At least eleven 15 year-old children were discovered to be working last year in three factories that supply Apple.
The company did not name the offending factories, or say where they were based, but the majority of its goods are assembled in China.
Apple also has factories working for it in Taiwan, Singapore, the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, the Czech Republic and the United States.
Apple said the child workers are now no longer being used, or are no longer underage. "In each of the three facilities, we required a review of all employment records for the year as well as a complete analysis of the hiring process to clarify how underage people had been able to gain employment," Apple said, in an annual report on its suppliers.
Apple has been repeatedly criticised for using factories that abuse workers and where conditions are poor. Last week, it emerged that 62 workers at a factory that manufactures products for Apple and Nokia had been poisoned by n-hexane, a toxic chemical that can cause muscular degeneration and blur eyesight. Apple has not commented on the problems at the plant, which is run by Wintek, in the Chinese city of Suzhou.
A spokesman for Wintek said that "almost all" of the affected workers were back at work, but that some remained in hospital. Wintek said n-hexane was commonly used in the technology industry, and that problems had arisen because some areas of the factory were not ventilated properly.
Last year, an employee at Foxconn, the Taiwanese company that is one of Apple's biggest suppliers, committed suicide after being accused of stealing a prototype for the iPhone.
Sun Danyong, 25, was a university graduate working in the logistics department when the prototype went missing. An investigation revealed that the factory's security staff had beaten him, and he subsequently jumped to his death from the 12th floor of his apartment building.
Foxconn runs a number of super-factories in the south of China, some of which employ as many as 300,000 workers and form self-contained cities, complete with banks, post offices and basketball courts.
It has been accused, however, of treating its employees extremely harshly. China Labor Watch, a New York-based NGO, accused Foxconn of having an "inhumane and militant" management, which neglects basic human rights. Foxconn's management were not available for comment.
In its report, Apple revealed the sweatshop conditions inside the factories it uses. Apple admitted that at least 55 of the 102 factories that produce its goods were ignoring Apple's rule that staff cannot work more than 60 hours a week.
The technology company's own guidelines are already in breach of China's widely-ignored labour law, which sets out a maximum 49-hour week for workers.
Apple also said that one of its factories had repeatedly falsified its records in order to conceal the fact that it was using child labour and working its staff endlessly.
"When we investigated, we uncovered records and conducted worker interviews that revealed excessive working hours and seven days of continuous work," Apple said, adding that it had terminated all contracts with the factory.
Only 65 per cent of the factories were paying their staff the correct wages and benefits, and Apple found 24 factories where workers had not even been paid China's minimum wage of around 800 yuan (Pounds76) a month.
Meanwhile, only 61 per cent of Apple's suppliers were following regulations to prevent injuries in the workplace and a mere 57 per cent had the correct environmental permits to operate.
The high environmental cost of Apple's products was revealed when three factories were discovered to be shipping hazardous waste to unqualified disposal companies.
Apple said it had required the factories to "perform immediate inspections of their wastewater discharge systems" and hire an independent environmental consultant to prevent future violations.
However, Apple has not stopped using the factories.
In 2008, Apple found that a total of 25 child workers had been employed to build iPods, iPhones and its range of computers.
London Sunday Telegraph
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
NSW Government writes off renewable energy
TWO new fossil fuel power plants that will increase the state's greenhouse gas emissions by between 5 and 15 per cent will move a step closer to construction this week after developers claimed renewable energy cannot feed a growing hunger for electricity.
The carbon emissions from the power stations, which would be added to existing plants at Mount Piper near Lithgow and Bayswater in the Hunter Valley, would equal a doubling of the number of cars on NSW roads.
But the two government-owned developers, Delta Electricity and Macquarie Generation, say they are essential to meet demand and replace older, less efficient coal-fired generators.
Their responses to public submissions dismiss the idea of investing in solar or wind power instead. Macquarie Generation says NSW will have trouble meeting the national 20 per cent renewable energy target by 2020 because ''other states have better renewable resources".
The environmental assessment reports for the two power stations say ''clean coal'' technology will not be available to them in the medium term, although they expect that the technology will eventually emerge and the stations are fitted out for future carbon capture and storage.
