Phone Books Going Way of the Dodo

Another sign of the times: Verizon has asked permission to stop delivering phone books in New York state, arguing that they're a big waste of space and trees because few people use them anymore. The company has a similar proposal pending in New Jersey, while AT&T has already gotten the OK to stop in a handful of states including Florida and Ohio, reports the New York Times.

“Phone books have been a very visceral issue,” the director of an environmental group tells the Times. "They do tend to pile up, particularly in apartments. More and more, people are finding that they don’t need them, but they can’t find a way to make them stop.” (More phone book stories.)