Greenpeace: MacBook Air Gets it Right... Mostly

The environmental activist group Greenpeace has called Apple to task time and again for the chemicals used in the companyis products, but now the group is praising the new MacBook Air. Greenpeace sees Appleis slim mercury free and arsenic free laptop as a major improvement in "green" computing.

Greenpeace said in a statement that the Cupertino company is "on the right path for a green Apple," noting that the MacBook Air lacks the levels of hazardous chemicals found in other computers.

"As a mercury and arsenic free laptop it exceeds European Standards (RoHS directive exemptions) and raises the bar for the rest of the industry," the group said, and added "The BFR and PVC free printed wiring on the motherboard is a big step forward," although eliminating those chemicals completely would be preferable.

Had Apple been able to produce its ultra portable laptop without BFR and PVC chemicals, the group claims Apple would have been an ecological leader.

Greenpeace previously called Apple to task for its use of Brominated Fire Retardants and Polyvinyl Chloride in its products. Later, it praised the company for publicly committing to eliminating the hazardous chemicals from its designs.

While the group was pleased with Appleis "greener" laptop, it still wants to see across the board elimination of hazardous chemicals in the companyis products. "We can almost taste that Green Apple, unfortunately itis not ripe yet," the group added.