“Apple Quitting Green Registry Leads to Purchasing Fallout” with San Francisco’s city government, Bloomberg News reports (and note how the Bloomberg article conflates “San Francisco” with San Francisco’s city government — though in that bluest of blue state enclaves, I suppose that’s an easy mistake to make):
San Francisco plans to suspend purchases of Apple Inc. (AAPL) computers after the company stopped participating in an environmental certification program used by governments and universities to make purchasing decisions.
San Francisco’s 50 departments and 28,000 employees will no longer be able to use city funds to buy Apple desktops, laptops or monitors because the Cupertino, California-based company dropped out of a rating system called EPEAT to track the environmental impact of computers, Jon Walton, the city’s chief information officer, said yesterday in an interview. The city’s policy doesn’t apply to iPhones and iPads, he said.
Apple’s plan to drop participation in the program may have broad consequences because many governments and universities are required to use EPEAT’s registry when making purchasing decisions. The University of California, the largest U.S. public higher-education system, is considering whether to suspend Apple computer purchases because its bylaws require computers to meet the standards, said Bill Allison, head of campus technology services at the Berkeley campus.
“When something like this happens, it’s a significant change in the landscape,” Allison said. The school needs two weeks to work with Apple and administrators in the university system to consider how to move forward, he said. “We’re reviewing the impact of this.”
The religion of Apple meets the religion of environmentalism meets the religion of reactionary deep blue government — which will implode first?
Related: Power Line’s John Hinderaker on Apple’s decision to eschew the U.S. government-backed registration of environmentally friendly electronics.
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