AOL and Waste

What is up with AOL? By now, everyone and their dog is familiar with those annoying free trial offer CDs they send in the mail, regularly enough to keep the USPS afloat. I just toss them, as I'm sure many do. But today we got one in a thick plastic case. Is that really necessary? Come on, people. Spare a thought for our poor landfills. Not that AOL is the only culprit, either. It seems like every company is bent on wrapping their product securely enough to survive a trip back from the moon. When I was a kid (late 70s, early 80s), it seems to me that we used to hear about using less packaging to conserve resources and reduce landfill buildup. Not anymore. Now the only product targeted is disposable diapers - the one product that is absolutely indispensable, in my opinion! So let's cut back on all other waste so parents can use disposable diapers and keep their sanity (if you have never used cloth diapers, you have no idea how awful it is). That's my idea of an ecological compromise.