Yellow Pages Environmental Forum

In a recent YP Talk article titled “Now We Are “Paper Fetishists”, I cover just how far some of these anti-Yellow Pages people will go. I even quoted this jem:

“…Recycling isn’t the answer. Rather, phone books, like gas-guzzling cars and cheap air fares, are so last year. Now that over two-thirds of the country has access to the internet, people are surely using their paper directories less and less. I reckon that phone books are on the way out — so let them fade away gradually, and provide small numbers for the elderly, the unconnected and the paper fetishists. The rest of us are done….”

But what really set off some people was this list I presented which followed. The print Yellow Pages:

• Uses no additional energy all year long unlike the computer you are probably reading this on, which does use electricity continuously.
• It requires no batteries or power or connectivity to make it work
• It is made with recycled paper, is fully recyclable, and in the .3% of the landfill space it takes up, it does not pollute the landfill with the many toxins that all the electronic junk and batteries does.
• It is not made with plastics which requires petroleum (at some $135.00 or more per barrel) like the computers, PDA’s, IPODs, fantastically equipped cell phones, switching equipment, cable shielding, and all the related hardware does
• Is quicker in nearly every case I have seen to find the information you need
• Is often more complete and accurate than many electronic products
• Isn’t biased because of your age – with tattoos, sushi, and skateboards being some of the fastest growing headings, I doubt it is only being used by “the elderly”

Ok, we all acknowledge that the Internet will someday be the preferred source for information. But currently, it is far from perfect. And please don’t ask me to click away on my cell phone using some 2” screen to find what I need.

So next time you see comments like this in another post: “Of course, this doesn’t take the environmental costs of delivery, recycling transportation, recycling, or the 85% dumped-in-landfill costs into consideration.” be sure to ask them how their PC arrived — since I assume there was no environmental costs to produce, delivery, and landfill their machine.

It’s all in how you define the real “truth”.

You’ve seen them — bloggers who by virtue of the fact that they have a keyboard, an Internet connection, and half a brain can start spewing all kinds of inaccuracies across hyperspace. Among those I have seen:

• Yellow Pages kills trees — Not true — see article on how paper is made (click here)
• No one uses them — Not true, unless you consider nearly 14 BILLION look-ups last year to be “no one:
• the Industry makes up the usage numbers — Not true unless you believe that all the research organizations that do research for a range of media have some compelling reason to ONLY bake the number for Yellow Pages
• I don’t want one, I don’t use, I am offended you deliver one to my doorstep, — me, me, me. Please people, get a life. It’s just a phone book. It takes them longer to write their rants and complaints than it does to just recycle what they don’t want.

And so on and on. Usually I find the vast majority of these people are well intentioned but totally uninformed. Usually when presented with the facts, they will at least take the time to reconsider their position.

But now it’s getting personal. Case in point — this captain of commerce ignored all the facts presented and still ran this charming write-up: click here, but don’t do so on an empty stomach. He even went as far as to suggest everyone send me books they don’t want. Well, if they want to waste the postage and be even less eco-friendly, fine, I will gladly recycle any that show up. But you should note that the writer also closed his blog to further comments — hence, you now see the ugly side of the Internet, and it’s personal. Of course the other thing to note is the writer is hiding behind his site — you don’t know anything about who this, they don’t even have a formal mailing address, and it appears they are some local search engine marketing group (so of course there is no agenda there).

I hope all of you that read this have this key takeaway — these efforts are not going to go away, this industry in under siege, you livelihood will soon be under attack –> it’s time to start pushing back. All of us. Now. Because it’s starting to get personal….

A recent statement from ReachLocal, the newest wanna-be provider of local search advertising to small businesses in the local search space, caught my eye (source) and I noticed it has also appeared on several other websites:

A recent study by comScore shows 60 percent of consumers have stopped using Yellow Pages print directories as their primary source of searching for local goods and services.

Really? Where did they come up with that study, because if it was real, believe me, it would have been all over the media wires. I checked with comScore, with the industry associations, with several publisher contacts and the common response: it is a complete fabrication (aka lie) and there is NO comScore data that backs up this claim.  Instead it may be a statistic drawn from an industry presentation which if you twist it five ways from Sunday could conceivably give you something like that.

