The Green Issue: Your Feedback

Readers didn't hesitate to let their feelings be known about our October issue. Here's a sampling of comments.

By Fred W. Frailey, Editor, Kiplinger's Personal Finance

October 11, 2007

Our October issue of Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine is devoted almost entirely to the impact of environmental issues on our readers' investments and money management. For example, we identify 30 companies whose stocks should blossom from efforts to combat global warming, high energy costs and the search for alternative fuels.

We also provide 29 ways to lower your own sky-high energy and water bills. We tell you the cars that are most fuel-efficient and which hybrids are most likely to return your investment.

We express our skepticism at the economics of "carbon offsets," a popular idea among environmentalists. And for those readers who want to contribute to a cleaner world, we suggest household products that leave the smallest footprints. The Green Issue, in other words, was entirely practical -- and totally apolitical.

Or so I believed. Never in my more than seven years as editor of Kiplinger's Personal Finance have I gotten so much feedback from readers as I did about The Green Issue. Yea or nay, you were certainly vociferous!

There were the usual notes of praise, plus others saying that this story or that overlooked some aspect that the reader felt was important. What interested me most, however, was a sizable number of e-mails from folks who said we had "gone liberal" and embraced the environmental movement. It was obvious many of these people hadn't gotten much past the cover.

I personally responded to every e-mail I received concerning The Green Issue, including those critical of what we did. After all, if I think someone has misinterpreted what we've said, or is unfairly attacking one of my writers or columnists, it's my duty to speak up.

I thought you'd enjoy reading some of the give and take over The Green Issue. If you haven't read it, I invite you to do so and let me know what you think. I'm at ffrailey@kiplinger.com, and I will respond. Here's a sampling of what I received. Reader's comments are in italics, and my responses follow.

Left-Wing B.S.

I have always enjoyed your magazine, but your latest issue of the left wing Democrat B.S. on global warming and the rest of the nonsense made me decide I will not renew my subscription. P.S. I am 75 years old, and we always called global warming SUMMERTIME. -- Frank Novotny, West Mifflin, Pa.

I would miss you as a reader. But I don't want you to leave us without my challenging your statement that our "green issue" was "left wing Democrat B.S. on global warming." As I said in my column at the start of that issue, we took no stand on whether there is really global warming (or whether it's just summer, to use your phrase), or if it is occurring, what is causing it.

Rather, we said that because many people BELIEVE global waming is occurring, companies are reacting and so is the government. Therefore, whether you think it's summer or something more dramatic going on, there are investment opportunities related to warming and environmental issues you should be aware of because they could make you a lot of money ... This is the same energetic pocketbook journalism this magazine has been doing for 60 years and also, I wager, the reason you've been a subscriber.

If you would give the "green issue" the same careful reading you do our other issues, Frank, I think your tune would change.

Green propaganda

I have subscribed to your magazine for many years and always enjoyed reading it in the past. But after seeing the cover and turning a few pages of the October 2007 issue, I was sorry to see that you, too, have signed on to the Al Gore propaganda crusade and are now a forum for his endless stream of baseless bilge. I will not renew my current subscription after seeing how you have been duped by this piece of human garbage. -- Maurice Gammon, Eagle, Idaho

Your note to us really hit home how politically charged the subject of global warming is -- so politically charged that you condemn us without even reading anything in the issue. How incredibly unfair of you, Mr. Gammon! And how laughably ironic you are, telling this die-hard Republican that I am a tool of Al Gore. My column that led off the issue said: "If you want to debate the science or politics of global warming, look elsewhere. Our concern is for your personal economic well being." That set the tone of the entire issue.

We did not invent global warming or hybrid cars or $3-a-gallon gasoline or soaring electric bills or solar-panel tax credits. Instead, looking out for you, Maurice Gammon, we sought ways that you can SAVE MONEY as a consumer and MAKE MONEY as an investor. This is why you subscribed to us, isn't it? For 60 years our mission has been the same: tell readers how to save money and make money.

What was different about the October issue is that, for the most part, it focused on a single topic. My hope was that readers would be able to separate their personal political and scientific feelings regarding global warming -- we don't care what they are -- from the personal pocketbook and investment implications. Our job is not to harangue you politically.

