Most of us are aware of at least some of the dangers of mercury–it’s even making tabloid headlines these days (Jeremy Piven was pulled from the play Speed the Plow due to mercury poisoning from sushi). But that doesn’t mean enough is being done to counter the issue.

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) urged environment ministers who met last week in Nairobi to work on a strategy to lessen the use of the toxic element, with one of the main focuses they suggested being developing a policy that would reduce the demand for mercury in products and processes.

Both the toxicity of mercury (it’s known to cause irreversible nervous system damage in developing systems) and its prevalence in our environment indicate a need for action. The high levels of mercury in fish show the vast amount of mercury that’s making its way into streams and rivers and while avoiding seafood known to contain high amounts of mercury helps, it doesn’t reduce the general levels of mercury, cause dby mercury’s use in a range of products, from the expected (thermometers and fluorescent lamps) to the unexpected (novelty toys and jewelry).

The UN’s call to attention came just weeks after two studies were released that link high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) to mercury. In the first, completed by the Institute for Agriculture and Trace Policy, 55 brand name foods that listed HFCS as the first or second ingredient were tested for mercury. One third tested positive. However, it’s worth noting that no mercury was found in the majority of the HFCS-containing beverages that were tested, and those drinks tend to be the highest source of HFCS in the average diet. Items with high mercury content included instant oatmeal, chocolate syrup and cereal bars. Click here to read more

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Apple’s new ads for the world’s “greenest family of notebooks” had all the appeal that comes with a Mac ad–minimalism, background music and a sleek, shiny electronic item. But not everyone was buying it.

On December 19, 2008, Bob Pearson (Vice President of Communities and Conversations at Dell) posted an entry on the Direct2Dell blog titled “The Real Meaning of Being Green” and it bit into the Apple ad with statements about the importance of making green changes instead of just claiming things. While some readers took the post as a desperate attempt by Dell to try and sully Apple’s claims, others wondered about the truth to the topic and whether Apple was all talk. Since Mac versus PC has long been a favorite argument for computer-lovers everywhere, techies everywhere jumped at the chance to enter the ring once again.

The reality is that the claim Apple has made is a hard one to prove; while they’ve removed mercury from their displays and are making MacBooks with recyclable aluminum casings and recyclable glass screens, there are many more components to what really constitutes a green laptop. Like whether the computer contains brominated flame retardents (BFRs) or polyvinyl chloride (PVC)–and the MacBooks do, although in reduced quantities. Of course, a huge element of a green laptop happens at the company. Carbon sensitive operations help, as do thorough and consumer-focused take-back programs for recycling old computers, and while these may be areas where Apple is working on improvement, it would be tough to prove them as the industry leader (Dell achieved carbon neutrality in 2008, although it was met with skepticism). Click here to read more

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