But even if ReachLocal retracts these comments, the damage has been done because once you start propagating garbage like this across the Internet, everyone assumes its accurate just because they see it online. On top of that, at a time when the Yellow Page industry is trying to extend the high level of trust it enjoys from its print products and sales forces to now be offering multiple products across a range of platforms (the Internet being one of them), no one needs to have dumb things like this – it reflects badly on everyone.

When you see stuff like this, let me suggest the following:

• First off, be a little skeptical, don’t assume information is true and accurate just because it is online.
• Pay attention to the sources and presentation of this “information” to better gauge its overall quality
• Try to determine who’s responsible for the site. If they will not reveal that information, I’m usually even more skeptical. Often the “About This Site” type links provide clues about the point of view, purpose, or bias of the site.
• Look for an indication of how current the material is. My favorite example has been the PaperlessPetition group which has been soliciting opt-out requests for years and as far as we can determine, has never once contact a publisher.
• If you know the information you are looking at isn’t correct, contact your senior leadership and/or legal group to find out what steps can be taken. This industry has built its reputation over a 125 year history. Let’s not give it up without a fight when stuff like this happens.

And let’s hope that ReachLocal corrects these erroneous comments with as much vigor as they promoted the inaccurate info to begin with.

Ad Age reports that according to a study by Burst Media, while consumers have a high recall of “green advertising,” they really aren’t believing those messages at the same rate. Burst surveyed about 6,000 people age 18 and over about their perception of environmental marketing. While almost three-quarters recall seeing some green ads, more than 20% don’t ever believe them and two-thirds only believe them “sometimes.”

The only group that seems to believe these messages is the core group of 5% of people who identify themselves as “completely green” consumers. In that group better than 40% say advertisers are doing a good job at providing information on green claims.

I noted one interesting comparison on the motives for going green — casual green consumers most often cited “good for the environment” (62%) as their top reason, while the more dedicated eco-oriented said it was “to live a better quality of life” (48%).

Those that have spent any time recently in and around the Yellow Pages industry are more than aware of the rash of new bloggers ranting away that the print Yellow Pages are a real problem for them — THEY get too many of them, THEY never use them,, etc. etc. etc..

While I suspect this is really the efforts of just 3 or 4 malcontents with way too much time on their hands, it was refreshing to read the following post:

• “…Today, almost everyone can get into eco friendly and patriotic action with recycled paper….. To get started in this business, all you need is a phone and the yellow pages….” (link to full post)
  

Really?? Those big old clunky print Yellow Pages that are delivered to every home and business, require no special electrical or broadband connections, and where you can find whatever you need in less than a minute.

So next time you encounter one of those ranting bloggers who are loosing it online, tell them they are not being rational, or patriotic. Print books provide a valuable service to EVERYONE, not just the Internet elitists.

Your kidding?  Those books that appear magically at people’s door steps that so many Techno-snobs claim they never use??  Here’s just a few recent examples:

From the Red Bluff Daily News, in  Red Bluff,CA:  “The Tehama County Green Pages, located under “recycling” in the AT&T Yellow Pages, provides the answers for most recycling questions. The Green Pages offer tips on how to dispose of items such as appliances, used books, clothing, computers and electronics, fluorescent bulbs, furniture, construction and demolition materials, old records, tapes and CDs, Styrofoam and household chemicals. It also shows residents what to put in their recycling bins.

From a blogger in New York City:  how to recycle cardboard — “Step 6: Check with your county’s department of public works to find out about local curbside recycling programs and community drop-off centers, or look under ‘Recycling’ in the Yellow Pages.”

 A Raleigh, NC blogger:  “Wow, talking about getting off the subject, I wish there were more places to take cans and such near by. I looked in the Yellow Pages and there are a lot of compaines. …”

 Yellow Page publishers — you have a valuable resource which is in every home in your area, and it has tons of valuable information.  Please let people know about it!!!!!!!!!!!

