Bad Apple: We haven’t dropped by the Apple store to ogle the new iPhone yet, but we already know what we don’t like about it: the new, smaller dock connector (elegantly described by Slate as “the little plug thingy for charging and connecting your phone to accessories.”) It’s not the size that bothers us; it’s that millions of the old dock connectors just became obsolete, meaning a massive e-waste problem as users switch to Apple’s new devices over the coming months and years. Can Apple’s big brains work on solving that? SmartPlanet

Can’t win for losing: Are we being too hard on our Apple overlords for their e-waste shortsightedness? New research shows that businesses with generally positive reputations -- like the Apples and Googles and Whole Foods’s of the world -- tend to receive more criticism for their missteps than their corporate brethren of whom we already expect the worst (we’re looking at you, ExxonMobil). So when Trader Joe’s or Chipotle does something we don’t like, we boycott. When Massey Coal does it, we’re not surprised and therefore not outraged. But there’s a potential upside to picking on your friends: sometimes, it makes them even better. Slate

Bag man: Is it possible that plastic bags (which cities across the country have been attempting to ban, usually unsuccessfully, due to opposition from … you guessed it .. plastic companies) are actually good for the environment? No, sorry, we don’t think it is, but here’s the lawyer being paid to make that argument in hundreds of city councils and courtrooms. And the thing is, he’s pretty good at it. Pacific Standard

The last straw: So you probably heard: New York City’s Board of Health approved Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s proposed ban on large sodas yesterday. As you might have guessed, the soda industry fought hard to kill it, even forming a front group named “New Yorkers for Beverage Choices” (and indeed, opinion polls and unscientific surveys -- like this one conducted by your humble correspondent’s journalism students -- indicated that most city residents oppose the ban). Here’s a look at who lined up with the soda industry in opposition. It’s an impressive list of corporate powerhouses -- but we never bet against Bloomberg in a fight over health. Grist

The answer, my friend...: The next time somebody scoffs at wind power as an alternative to fossil fuels, tell them they’re full of hot air and point them to this study, which shows that if we developed and deployed the right technology, the world’s winds could provide 100 times the amount of energy we currently use. Let’s get building. Scientific American

Produce pricetag: After researchers found that organic food is no healthier than the stuff Big Ag grows (or did they?), some of our favorite smart foodies debated the age-old question asked by every shopper studying prices in the produce aisle: is organic food worth the expense? New York Times

Drought of the deep: Some of the most important U.S. fisheries have gotten so depleted that the U.S. government has declared them disaster areas, opening the door for fishermen to receive disaster relief, much like farmers suffering through the Midwest droughts. Congress would have to act, though, and we all know what that means. Unfortunately, the disaster declarations can do little to fix the underlying problem: our oceans are in big trouble (see our recent cover story “End of a Myth”), and this is just one depressing sign of it. Mother Jones

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Image: Apple