Dr. Jane Goodall and Lisa Jackson of Apple.Photo: Apple
In a city used to seeing the biggest stars out and about, Dr.Jane Goodallcaused quite a stir when she stopped into Apple’s Los Angeles store recently to recycle her “very, very old phone” and catch up with an old friend.
“You can imagine the reaction from our team,” saysLisa Jackson, Apple’s vice president of Environment, Policy, and Social Initiativesabout meeting up with her longtime friend at Apple Tower Theater, the 1927 movie theater that’s starring in a new role these days as one of the tech giant’s retail locations.
“We had to hold them back,” Jackson jokes to PEOPLE during a Zoom conversation with the famed environmentalist in honor of Earth Day.
Together the duo discuss the climate crisis, the importance of recycling old devices and Apple’s new partnership with the Jane Goodall Institute’sRoots & Shootsprogram, which encourages young people around the world to protect the environment.
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“I mean, here’s this legend. It was really just a wonderful moment,” says Jackson, an environmental powerhouse in her own right, having served as Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency under PresidentBarack Obamabefore heading up all things environmental at Apple as well as its Racial Equity and Justice Initiative.
Dr. Jane Goodall.JGI USA/Bill Wallauer
“I think Jane always underestimates just the strength and inspiration that she gives to people,” says Jackson. “It’s so much a part of who she is.”
So is working to save the planet.
For years, Goodall has warned of dire consequences if the world doesn’t take bold steps to tackle the climate crisis, one major reason why Goodall recycled her phone and is encouraging people to do the same with their old devices.
“What’s the point of putting it in a landfill?” Goodall tells PEOPLE. “I wanted to give the materials back.”
Landfills are a big problem for the overheating planet because decomposing trash releases methane, a greenhouse gas that’s more than 25 times as potent as carbon dioxide when it comes to trapping heat in the atmosphere,according to the EPA.
“We know about theheat waves that have led to human deaths,” says Goodall. “We know about the terrible things that have happened as these weather patterns change. So if we don’t move to renewable energy, if we don’t divest ourselves from burning fossil fuels, then it’s going to be Armageddon.”
To keep the planet healthy, we must also halt the extinction of so many plants and animals, says Goodall.
Dr. Jane Goodall.The Jane Goodall Institute/Derek Bryceson
The good news is that there is hope — and lots of it, because of the actions that governments, businesses and individuals can do to slow the destructive heating of the planet, the duo says.
Earlier this month, Apple announced that213 of its major manufacturing partners in 25 countries have pledged to accelerate their use of clean energy— “equivalent to removing 3 million cars from the road for one year,” according to Apple.
“In this year, we’ve made some amazing progress,” says Jackson. “I’m very proud of the 40% reduction in our carbon footprint since 2015.”
Not only that, but “20% of our devices are now made of recycled material,” says Jackson.
That’s huge.
“If you had asked me a few years ago, would we be reducing our carbon footprint? I would’ve said yes,” says Jackson. “If you had asked me whether we’d be well on the way to making our products with 25 or 30 or 40 or 50% recycled material, I’d say, ‘No one knows how to do that.'”
Apple will be able to use even more recycled materials in its products as people keep turning in their old devices, she says.
“Let us refurbish that old phone, erase it, and put it out in the world to a new customer,” Jackson says. “That’s wonderful because that iPhone didn’t generate any new carbon footprint, it just went back out into the world.”
Roots & Shoots
“They are the future of the planet,” says Goodall, who is still very invested inRoots & Shoots,the youth program Goodall started in 1991 with 12 kids as part of theJane Goodall Institute.
“We’re in 65 countries now,” she says, “encouraging young people to make a difference and helping them understand that even if you only do small, good things every day, cumulatively that adds up to a big difference.”
“Of course, my sort of waking dream is to grow Roots & Shoots everywhere,” she says.
That may just happen now that Apple announced it has partnered with Root & Shoots to support its work “and continue to support this culture of hope that Jane is building around the world,” says Jackson.
“It’s so important for our young people to believe that they have the power to change the world,” she adds.
Lisa Jackson of Apple and Dr. Jane Goodall.Apple
As the two friends tour Apple Tower Theater, they end their talk on a high note of hope for the future.
“What’s giving you hope today on this too-warm day in Los Angeles?” Jackson asks Goodall.
“Well, the main hope is the youth,” says Goodall, who is featured in Apple’s latest"Time to Walk"audio experience, designed to encourage people to move more and available on Apple Watch for Fitness+ subscribers.
“The second hope is the amazing human intellect that is beginning to work to heal the harm we’ve inflicted, just like Daisy,” she says, referring to the Apple robot that breaks down iPhonesfor recycling.
“Thirdly, the resilience of nature,” Goodall adds. “Destroy a place, give it time, give it a chance, and Mother Nature will come back.”
“And finally, the indomitable human spirit — the people who tackle what seems to be impossible and won’t give up, and succeed,” she continues.
“We will not give up. I promise you, we will not,” Jackson told her.
In her chat with PEOPLE, Goodall says, “It’s not too late, but we must act now. We’re all in this together.”
source: people.com
