By TED LUX
What’s one of the most unnecessary things most adults are given each year? And it’s no longer vastly needed in Los Angeles or our society. It’s outdated, costly and takes its toll on our environment. There’s no doubt its time should end just as the Pony Express gave way to the railroad and the horse and buggy to the automobile.
The item’s average dimensions are 10.75 inches long, 9.25 inches wide by 2 inches deep. It weighs about 3 pounds according to my bathroom scale. In Los Angeles County alone, there are about 3.2 million households according to the U.S. Census Bureau and I suspect most receive these items yearly. It’s an annual ritual dating back as far as I can remember, and I’m 51 years old.
If one could place the 3.2 million of them lengthwise, the path created would stretch from the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles to Salt Lake City nearly 542 miles by my estimation. And, that’s just from our county alone!
Just imagine how many miles the column would stretch if we included our country’s other major metropolitan areas.
Yes, it’s time for the White Pages and Yellow Pages to go. Today, phone books could be sent out every several years and not annually as most of us now receive like clockwork.
Believe it or not, phone books today are made optional to receive. However, I’m sure the vast majority of Angelenos have no clue they can discontinue delivery or even how to go about it. I didn’t know that you could until I picked up my phone book in the closet last week and found the phone number (866) 329-7118 to terminate shipping. I’d venture to say that less than 1 percent of our households have actually looked in their phone books, picked up their home phones and actually dialed the number and suspended delivery.
Hanging up
Our society should demand a more concerned effort by phone companies to promote the books’ stoppage. Our environment deserves better. We need a highly advertised and promoted public campaign designed to curtail the annual ritual. Why can’t phone companies mail a simple reply postcard to most of us with a requested yea or nay to obtain the latest edition? Or, better yet, how about an ad on TV with William Shatner during dinner time? He could strongly request the audience to call an 800 number for prompt suspension. He might suggest that more of our maples, oaks, pines and sycamores could be rescued with just one phone call. I suspect many Angelenos would listen, follow his advice and dial. The “Shatner” campaign would undoubtedly elate conservationists and give great PR to the phone companies as well.
We’ve become a computerized nation, society and city. All the information found in the phone book is just a few computer mouse clicks away. We certainly need phone books in public places like libraries, schools, train stations, airports and hospitals for assistance. But that is about the extent of it.
As a rule, people and businesses don’t move each year and change phone numbers. For those who plan to one would suspect that if you’re “dear close friend” or “business associate” the moving party most certainly would provide you with their new phone number. And if they didn’t? Maybe they’re telling you something.
Today, there’s no doubt phone books are giving way to our fingertips. And, yes, that’s a good thing and it’s progress. We can advance our society with an idea of practical change. We can help save our forests, protect our environment and conceptually reduce global warming by saying good-bye to the oversized 3 pound gorillas now stuffed in our closets.
Ted Lux has been involved in real estate lending in the Los Angeles area for more than 20 years. He is author of the investment book, “Exposing the Wheel Spin on Wall Street.” He lives in Playa del Rey.
