the new phone book’s here! let your fingers do the walking (out)…

image from "the jerk"

unlike navin johnson, few of us are very excited that the new phone book’s here…most of us dread that familiar thud! of the phone book’s arrival on our porch or seeing the mountain piled up in our lobbies. yesterday, i tried to catch the person and tell them i didn’t want or need it, but no luck…

treehugger posted not only the environmental impact of these directories, but also ways that you can opt out of the delivery list. clearly, some people (i.e., my mother) use their phone books, but for those of us who have absolutely no need, it’s such a waste of energy and materials. we carry ours (still wrapped in the plastic) to the recycle bin. it’s ridiculous.

the yellow pages association states that they want their products to be “welcome in your home”, so have an opt out page. but as triple pundit pointed out in 2008(!), many directories are published by independent printers. all those advertisements make up a multi-billion dollar business.  he suggests that those who actually want the books pay for them. but i don’t know if it’s fair for my mom (or anyone else, senior citizen or not) to have to pay for something that has been useful and free to her for decades.

people have been talking about this for years now. obviously, there are people who want a new phone book. there are small businesses who believe advertising in them is helpful to their profits. i honestly would be willing to pay a small fee to be removed from their delivery list – does anybody know if this service exists?

for now, i will register with the yellow pages opt out and see what happens…and while opting out is no guarantee, i may be one small step closer to avoiding the dreaded thud.

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new year, new goals, new garden?

thankfully, many people are making the decision to eat locally this year – and for some, this has inspired them to grow their own food. but what if you’ve never had a garden before? treehugger had an excellent post – kind of a gardening 101 – to help you get started on this most worthy and rewarding endeavor.

more advanced than that? then treehugger (seriously, one of my favorite sites!) had an interview with lee reich that is full of useful info as well as reading recommendations.

don’t have a yard? life on the balcony is a terrific blog for apartment and condo dwellers who want to garden in a small space.

and while we all can’t be martha, last week’s “iron chef america” showed us the bounty that could be grown just outside our door (in 7 months, the white house garden had produced 700 lbs. of delicious, organic veggies!).

but i thought the best line was when chef batali said to chef lagasse,

“this is how we should cook everyday.”

…truer words were never spoken on the food network!