The latest Apple Nano is here and it is the coolest of lean green fun machines.

According to Steve Jobs, they are the “cleanest” most “toxic free” iPods yet. Greenpeace thinks “Less toxic iPods rock”. And Treehugger and their readers bring up some good points.

Here’s the bottom line:

No Arsenic glass.
No Mercury.
No Brominated flame retardants.
No PVC.
Very recyclable.

Yes, it would be nice if all of Apple’s products were as green. And it would be nice if things lasted forever and wouldn’t need recycling. But we like what we see.

Especially, considering the problems that toxins can cause during production, during use and after products are discarded. And, not just environmental problems, but people problems.

Arsenic has just been linked to diabetes. Mercury is a neuro toxin that winds into the environment and then into the food chain, leaving us trying to figure out which fish we can eat. PVC emits deadly dioxins in production as well as after it’s discarded and it’s incredibly difficult to recycle. And, brominated flame retardants are endocrine disturbers and they also end up in breast milk. Not good for sexual development or for the thyroid!

Since body burden studies show almost every last one of us have these nasties hiding out in our bodies, every little bit we can do to get them out of our environment is helpful.

So, thank you Apple. Keep at it. You make it easier to stay eco-healthy and have fun at the same time.

We’ll take our Nano in Green, please.

In a report yesterday, Mattel has decided to replace all nickel-cadmium batteries with nickel-metal hydride.
Toys “R” Us, Inc., has also gotten into the act and asked all manufacturers that produce toys exclusively for them, to stop using nickel-cadmium batteries. We say that’s a good thing.
Nickel-cadmium batteries are extremely toxic to produce. The [...]