you want to buy your law student a toxic pile of PC, go ahead.
Greenpeace is working for some extremely important causes in some very bad ways.
Are any of you working for anything nearly as important? Are you doing it in better ways?
If so, then I acknowledge your right to criticize
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I myself cannot make such a claim. So I salute what they are trying to do, and hope very much that they get a grip and start doing it in a better way.
This HP incident, by the way, probably IS effective in getting attention. And nothing ever gets done by INattention, you may be sure.
They should have gone the final, honest step and allowed themselves to be arrested. It would be been respecting the law (who cares about respecting a corporation?) and it would have made an even bigger media event to promote their good causes.
Oh, well. Instead, they go for the attention and the soundbite.
Can you blame them? That IS how the world works. Ask any politician. They craft FAR worse and more dishonest stunts daily. And with no good cause, either.
Mick, et al
Sorry, been busy, and is dinner time now, so get back to this party later, if able
But, here’s one quickie …
“two wrongs do not a right make”
Perhaps
But 3 Lefts Will
Later, BC
Greenpeace are just fundraising-obsessed slime–and terrorists too–they don’t miss a trick!!
Anyone who trusts them about science or health is simply uniformed.
Greenpeaceniks need to grow up and respect the Rule of Law if they expect people to take them seriously. Ecoterrorism is out. It gives real environmentalists a bad name.
I’m not a Greenpeace fan but who else was going to remind HP of their verbal promise ? I’m happy that Apple is leading the way by helping customers recycle their old computers, by making smaller more efficient packaging and reducing the amount of toxins that go into the manufacturing of the computers. Thanks Apple !
Personally, I would fire the HP personnel responsible for security.
Hey, Joe…hear anything funny?
Nahhh. That’s just birds stompin’ around on the roof.
I do believe strongly in the environmental cause. Corporations are legal entities without a conscience, and are capable of doing great long term harm for short term gain. But you can go overboard, to the point that ‘environmental’ becomes simply ‘mental.’
Greenpeace = real American terrorists
What’s homlnd scurty’s interpretation of this?