24 THINGS HEADED FOR EXTINCTION IN AMERICA
24. Yellow Pages
This year will be pivotal for the global Yellow Pages industry. Much
like newspapers, print Yellow Pages will continue to bleed dollars to their
various digital counterparts, from Internet Yellow Pages (IYPs), to local search
engines and combination search/listing services like Reach Local and Yodel
Factors like an acceleration of the print 'fade rate' and the looming
recession will contribute to the onslaught. One research firm predicts the
falloff in usage of newspapers and print Yellow Pages could even reach 10%
this year -- much higher than the 2%-3% fade rate seen in past years.
23. Classified Ads
The Internet has made so many things obsolete that newspaper classified
ads might sound like just another trivial item on a long list. But this is
one of those harbingers of the future that could signal the end of civilization
as we know it. The argument is that if newspaper classifieds are replaced by
free online listings at sites like Craigslist.org and Google Base, then
newspapers are not far behind them.
22. Movie Rental Stores
While Netflix is looking up at the moment, Blockbuster keeps closing
store locations by the hundreds. It still has about 6,000 left across the world,
but those keep dwindling and the stock is down considerably in 2008, especially
since the company gave up a quest of Circuit City . Movie Gallery, which
owned the Hollywood Video brand, closed up shop earlier this year. Countless small
video chains and mom-and-pop stores have given up the ghost already.
21. Dial-up Internet Access
Dial-up connections have fallen from 40% in 2001 to 10% in 2008. The
combination of an infrastructure to accommodate affordable high speed
Internet connections and the disappearing home phone have all but pounded the final
nail in the coffin of dial-up Internet access.
20. Phone Landlines
According to a survey from the National Center for Health Statistics,
at the end of 2007, nearly one in six homes was cell-only and, of those homes
that had landlines, one in eight only received calls on their cells.
19 Chesapeake Bay Blue Crabs
Maryland 's icon, the blue crab, has been fading away in Chesapeake
Bay. Last year Maryland saw the lowest harvest (22 million pounds) since
1945. Just four decades ago the bay produced 96 million pounds. The population is
down 70% since 1990, when they first did a formal count. There are only about 120
million crabs in the bay and they think they need 200 million for a
sustainable population. Over-fishing, pollution, invasive species and global warming
get the blame.
18. VCRs
For the better part of three decades, the VCR was a best-seller and
staple in every American household until being completely decimated by the DVD,
and now the Digital Video Recorder (DVR). In fact, the only remnants of the VHS age
at your local Wal-Mart or Radio Shack are blank VHS tapes these days.
Pre-recorded VHS tapes are largely gone and VHS decks are practically nowhere to be
found. They served us so well.
17. Ash Trees
In the late 1990s, a pretty, iridescent green species of beetle, now
known as the emerald ash borer, hitched a ride to North America with ash wood
products imported from eastern Asia . In less than a decade, its larvae have killed
millions of trees in the Midwest , and continue to spread. They've killed
more than 30 million ash trees in southeastern Michigan alone, with tens of
millions more lost in Ohio and Indiana . More than 7.5 billion ash trees are
currently at risk.
16. Ham Radio
Amateur radio operators enjoy personal (and often worldwide) wireless
communications with each other and are able to support their communities
with emergency and disaster communications if necessary, while increasing their
personal knowledge of electronics and radio theory. However, proliferation
of the Internet and its popularity among youth has caused the decline of
amateur radio. In the past five years alone, the number of people holding active ham
radio licenses has dropped by 50,000, even though Morse Code is no longer a
requirement.
15. The Swimming Hole
Thanks to our litigious society, swimming holes are becoming a thing of
the past. '20/20' reports that swimming hole owners, like Robert Every
in High Falls, NY, are shutting them down out of worry that if someone gets
hurt they'll sue. And that's exactly what happened in Seattle . The city of
Bellingham was sued by Katie Hofstetter who was paralyzed in a fall at a
popular swimming hole in Whatcom Falls Park . As injuries occur and lawsuits follow,
expect more swimming holes to post 'Keep out!' signs.
