Monday, February 16, 2015

$un-Dried Apple

I only took a bite or two:

"Apple to build solar farm for California operations" by Brian X. Chen, New York Times  February 11, 2015

SAN FRANCISCO — Apple is going big on solar.

How much of a tax credit are they getting?

Timothy D. Cook, the company’s chief executive, said at an investors’ conference on Tuesday that Apple planned to build an $850 million solar farm that would power its California operations, including its new Cupertino campus, stores, and a data center in Fremont.

Apple said it teamed with First Solar, an equipment supplier, to construct the solar farm in Monterey County. The farm is expected to be completed by the end of 2016, First Solar said.

Apple’s investment in the solar farm is a significant expansion of its efforts to shift toward renewable energy sources, including wind and solar, to power its operations. Renewable energy has powered the company’s corporate campuses in Austin, Texas, and Sacramento for many years. In 2013, Apple completed a transition to using 100 percent renewable energy to power its data centers.

Last week, the company said it would invest $2 billion to convert a sapphire glass plant in Arizona into a data center that would be powered mostly by solar energy.

Cook said in an onstage interview at a Goldman Sachs conference here that the company was looking to address the issue of climate change.

“We know at Apple that climate change is real,” Cook said. “The time for talk is past. The time for action is now.” 

Yeah, after I dig out from the snow and warm up from the record cold.

Cook has been vocal about his views on issues such as environmentalism and gay rights.

Apple’s market capitalization rose to $710.7 billion on Tuesday, making it the first US company to close above $700 billion. Shares of Apple ended 1.9 percent higher, at $122.02.

Later in the interview, Cook also talked about the Apple Watch, the company’s smartwatch, which is set for release in April. The Apple Watch will not be the first smartwatch on the market, but Cook noted that MP3 players and tablets that came out before the iPod and iPad were too difficult to use or had niche applications.

“I see the smartwatch category very much like that,” Cook said.

He said consumers would like the features and many apps that would be available for the Apple Watch. One feature nudges users with a tap on the wrist when they have been sitting too long, encouraging them to stand up, he said.

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I'm not saying solar power is bad, folks; however, it's definitely been $haded when it comes to my agenda-pu$hing propaganda pre$$. 

Imagine if all the trillions spent on wars and bank bailouts had been spent on renewable and sustainable energy, huh? Too late now.  

So how do you like them apples?