So do me a favor. You now know how to e-mail me directly. At least give the October issue a fair try. Read what we wrote, not what you think we wrote. Then tell me you're still mad. If you are, we can at least part as friends.

MAURICE REPLIED BACK: It was nice of you to respond to my recent message to you regarding your October issue, and I fully understand the historic mission of your publication. That is the reason I was taken back by the "green issue" that arrived in my mailbox and that I promptly dispatched to the trash bin. We consumers are so flooded with everything "green" that I refuse to read or have anything to do with suggestions on how to "save the planet" and am insulted by constant suggestions on how to save money on the essentials, do what is right for the environment, and I think those who read your magazine have the intelligence to figure that out for themselves.

Your personal response was a pleasant surprise, and I thank you for it.

FRED SENT MAURICE ANOTHER COPY OF THE OCTOBER ISSUE.

I still trust Kiplinger's

Good morning, Fred. Kiplinger's is fastened in my subliminal memory since I recall a bond to the magazine as a child in the same way I am bonded to General Motors cars -- by my father's swear-by approval. Now, at 61, I still look forward to seeing the rag in my mailbox with a fondness that is multi-layered with emotive sentiment. It is not uncommon for me to read your journal nearly cover to cover with great appreciation.

So I read with great bemused sympathy your reflections on the irrationality of readers who saw red when you gave us Green in the October issue. But when I reached your final parting shot, I got way more than my normal daily adult dosage of belly-laughter. What a great rejoinder! What a wonderfully healthy sense of humor and perspective. No wonder I trust Kiplinger's as my guide to making money work! You've got my vote!! Thank you. [Note: The cover story of the November 1948 issue read: WHAT DEWEY WILL DO] -- David Jongewaard, via e-mail

I keep the November 1948 issue in my office. Gazing at that red type on a white background is the quickest way I know to become humble. I'm told that Willard Kiplinger had a chance to trash that issue -- it was still at the printing plant the day after the election. He decided, no, go ahead and mail it. Took a big man to make that decision.

My father was a newspaper editor, and like your dad, he subscribed to Changing Times, plus the weekly Kiplinger Letter. In high school, I'd read Changing Times, which as you know was the name of Kiplinger's Personal Finance until 1990. Of course, it never occurred to me that I'd spend 20 years of my life on its staff! Life is full of ironic endings.

Thanks for the note. It meant to lot to me.

What about green travel?

Thank you for the Kiplinger's "The Green Issue" (October 2007). It truly was a welcome departure! However, I think you overlooked an opportunity to continue the "green theme" under your Travel section, which featured an ill-fitting article on vacation timeshares.

Why not let your readers know about all of the eco-travel options available right here in North America, starting with Wisconsin? It is the first state to develop a green certification program for its tourism industry, Travel Green Wisconsin. Over 100 travel and hospitality businesses, including inns, B&B's, outfitters, restaurants and attractions, have sought certification and the program continues to grow. Entire communities, such as the Lake Superior resort town of Bayfield have embraced the green travel concept. Perhaps for your next green issue, you can take a closer look at green travel from both a business and consumer perspective. -- Lisa Marshall, Madison, Wis.

Yours is an interesting idea for a story. Maybe we'll do this in a future issue. But in our "green issue," I wanted us to stick as closely as possible to pocketbook issues -- how to earn more as an investor, save more as a consumer. Actually, there were two stories in the October issue not related to the environment. The vacation timeshares piece was one, and a story on where to find the highest cash yields the other. Our thought was that we needed the variety in content that these articles provided.

A puzzling issue

I was disappointed that Kiplinger's Personal Finance would print "The real key to making a PV system pay off is whether your state offers a hefty financial incentive". ("Solar Finally Pays Off," October 2007). This is akin to saying "the key to making commuting to work in a Hummer pay off is whether the neighbors offer to pay half the gasoline cost".

Many years ago (early 80s?), I installed passive solar space and water heating in my 1,600-square-foot home in Albuquerque. That provided about 50% of the water heating and, in winter, about 30% of the space heating. When my neighbors asked me about the efficiency of the system, I would first thank them for paying for half the installation cost then say "My half of the installation cost was recovered in about 8 years."

