... is here and it's green. Not necessarily green in color, but more a state of mind.

Take for instance one of the biggest things pushing the next big thing—the price of gas.

In my neck of the woods (Massachusetts), the transit authority reported that in fiscal 2008, ridership increased by 6 percent or over 21 million more people used public transportation in the past 12 months than the prior year—the highest ridership figure ever for the MBTA.

Not only do the folks riding the T save some gas money, they're also comforted by the fact that they're doing right by the environment.

Another green wave being generated by the rise in gas prices and environmental consciousness is the hybrid car. A Reuters' news story said the surge in popularity for small cars and fuel-efficient hybrids has left Toyota Motor Corp facing an unusual problem: deepening shortages of popular models such as the Prius hybrid.

“It is very doubtful that there is going to be a lot of [production/inventory] recovery this year to be able to satisfy consumer demand and that is very unfortunate,” said Jim Lentz, Toyota's head of North American sales, referring to the Prius.

Toyota says that it hopes to reach global annual sales of 1 million hybrid vehicles soon after 2010, more than double last year's sales tally.

And a J.D. Power survey showed that 72 percent of US consumers said they were interested in buying a hybrid.

So what's my point? As consumer-savvy and forward-thinking as Toyota is, it admits it didn't foresee such an overwhelming surge in demand so quickly for their gas-sipping, environmentally-friendly hybrids. The lesson learned here is that people are willing to pay more not only for the hybrids' reduced reliance on gasoline, but for its role in environmental sustainability. Hybrids command about a US$5,000 price premium compared with equivalent vehicles without the expensive battery.

But it's not simply hybrid cars people are clamoring for. They're genuinely interested in products that are made with the environment in mind. They're making choices and taking action towards environmentally-friendly products, which is a huge transition from a few years ago when it seemed most of the action was lip service.

I said this in the last issue of PaperAge and I'll say it again; when people have a choice to use a paper-based product over something else, they'll choose paper as long as the industry promotes itself and its products' redeeming qualities such as environmental sustainability, recyclability, raw material chain of custody certifications, and so on.

The sad fact of the matter is; global consumers still hold the perception of the paper industry being polluters and tree killers.

It's troubling when we have teachers telling kids in their classrooms that they can "save the life of a tree by not using paper." I realize they're trying to teach the kids not to be wasteful, but the scare tactic from the message is wrong.

Staying atop my soapbox, the industry has accomplished a lot in the past decade and paper and paper-based products are environmentally-friendly and meet today's need for sustainability.

Toyota didn't become the top carmaker in the world by keeping its progress and innovations a secret.

John O'Brien can be reached at: jobrien@paperage.com

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