14. Answering Machines
The increasing disappearance of answering machines is directly tied to
No 20 our list -- the decline of landlines. According to USA Today, the number
of homes that only use cell phones jumped 159% between 2004 and 2007. It has
been particularly bad in New York ; since 2000, landline usage has dropped 55%.
It's logical that as cell phones rise, many of them replacing traditional
landlines, that there will be fewer answering machines.
13. Cameras That Use Film
It doesn't require a statistician to prove the rapid disappearance of
the film camera in America . Just look to companies like Nikon, the
professional's choice for quality camera equipment. In 2006, it announced
that it would stop making film cameras, pointing to the shrinking market --
only 3% of its sales in 2005, compared to 75% of sales from digital cameras
and equipment.
12. Incandescent Bulbs
Before a few years ago, the standard 60-watt (or, yikes, 100-watt) bulb
was the mainstay of every U.S. home. With the green movement and
all-things-sustainable-energy crowd, the Compact Fluorescent Lightbulb
(CFL) is largely replacing the older, Edison-era incandescent bulb. The EPA reports
that 2007 sales for Energy Star CFLs nearly doubled from 2006, and these sales
accounted for approximately 20 percent of the U.S. light bulb market. And
according to USA Today, a new energy bill plans to phase out incandescent
bulbs in the next four to 12 years.
11. Stand-Alone Bowling Alleys
Bowling Balls. US claims there are still 60 million Americans who bowl
at least once a year, but many are not bowling in stand-alone bowling alleys.
Today most new bowling alleys are part of facilities for all types or recreation
including laser tag, go-karts, bumper cars, video game arcades, climbing
walls and glow miniature golf. Bowling lanes also have been added to many
non-traditional venues such as adult communities, hotels and resorts, and
gambling casinos.
10. The Milkman
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, in 1950, over half of
the milk delivered was to the home in quart bottles, by 1963, it was about a
third and by 2001, it represented only 0.4% percent. Nowadays most milk is sold
through supermarkets in gallon jugs. The steady decline in home-delivered
milk is blamed, of course, on the rise of the supermarket, better home
refrigeration and longer-lasting milk. Although some milkmen still make the rounds in
pockets of the U.S. , they are certainly a dying breed.
9. Hand-Written Letters
In 2006, the Radicati Group estimated that, worldwide, 183 billion
e-mails were sent each day. Two million each second. By November of 2007, an
estimated 3.3 billion Earthlings owned cell phones, and 80% of the world's population
had access to cell phone coverage. In 2004, half-a-trillion text messages
were sent, and the number has no doubt increased exponentially since then. So
where amongst this gorge of gabble is there room for the elegant, polite
hand-written letter?
8. Wild Horses
It is estimated that 100 years ago, as many as two million horses were
roaming free within the United States . In 2001, National Geographic News
estimated that the wild horse population had decreased to about 50,000 head.
Currently, the National Wild Horse and Burro Advisory board states that
there are 32,000 free roaming horses in ten Western states, with half of them
residing in Nevada . The Bureau of Land Management is seeking to reduce the total
number of free range horses to 27,000, possibly by selective euthanasia.
7. Personal Checks
According to an American Bankers Assoc. report, a net 23% of consumers
plan to decrease their use of checks over the next two years, while a net
14% plan to increase their use of PIN debit. Bill payment remains the last
stronghold of paper-based payments -- for the time being. Checks continue
to be the most commonly used bill payment method, with 71% of consumers paying at
least one recurring bill per month by writing a check. However, on a
bill-by-bill basis, checks account for only 49% of consumers' recurring bill
payments (down from 72% in 2001 and 60% in 2003).
6. Drive-in Theaters
During the peak in 1958, there were more than 4,000 drive-in theaters
in this country, but in 2007 only 405 drive-ins were still operating. Exactly
zero new drive-ins have been built since 2005. Only one reopened in 2005 and five
reopened in 2006, so there isn't much of a movement toward reviving the
closed ones.
