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 December 2008 - Holiday Edition!
Tis’ the season to go Green!
Most of us are very busy during the holiday season with gift buying
and wrapping, holiday decorating, traveling, and cooking. Between
Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day, Americans throw away an extra
million tons of trash per week (Robert Lilienfeld, Use Less Stuff:
Environmental Solutions for Who We Really Are). As you can imagine,
this time of year is very hard on the environment, but with a couple
these holiday conservation tips you can tread lightly on the planet. Some
of these tips are just as easy on your wallet as they are on the
environment.
Green Gift Wrapping
 While
gift-wrapped presents may be pretty, most gift wrap is not recyclable. If
every American household wrapped three gifts in reused materials,
enough paper would be saved to cover 45,000 football fields (University
of Colorado). Here are some alternatives to traditional wrapping:
- Wrap gifts in brown paper reused from paper grocery sacks, newspaper,
old posters, maps, or colorful shopping bags with reusable fabric
ribbons and bows, natural yarn, or raffia
- Put gifts in decorative or plain reusable boxes, tins, jars,
or other unwrapped containers
- Give gift bags that can be reused or recycled
- Wrap gifts in fabric or fabric sacks
Trees
The market is filled with options for your holiday tree, be it live,
cut, or fake. All of the choices have pros and cons, so pick
the option that fits your life. If you do choose a real evergreen
tree, make it even more environmentally friendly by purchasing
one that is pesticide-free. A live tree can be planted after
the holidays. Ask a local nursery which type of tree will
grow best in your area. Cut  trees
can be composted or made into mulch after the holidays. Fake
trees can be used multiple years and are easy to clean and store. However,
they take energy to make and are often made of petroleum-based
products. Once you are done using it, donate your artificial
tree to a local charitable organization instead of throwing it
into a landfill.
Decorating
- Go natural with evergreen branches, wreaths, pinecones, cranberries,
etc.
- Choose LED lights. They are 90% more
efficient than traditional holiday lights!
- Get creative and make your own tree decorations by reusing household
or natural materials.
- Thrift stores are excellent places to buy
decorations. Remember
to donate decorations you no longer use.
Gift Buying
There are lots of options for green gifts. Here are a few suggestions:
- Clothing and textiles made from organic cotton, hemp, bamboo,
organic wool, or other natural materials
- Fair trade items, as they often require less energy to make
- A donation to a charitable organization in
someone’s name
- Gift cards (no wrapping required!)
- Gifts that can be experienced (concert tickets, sports tickets,
spa certificates, service coupons, etc.)
Traveling
Be it a short or long distance, most of us travel
somewhere over the holidays to be with friends or family. Out of the numerous transportation
options available, flying creates the most carbon emission. Therefore,
you may want to consider carpooling or taking a train for long distances. If
you live within walking distance of your destination, buddle up and
make the trek. Another good option for making your travel greener
is to purchase carbon offsets from an organization such as Terra
Pass (http://www.terrapass.com/).
Conservation Tip Archives:
April 2010 Tip
March 2010 Tip
December 2009 Tip
November 2009 Tip
September 2009 Tip
July 2009 Tip
June 2009 Tip
May 2009 Tip
April 2009 Tip
March 2009 Tip
February 2009 Tip
January 2009 Tip
December 2008 Tip
November 2008 Tip
October 2008 Tip
September 2008 Tip
August 2008 Tip
July 2008 Tip
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