Greenpeace Protests Apple

Greenpeace activists landed at One Infinite Loop early Tuesday morning to protest Apple’s use of “unclean” energy at its North Carolina data center, according to reports.

Two activists—who barricaded themselves in a giant pod they were calling a “survival device” with a likeness of Apple’s logo on it—were arrested. The 8-foot by 10-foot structure has been used in separate protests such as to prevent arctic drilling.

Four other activists dressed as giant iPhones with “fully functional screens” across their midsection that showed messages the group says come from Facebook and Twitter supporters, according to AppleInsider.

Additional messages from supporters were projected on Apple’s headquarters.

The protest is one among several staged throughout the country calling on Apple to do more to use its power and influence of good “by building a cloud powered by renewable energy," Greenpeace USA Executive Director Phil Radford was quoted in AppleInsider. "As Apple’s customers, we love our iPhones and iPads, but we don’t want to use an iCloud fueled by the smog of dirty coal pollution."

Apple’s 500,000-square-foot Maiden, North Carolina data center manages its iCloud services and is powered by Duke Energy, which reportedly gets 52 percent of its energy from nuclear facilities and 46 percent from coal.

Apple’s plans for the data center include installing solar and biogas operations to power the center, but Greenpeace isn’t satisfied with that.

Pointing to Google’s signed commitment to renewable energy, Greenpeace IT analyst Gary Cook told Wired, “If Apple had something like that, that would be something that would give us a lot more confidence in their intentions.”