Building coal-fired power plants, which would lock in high-emissions infrastructure for decades, is a touchstone issue for environment groups, which argue future energy needs can mainly be met with better energy efficiency, wind turbines and solar stations in the outback.
A decision by the Planning Minister, Tony Kelly, on the future of the plants, deemed ''critical infrastructure'' under state planning laws, is expected this week.
The key decision facing the utilities is whether to run the two, 1000-megawatt plants on coal or gas. Burning gas generates slightly less than half the emissions of coal, but is likely to be more expensive and would require the construction of a pipeline to Mount Piper.
The government is unlikely to express a preference for either gas or coal in its assessment.
The NSW Greens believe the need for new sources of baseload power have been overestimated.
"The NSW government has written off the state's renewable energy future, preferring instead to rely on outdated and inaccurate predications of a shortage of baseload power to justify their expansion plans,'' the Greens MP John Kaye said.
"Massive wind development in the state's west and possibilities for solar thermal generation in the central west put paid to the Keneally government's myths that NSW lacks renewable resources.''
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Sydney's solar ferries go globa
Sydney's solar ferries go global
Solar powered ferries currently sailing in Sydney are soon to become a frequent sight in and around Hong Kong's harbour.
Friday, January 29, 2010
Honda 's new home Hydrogen Solar Station
Honda has developed a hydrogen re-filling station for the home - and it’s solar-powered.
If Honda has its way, your home will soon be transformed into a service station.
Honda has developed a next-generation solar-powered hydrogen fuelling station in the US that can be installed in your home - effectively removing the need for regular retail refilling stations.
The prototype is designed to refill a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle in an eight-hour overnight cycle. It produces half a kilo of hydrogen in that time, which is enough to replenish the supply sufficiently enough for the average everyday commute.
One of the biggest benefits of Honda's new system is that it doesn't require the costly and bulky compressor of the previous solar hydrogen refilling station. The compressor with a high differential pressure electrolyser.
The new system can also pump energy back into the grid, allowing the owner to "sell" unused electricity to an energy supplier.
Honda says that the key to getting hydrogen stations into people's homes is to make it convenient, clean and energy efficient - the 48-panel solar powered system runs on off-peak energy and Honda says it wants to push the use of fuel cell vehicles forward.
"The combination of fuel cell electric vehicles and solar hydrogen stations could lead to the establishment of a hydrogen society based on renewable energy, resulting in a major reduction of CO2 emissions and greater energy sustainability."
According to Honda, it's all part of the plan to make hydrogen - in particular, the company's FCX Clarity fuel-cell vehicle - a mainstream option for the future.
"With fast fill public stations providing 5-minute fuelling time for longer trips, and the opportunity of convenient night-time slow filling at home... the Honda FCX Clarity can cover a wide range of driving demands from the daily commute to weekend trips."
The Honda FCX Clarity is currently only available in America and Japan as a lease vehicle, though it has been reported that Honda plans to offer affordable hydrogen cars to the mass market within ten years.
(SMH)
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Mini-Prius Concept - Eight new Hybrids on the way
Toyota has unveiled a compact hybrid concept that will be cheaper and more fuel efficient than a Prius and spawn a new family of Prius-badged models.
The Japanese brand's new FT-CH has yet to be confirmed for production, but the company said at the concept car's reveal at the 2010 Detroit motor show that it plans to introduce a new range of petrol-electric models to capitalise on the strength of the Prius brand.
"We know we need to offer a wider variety of hybrid choices," says Toyota Motors Sales USA president Jim Lentz. "This is a car that our dealers and customers have been asking for.
"We're developing a Prius family to take advantage of the Prius brand. There are more models planned and FT-CH is a concept we are considering."
Toyota says the FT-CH production version would be smaller lighter and more fuel efficient than the Prius, and that it will appeal to a "younger, less affluent demographic than Prius" and be priced below the world's most famous hybrid car.
The FT-CH is 560mm shorter (3886mm) and 25mm narrower than a Prius, though Toyota says the concept still seats four passengers in comfort.
Toyota says it will launch eight new hybrids over the next few years, none of which will be next-generation versions of existing petrol-electric models.
The Prius badge will be applied to a number of these new hybrids, though says Prius won't necessarily be considered a sub-brand within the company as with Scion that's used for Toyota's US range of models targeted specifically at younger customers.