Came across this little test from thedailygreen.com, a website that says it is the “…consumer guide to the green revolution…”.

Here’s the link to the test: http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/how-green-are-you?src=nl&mag=tdg&list=dgr&kw=ist

It’s light hearted, but clearly designed to provide you with an indication of how you are doing against the rest of the green movement.

Take the test. Let me know what your score is.

Those who follow the Yellow Pages industry are probably aware of an effort that started in 2006 called the “Paperless Petition“, the sole purpose of which was supposedly to provide users with an opt-out option for printed Yellow Pages products.   Sounds like a very noble effort doesn’t it?

But here is the rub:

• I’ve tried several times to contact its creator and have yet to get a single response back.
• The comments on the site are a little dated (2006 dates on quotes)
• and here’s the best — I have yet to find a single publisher or industry association that has ever received any communication from this group/site/person.  No one.  Nada.  Zilch.  Zero.

 Yet despite these discrepancies, other bloggers/sites continue to suggest this site if you don’t want a print product delivered to your doorstep.

So what has its owner been doing with all the information that people have provided when they sign up for the petition??

Its apparent owner is an Ian Klein, who owns a company called the Klein Corporation. He registered the site in 2006.  His sole claim to fame that I could find is a web site called “Overweight Date”  (www.overweightdate.com).

Makes one wonder, doesn’t it?  Ian — what are you up to?

Information Resources (IRI) has released a new study which indicated that 50% of all US consumers do consider at least one environmental factor in choosing package goods or where to shop. The survey covers 22,000 US consumers and asked them to weigh the impact of four key sustainability or “green” features, in their products and store selections.  The key items are:

1. eco-friendly products,
2. eco-friendly packaging,
3. organic products,
4. fair treatment of workers/suppliers (not sure why this has anything to do with being green).

 20% of those polled said they were “sustainability driven” taking at least two of the above factors into account when making their selection.

********** 

What a great opportunity for print and online publishers to add a new feature to their advertising.  I expect they will quickly being to jump all over this shortly.

I will admit that anytime I enter the world of global warming debate I always do so carefully as there is no shortage of conflicting information out there. I just finished reading Bjørn Lomborg’s new book “Cool It” which is subtitled The Skeptical Environmentalist’s Guide to Global Warming and I would highly recommend it.

Lomborg though is not a new comer to this subject. In contrast to other prominent figures that promote a single issue while ignoring all other views, Lomborg has been called the “the best-informed and most humane advocate for environmental change in the world today – (Michael Crichton). I thought his writings are informative as they are fact based (nearly 1/3^rd of the book has references to his sources). He evaluates each major discussion point in the global warming dialog, clearly identifies the problems we face, ranks them, and then determines how best, and in what order, they should be addressed. His prior efforts are impressive including The Skeptical Environmentalist, Global Crises, Global Solutions and How to Spend $50 Billion to Make the World a Better Place.

In Cool It, he provides an overview of the global warming debate from an objective source. Yes, he is only interested in real problems, and demonstrates little patience with media fear-mongering. For example, he begins talking about the myth of the endangered polar bears, those poor creatures that are supposedly suffering because their ice areas are melting. In fact, Lomborg notes that of the 13 polar bear populations in Canada, 11 of them are actually growing, not shrinking. Then citing sources from Al Gore to the World Wildlife Fund he then demonstrates that polar bear populations have actually increased five fold since the 1960s. He then reveals that in the specific area most noted by global warming alarmists, more polar bears died from hunting than from warming related affects.

But Lomborg doesn’t stop there. He then covers the concerns we hear so much about: higher temperatures, heat deaths, species extinctions, the cost of cutting carbon, the technology to do it.

You should note that Lomborg acknowledges there is climate change underway. But his fact-based approach using economic analysis, leads him again and again to a very different results than other scientists. Clearly Lomborg does embrace many concerns about the planet. He just contrasts the concern for climate with other more significant societal issues such as HIV/AIDS, malnutrition, and providing clean water to the world.

I would love to see what he thinks of the Yellow Pages environmental efforts. He would be a great speaker for an industry event.