I have subscribed to Kiplinger's Personal Finance since before the name was changed and have always felt that statements in it on economics could be trusted, but times are changing.

The October "Green Issue" contains much that puzzles me. I don't think I've seen anything in Kiplinger's as extreme as I've read in other "reputable" magazines. For example, "Some studies have shown that the energy available from ethanol is less than the energy (fossil fuels) used to produce it, but even if that is true, it is renewable." What kind of logic is that? Or "Hydrogen is the most promising alternate fuel (produced from natural gas) and is the most abundant energy source known."

However the closing statement by Jeremy J. Siegel ("How to End Global Warming") -- "The most damning action is to do nothing" -- may come close. Do I need to list the many catastrophic results from well meaning people "doing something?" -- Warren Windle, Albuquerque, N.M.

Thanks for writing. Just as our "green issue" puzzles you, your note puzzles me. I'm not sure how to respond to your criticism of quotes ("Hydrogen is the most promising fuel ...") that did not appear in our magazine. So I won't respond.

Like some other readers, you seem to imply that we endorse state subsidies for solar panels or maybe the whole "save the earth" agenda. We neither endorse nor oppose any of this. We are what I like to call a "pocketbook" magazine, not a political or issues publication. Our job is to take the economic issues confronting people in their daily lives and tell them how to navigate them successfully.

The fact of the matter is that many states heavily subsidize solar installations, for any number of possible reasons, none of which concerned us. What concerned us was the dollars and cents of this practice and how our readers would make out financially. Our job is to help you invest better and manage your finances better, and the solar story is meat-and-potatoes personal finance journalism. The philosophy of state subsidies I leave to you to ponder. Personally, I think solar panels are ugly as toad frogs, but that's just me talking.

Jeremy Siegel is an opinion columnist who speaks (quite well) for himself, not for me or for Knight Kiplinger. He wrote this column at my invitation, and I quite enjoyed it and told him so. You are entitled to agree or disagree with him. I see that he got your dander up, which of course is what opinion columnists do!

Warren, I can tell you are a thoughtful person. You have my e-mail address. Write me anytime.

Keep up the good work

Hello Mr. Frailey, I just read your Editor's column concerning the replies you received on the Green issue. Not all of us took it negatively -- probably those of us who actually read it. I for one have been researching the stocks that are listed and find several worthy of more attention.

While I do not agree with a lot of the more strident assertions from the "Green" movement, I have been practicing a lot of the "good" things long before they were the "IN" thing to do, including geothermal heating and also recycling, and have long applauded companies that go the extra mile in helping lessen our impact on the planet.

On the other hand, I do drive a full-size pick-up (horse farm, volunteer fire department, other reasons to do so!), so would not be considered to be with it in certain circles. I guess what I am trying to say is nothing is ideal, and all we can do is live our lives as we see fit. I would not, and am sure that you don't, let the negative comments get to you. Keep up the good work and know that you and your staff's magazine is about the only one I read on a regular basis, and it is the only one I subscribe to. Have a great day! -- Tim Tumbleson, Indiana

Thanks for taking the time to write. I think most of us are like you -- we try to do the right thing insofar as our environment here on earth is concerned, and we could all probably do more! For example, the next thing I'm going to do is replace all my incadescent light bulbs at home, now that I know all the kilowatts I'm wasting.

Of the "green" stocks we recommended in the October issue, Burlington Northern Santa Fe is on a tear today -- up $6+. I hope you already own it.

I wish you well with the horse farm. They're probably as hard to raise as kids.

Inconvenient hysteria

Weary, that's what I am. Did I also mention that I'm supersaturated with all the global warming fever? I am overwhelmed by the overblown environmentalist warnings, causing me to be underwhelmed about the impending implosion of the planet. Then, to finish me off, the coup de grace, my financial magazine goes green in its October issue.

Try as I might, I could only wade through the first third of your weighty tome before I had to pitch it.

If you feature such a somnolent piece in the future, please give me plenty of advance notice so I can be out of town when the issue arrives.

An Inconvenient Truth. What's Inconvenient is all this hysteria, and that's the Truth! And I'd like to leave my carbon footprint where some environmentalists don't want it, if you get my drift. -- Steve Fesh, Palmetto, Fla.