Toyota says, however, that it is considering how it will apply model names to the different Prius models - including the current Prius itself.
It is hoping the new family of hybrids will help establish the Prius name as a global household name as great as Apple.
"I think the best analogy [for the range of Prius models] is that it's like the iPod with the Nano, the Shuffle, etc. The iPod name ... we're not trying to steal Apple's thunder, but it's incredibly strong branding," said Mike Michels, Toyota vice president of communications.
"What's prompting this is that our research shows that the Prius recognition is incredibly strong ... and it's probably higher than any of our brands except the core brands of Corolla and Camry. So we're trying to leverage that."
Petrol-electric hybrids will become the core drivetrain for Toyota and the company plans to sell one million hybrids annually.
It sold 530,000 hybrids globally in 2009 and Toyota is working on having a hybrid version of every model in its range on the market by 2020.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Plastic Baby Bottles and SIGG Bottles contain dangerous BPA...
HEALTH authorities will come under increasing pressure to ban baby bottles made with a certain chemical after evidence showed they can be harmful and are being withdrawn elsewhere in the world.
The chemical bisphenol-A (BPA) is widely used in plastics - particularly food and drink containers as well as food tin linings.
The chemical leaches into the containers' contents when heated.
It has been thought the chemical in tiny doses had posed no real health threat but British scientists have declared "compelling" evidence the chemical is linked to breast cancer, sex hormone imbalances and has adverse health risks to babies.
European scientists will this month campaign to have baby bottles which contain BPA removed from shelves.
Last year US baby bottle manufacturers removed BPA from products.
The Canadian Government has banned the use of BPA, the French Government last year introduced legislation to have it banned and even the chemical's leading producer Sunoco - which once staunchly defended BPA - now refuses to sell it to companies producing plastic food and drink bottles for children under the age of three years.
In Australia, Federal Health Minister Nicola Roxon said yesterday it was the Therapeutic Goods Administration's responsibility to raise safety issues regarding the plastic.
In turn, the TGA said it was an issue for the federal health department, which declared it an issue for Food Standards Australia New Zealand, which in turn confirmed it had no regulatory authority whatsoever over baby bottles and had never commissioned its own study on the BPA issue.
Food Standards said the group was monitoring the overseas BPA debate and up-to-date science found there was a "maximum daily safe limit".
Queensland grandmother and anti-BPA in bottles campaigner Nadia Duensing warned that as other countries banned baby bottles containing BPA, Australia could become the "dumping ground" for companies no longer able to sell their BPA products elsewhere.
Some of the biggest-selling baby bottle brands in Australia still sell bottles with BPA in them, including Avent, owned by Philips. A Philips spokeswoman said yesterday that the company was acting responsibly.
Paddington mother Alison Charles said her son Hugo was on the bottle and she had never heard of any potential danger.
SIGG:
SIGG's trendy aluminum water bottles have scored a lot of free advertising in recent years. In Touch Weekly raved about how Madonna's kids sipped from the lightweight, eco-conscious and super-cute bottles. Julia Roberts was photographed with one. Jennifer Garner was too. The Swiss brand became the must-have accessory as consumers rushed to find alternatives to plastic bottles that contained bisphenol-A (BPA), a controversial chemical used to harden plastics, which some studies have linked to diabetes, premature puberty in girls and reduced sperm count in men. SIGG's reusable aluminum bottles seemed the perfect antidote, a one-two punch protecting both our health and the environment.
But many consumers are feeling deceived now that the company has been outed for failing to tell the public that its bottles were not BPA-free, at least not the ones that were manufactured before August 2008. The company had boasted that its proprietary plastic liner didn't leach BPA into liquid like other bottles did. What it neglected to divulge was that the bottles contained the substance at all. While there's no evidence that the first-generation SIGGs did in fact leach BPA, there's still plenty of grumbling at the company's lack of disclosure. The news is especially troubling since the company internally acknowledged the chemical's questionable safety record as early as 2006, when it quietly decided to formulate a new, BPA-free liner.(Read about reassessing the dangers of BPA in plastics.)