5. Mumps & Measles
Despite what's been in the news lately, the measles and mumps
actually, truly are disappearing from the United States . In 1964, 212,000
cases of mumps were reported in the U.S. By 1983, this figure had dropped to
3,000, thanks to a vigorous vaccination program. Prior to the introduction of the
measles vaccine, approximately half a million cases of measles were
reported in the U.S. annually, resulting in 450 deaths. In 2005, only 66 cases were
recorded.
4. Honey Bees
Perhaps nothing on our list of disappearing America is so dire;
plummeting so enormously; and so necessary to the survival of our food supply as the
honey bee. Very scary. 'Colony Collapse Disorder,' or CCD, has spread
throughout the U.S. and Europe over the past few years, wiping out 50% to
90% of the colonies of many beekeepers -- and along with it, their livelihood.
3. News Magazines and TV News
While the TV evening newscasts haven't gone anywhere over the last
several decades, their audiences have. In 1984, in a story about the
diminishing returns of the evening news, the New York Times reported that all three
network evening-news programs combined had only 40.9 million viewers. Fast forward
to 2008, and what they have today is half that.
2. Analog TV
According to the Consumer Electronics Association, 85% of homes in the
U.S. get their television programming through cable or satellite providers.
For the remaining 15% -- or 13 million individuals -- who are using rabbit ears
or a large outdoor antenna to get their local stations, change is in the air. If
you are one of these people you'll need to get a new TV or a converter box in
order to get the new stations which will only be broadcast in digital.
1. The Family Farm
Since the 1930s, the number of family farms has been declining rapidly.
According to the USDA, 5.3 million farms dotted the nation in 1950, but this
number had declined to 2.1 million by the 2003 farm census (data from the
2007 census hasn't yet been published). Ninety-one percent of the U.S. FARMS are
small Family Farms.
Both interesting and saddening, isn't it?
24. Yellow Pages
This year will be pivotal for the global Yellow Pages industry. Much
like newspapers, print Yellow Pages will continue to bleed dollars to their
various digital counterparts, from Internet Yellow Pages (IYPs), to local search
engines and combination search/listing services like Reach Local and Yodel
Factors like an acceleration of the print 'fade rate' and the looming
recession will contribute to the onslaught. One research firm predicts the
falloff in usage of newspapers and print Yellow Pages could even reach 10%
this year -- much higher than the 2%-3% fade rate seen in past years.
23. Classified Ads
The Internet has made so many things obsolete that newspaper classified
ads might sound like just another trivial item on a long list. But this is
one of those harbingers of the future that could signal the end of civilization
as we know it. The argument is that if newspaper classifieds are replaced by
free online listings at sites like Craigslist.org and Google Base, then
newspapers are not far behind them.
22. Movie Rental Stores
While Netflix is looking up at the moment, Blockbuster keeps closing
store locations by the hundreds. It still has about 6,000 left across the world,
but those keep dwindling and the stock is down considerably in 2008, especially
since the company gave up a quest of Circuit City . Movie Gallery, which
owned the Hollywood Video brand, closed up shop earlier this year. Countless small
video chains and mom-and-pop stores have given up the ghost already.
21. Dial-up Internet Access
Dial-up connections have fallen from 40% in 2001 to 10% in 2008. The
combination of an infrastructure to accommodate affordable high speed
Internet connections and the disappearing home phone have all but pounded the final
nail in the coffin of dial-up Internet access.
20. Phone Landlines
According to a survey from the National Center for Health Statistics,
at the end of 2007, nearly one in six homes was cell-only and, of those homes
that had landlines, one in eight only received calls on their cells.
