Lisa Jackson, Former EPA Chief, Works for Tim Cook Now

Lisa Jackson, Former EPA Chief, Works for Tim Cook Now

One of the bigger announcements out of Apple CEO Tim Cook's appearance at the D 11 conference tonight is likely the appointment of Lisa Jackson to run Apple's environmental responsibility efforts.

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Cook was responding to a question on government attention towards the company, which lately has been in the form of scrutiny of the company's tax dodging practices. Here's what he said, via MacRumors's liveblog of Cook's interview at the conference: 

"When you get larger, you get more attention. It comes with the territory. We're doing incredible work in the environment for example. We've been focused on that for a long time...eliminated toxins from all of our products, running data centers on 100% renewable energy, largest solar farm of any non-utility. Lisa Jackson is joining Apple...she recently left the EPA and will be coordinating efforts across the company. She'll be reporting to me."

Jackson stepped down at the end of 2012 from the EPA. She was, as the New York Times explained at the time of her resignation, something of a punching bag for the Republican-led House after the 2010 elections. She was a rumored candidate for the presidency at Princeton, but that obviously didn't happen.