"SIGG was one of the companies that profited from all the bad publicity over BPA," says Elaine Shannon, editor in chief of the Environmental Working Group, an environmental science research and advocacy group in Washington. Shannon's group urged SIGG last month to offer customers full refunds; SIGG declined.(See a quick guide to FDA regulations.)
To placate the masses, SIGG has agreed to exchange those older, BPA-laden bottles for new ones through Oct. 31, but I'm still feeling betrayed. Like many parents I know, a couple years ago I tossed all the baby bottles I had — and any suspect sippies too — and invested in SIGGs, which cost about $20 each.
The blogosphere is full of people like me who hopped on board the environmental, health-conscious bandwagon, only to find out we were going in the wrong direction. "I'm feeling kind of like I did when I found out that John Edwards cheated on his wife," Kellie Sloan Brown wrote on her blog, GreenHab: The Browns Go Green. "It isn't the worst thing to ever happen in this world, but I still feel really disappointed because I thought SIGG to be a genuinely green company."
SIGG has been around for more than 100 years, but it's been fairly recently that its bottles have popped up everywhere, with everyone. Much of its popularity can be traced to research publicized in 2007 about BPA's questionable safety. Since then, Chicago, Connecticut and Michigan have restricted the chemical, and more than 20 states are considering similar bans. The Environmental Protection Agency has placed BPA on a priority review list.
Nena Baker feels particularly duped; she switched to SIGG while researching her book The Body Toxic: How the Hazardous Chemistry of Everyday Things Threatens Our Health and Well-Being. After having given the bottles as gifts to friends and family, Baker, whose book came out last year, is now accusing SIGG of "greenwashing."(Read "Going Green Just Got More Cost-Effective.")
The consumer uproar has been eye-opening for SIGG CEO Steve Wasik. He thought going green just meant being good to the earth; he didn't realize it meant fessing up too. "Being a green company also means being held to the highest degree of corporate transparency," he wrote in an e-mail. "I fully expect that SIGG will not let consumers down in the future."
So how can you tell which lining you've got? Peer inside your bottle. If it's a shiny coppery-bronze, it's the old, BPA-infused liner. If it's a pale matte yellow, you've got the EcoCare liner, a new powder-based, co-polyester, water-based liner that SIGG says is 100% BPA- and phthalate-free.
Question is, do we believe the company this time?
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Japanese Whalers Destroy Greenpeace Boat
Ady Gil in action.
Anti-whaling group Sea Shepherd's stealth boat Ady Gil was cut in half by a Japanese security vessel in the Antarctic today, says the group's leader Paul Watson.
The $1.5 million high tech vessel's wreckage was sinking but its crew of six were rescued and uninjured, he said.
Captain Watson said the Ady Gil was idling in waters near Commonwealth Bay when it was suddenly approached and rammed by the Japanese ship Shonan Maru, which has been detailed to provide security to the fleet.
Earlier today the fleet was contacted for the first time by the Ady Gil, and Sea Shepherd's surprise third vessel, the Bob Barker.
Captain Watson, aboard the Steve Irwin, said he was still 500 miles from collision point.
"This seriously escalates the whole situation," Captain Watson said of the collision.
According to the Institute of Cetacean Research, the Ady Gil's crew were launching projectiles at the Nisshin Maru, and attempted to entangle its propellers with rope.
Looking more like Batman's spacecraft than a boat, the biodiesel-powered trimaran Ady Gil arrived at the Southern Ocean stand-off between Japanese whalers and activists yesterday.
It was reported this morning to be about 50 nautical miles away from the whaling fleet.
Japan's Fisheries Minister Hirotaka Akamatsu had earlier warned two security ships would be used to protect the whaling fleet, intervening when Sea Shepherd tried to block the transfer of harpooned whales to the factory ship Nisshin Maru.
Captain Watson this morning announced the existence of a secret third ship in the Sea Shepherd flotilla.
He said he was confident that with three ships, Sea Shepherd would be able to cause maximum disruption to the whaling, which has been underway for around a month.
The Rudd Government has repeatedly called for caution by both sides in the wilds of the Antarctic.
"We have reminded the masters of protest vessels of their obligations under international law to take all steps to ensure safety of life at sea, particularly in the inhospitable conditions of the Southern Ocean," Environment Minister Peter Garrett said recently.
"We are also passing the same message to the government of Japan."
Source: theage.com.au
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