19 Chesapeake Bay Blue Crabs
Maryland 's icon, the blue crab, has been fading away in Chesapeake
Bay. Last year Maryland saw the lowest harvest (22 million pounds) since
1945. Just four decades ago the bay produced 96 million pounds. The population is
down 70% since 1990, when they first did a formal count. There are only about 120
million crabs in the bay and they think they need 200 million for a
sustainable population. Over-fishing, pollution, invasive species and global warming
get the blame.
18. VCRs
For the better part of three decades, the VCR was a best-seller and
staple in every American household until being completely decimated by the DVD,
and now the Digital Video Recorder (DVR). In fact, the only remnants of the VHS age
at your local Wal-Mart or Radio Shack are blank VHS tapes these days.
Pre-recorded VHS tapes are largely gone and VHS decks are practically nowhere to be
found. They served us so well.
17. Ash Trees
In the late 1990s, a pretty, iridescent green species of beetle, now
known as the emerald ash borer, hitched a ride to North America with ash wood
products imported from eastern Asia . In less than a decade, its larvae have killed
millions of trees in the Midwest , and continue to spread. They've killed
more than 30 million ash trees in southeastern Michigan alone, with tens of
millions more lost in Ohio and Indiana . More than 7.5 billion ash trees are
currently at risk.
16. Ham Radio
Amateur radio operators enjoy personal (and often worldwide) wireless
communications with each other and are able to support their communities
with emergency and disaster communications if necessary, while increasing their
personal knowledge of electronics and radio theory. However, proliferation
of the Internet and its popularity among youth has caused the decline of
amateur radio. In the past five years alone, the number of people holding active ham
radio licenses has dropped by 50,000, even though Morse Code is no longer a
requirement.
15. The Swimming Hole
Thanks to our litigious society, swimming holes are becoming a thing of
the past. '20/20' reports that swimming hole owners, like Robert Every
in High Falls, NY, are shutting them down out of worry that if someone gets
hurt they'll sue. And that's exactly what happened in Seattle . The city of
Bellingham was sued by Katie Hofstetter who was paralyzed in a fall at a
popular swimming hole in Whatcom Falls Park . As injuries occur and lawsuits follow,
expect more swimming holes to post 'Keep out!' signs.
14. Answering Machines
The increasing disappearance of answering machines is directly tied to
No 20 our list -- the decline of landlines. According to USA Today, the number
of homes that only use cell phones jumped 159% between 2004 and 2007. It has
been particularly bad in New York ; since 2000, landline usage has dropped 55%.
It's logical that as cell phones rise, many of them replacing traditional
landlines, that there will be fewer answering machines.
13. Cameras That Use Film
It doesn't require a statistician to prove the rapid disappearance of
the film camera in America . Just look to companies like Nikon, the
professional's choice for quality camera equipment. In 2006, it announced
that it would stop making film cameras, pointing to the shrinking market --
only 3% of its sales in 2005, compared to 75% of sales from digital cameras
and equipment.
12. Incandescent Bulbs
Before a few years ago, the standard 60-watt (or, yikes, 100-watt) bulb
was the mainstay of every U.S. home. With the green movement and
all-things-sustainable-energy crowd, the Compact Fluorescent Lightbulb
(CFL) is largely replacing the older, Edison-era incandescent bulb. The EPA reports
that 2007 sales for Energy Star CFLs nearly doubled from 2006, and these sales
accounted for approximately 20 percent of the U.S. light bulb market. And
according to USA Today, a new energy bill plans to phase out incandescent
bulbs in the next four to 12 years.
11. Stand-Alone Bowling Alleys
Bowling Balls. US claims there are still 60 million Americans who bowl
at least once a year, but many are not bowling in stand-alone bowling alleys.
Today most new bowling alleys are part of facilities for all types or recreation
including laser tag, go-karts, bumper cars, video game arcades, climbing
walls and glow miniature golf. Bowling lanes also have been added to many
non-traditional venues such as adult communities, hotels and resorts, and
gambling casinos.