Want a job? That last sentence is a howler. Anyone who can chew my butt out and make me laugh at the same time belongs on this staff. Let me know when you're ready to come north. In the meantime, thanks for caring enough to write. I do wish, however, you'd actually read the issue.

Simply the best

Dear Fred -- Best. Issue. Ever. -- Katherine Keller, via e-mail

Dear Kady Mae -- Best. Reader. Ever.

Beating a liberal drum

I have just started reading the November issue and see your comments about the comments readers made about your Green issue. I normally read the magazine page for page but not in October. I looked at each section got an idea of what it was and saw that in each case the liberal drum as being beat.

I don't subscribe to your magazine to hear any side of politics. I subscribe to obtain various thoughts and ideas about investing. Your comments in the November issue show me that you still don't get it.

Put your efforts into something that is useful for everyone. -- Steve Wills

Thanks for sharing your opinion. I am sorry we didn't "connect" with you in the October issue. In fact, it would be quite helpful to me to know specifically where you saw "the liberal drum" being beaten. I can understand your perhaps taking issue with Jeremy Siegel's opinion column on reducing the greenhouse effect, but opinion columnists are supposed to stir things up and make people mad. A brief list to back up your complaint would help me make the next Green Issue of more relevance to you. I want to thank you in advance for taking the time.

STEVE REPLIED BACK: The "global warming" issue is a political issue and mostly liberal. They want to say that the science world agrees with them, but that is not entirely true. I do not buy your publication for this type of drivel. -- Steve Wills

FRED'S REPLY: So even writing about saving money on water and electric bills is beating "the liberal drum"? We must live on different planets, my man.

Sharing your magazine, saving trees

After reading my copy of Personal Finance, I give it to my neighbors. It is my small way of saving a tree and giving them the opportunity to get reliable financial advice. -- Linda Bose, Kenosha, Wis.

Thanks for spreading the word. You saved a BIT of a tree and also introduced us to a new friend, I hope. We have investigated using recycled paper. But the high-speed presses used by our printer are intolerant of recycled paper -- it's not as strong and leads to breaks in the web.

Bait and switch

I read with disgust the "Green Issue." Of particular interest was Jeremy Siegel's bait & switch. He suggests "free market solutions" to attack global warming, but his "solution" is to let the government set the amount of gases that may be emitted. This is not the free market operating. His supposed new market for the right to produce emissions is nothing more than forcing companies to pay for something they had the right to do in the first place.

His other idea of a tax on imported oil is not a free market solution either. His idea of decreasing other taxes, as an offset, makes him sound more like a politician than a journalist. -- Jeffrey Leone, Downers Grove, Ill.

You addressed your note also to Jeremy Siegel, and if he cares to reply I'm sure he will be enlightening. I want to mention something that wasn't evident to you. Jeremy is not a journalist (nor a politician). He is a professor of finance who teaches MBA candidates at the University of Pennsylvania. As an opinion columnist for us, he is well equipped to comment on the economic implications of attacking the phenomenon of global warming, and I asked him to do so for our "green issue."

I also take issue with your statement that governmental policies and free markets are incompatible. Our markets are freer than those of any developed nation in the world, but never in our 231 years as a nation have they been completely unfettered. Our Constitution gives government the right to regulate interstate commerce. For more than a century there have been environmental laws on the books. Industries of all kinds already deal with emissions regulations, so it's not as if they have the right to pollute.

Surprised by negative feedback

Like Knight Kiplinger, the "green" movement for me is rooted in old-fashioned "Yankee frugality." "Waste not, want not" was the phrase that we grew up with and that I still try to live by today. How this attitude of traditional American conservation became so offensive to conservatives puzzles me, and I was indeed surprised to hear that you received such negative feedback on your last issue.

I suppose the term "green" has become so polarizing that some Republicans are now offended by articles focused on enabling individuals to save money and make money by thoughtfully examining the new green trends. Is this type of capitalism now only for liberals? I thought your green issue was one of your best. I guess that makes me Al Gore's tool, too. -- Nicole Ferrari Mitchell

Loved your note. Thanks for writing, and best wishes.

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