10. The Milkman
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, in 1950, over half of
the milk delivered was to the home in quart bottles, by 1963, it was about a
third and by 2001, it represented only 0.4% percent. Nowadays most milk is sold
through supermarkets in gallon jugs. The steady decline in home-delivered
milk is blamed, of course, on the rise of the supermarket, better home
refrigeration and longer-lasting milk. Although some milkmen still make the rounds in
pockets of the U.S. , they are certainly a dying breed.
9. Hand-Written Letters
In 2006, the Radicati Group estimated that, worldwide, 183 billion
e-mails were sent each day. Two million each second. By November of 2007, an
estimated 3.3 billion Earthlings owned cell phones, and 80% of the world's population
had access to cell phone coverage. In 2004, half-a-trillion text messages
were sent, and the number has no doubt increased exponentially since then. So
where amongst this gorge of gabble is there room for the elegant, polite
hand-written letter?
8. Wild Horses
It is estimated that 100 years ago, as many as two million horses were
roaming free within the United States . In 2001, National Geographic News
estimated that the wild horse population had decreased to about 50,000 head.
Currently, the National Wild Horse and Burro Advisory board states that
there are 32,000 free roaming horses in ten Western states, with half of them
residing in Nevada . The Bureau of Land Management is seeking to reduce the total
number of free range horses to 27,000, possibly by selective euthanasia.
7. Personal Checks
According to an American Bankers Assoc. report, a net 23% of consumers
plan to decrease their use of checks over the next two years, while a net
14% plan to increase their use of PIN debit. Bill payment remains the last
stronghold of paper-based payments -- for the time being. Checks continue
to be the most commonly used bill payment method, with 71% of consumers paying at
least one recurring bill per month by writing a check. However, on a
bill-by-bill basis, checks account for only 49% of consumers' recurring bill
payments (down from 72% in 2001 and 60% in 2003).
6. Drive-in Theaters
During the peak in 1958, there were more than 4,000 drive-in theaters
in this country, but in 2007 only 405 drive-ins were still operating. Exactly
zero new drive-ins have been built since 2005. Only one reopened in 2005 and five
reopened in 2006, so there isn't much of a movement toward reviving the
closed ones.
5. Mumps & Measles
Despite what's been in the news lately, the measles and mumps
actually, truly are disappearing from the United States . In 1964, 212,000
cases of mumps were reported in the U.S. By 1983, this figure had dropped to
3,000, thanks to a vigorous vaccination program. Prior to the introduction of the
measles vaccine, approximately half a million cases of measles were
reported in the U.S. annually, resulting in 450 deaths. In 2005, only 66 cases were
recorded.
4. Honey Bees
Perhaps nothing on our list of disappearing America is so dire;
plummeting so enormously; and so necessary to the survival of our food supply as the
honey bee. Very scary. 'Colony Collapse Disorder,' or CCD, has spread
throughout the U.S. and Europe over the past few years, wiping out 50% to
90% of the colonies of many beekeepers -- and along with it, their livelihood.
3. News Magazines and TV News
While the TV evening newscasts haven't gone anywhere over the last
several decades, their audiences have. In 1984, in a story about the
diminishing returns of the evening news, the New York Times reported that all three
network evening-news programs combined had only 40.9 million viewers. Fast forward
to 2008, and what they have today is half that.
2. Analog TV
According to the Consumer Electronics Association, 85% of homes in the
U.S. get their television programming through cable or satellite providers.
For the remaining 15% -- or 13 million individuals -- who are using rabbit ears
or a large outdoor antenna to get their local stations, change is in the air. If
you are one of these people you'll need to get a new TV or a converter box in
order to get the new stations which will only be broadcast in digital.
1. The Family Farm
Since the 1930s, the number of family farms has been declining rapidly.
According to the USDA, 5.3 million farms dotted the nation in 1950, but this
number had declined to 2.1 million by the 2003 farm census (data from the
2007 census hasn't yet been published). Ninety-one percent of the U.S. FARMS are
small Family Farms.
Both interesting and saddening, isn't it?
