Thursday, November 29, 2007
Real vs Fake
There is an article in today's Washington Post about going green for the holidays. I am curious how anyone who claims to be eco-friendly can consider cutting down a tree for the sake of in-home enjoyment for about 30 days. Yes, it can be recycled and turned into mulch, but when wood decomposes, it releases nitrogen, which soil only needs in limited quantities. One argument is that most fake trees are made in China and require fuel to ship it here. Probably true, but I know trees made in USA also exists. We have one. It wasn't hard to find nor was it expensive. I'm not saying live tree lovers are evil. But it seems that for every tree not killed and cut down is a tiny step towards improving our air. Not to mention the resources it takes to grow that tree to ceiling-height and then ship it cross-country (most trees are grown in Oregon) could be saved. I've never had a live tree. For me, the fire hazard, watering, and falling needles were enough to deter me. Maybe I'm missing out on something great.
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4 comments:
A live tree is a beautiful thing. The smell is wonderful. For a majority of my life, I've had fake trees. We had a live tree once in Hawaii that looked really out of place - nowhere near as full as the ones here, and looking back, I wonder where we got it. We bought a fake tree a year or two ago because the needles are a huge pain and the cats get into the tree's water dish. I'd be lying if I said that going green was the reason we switched. Heck, I don't even know where our fake tree was made. Goes to show - being a true greenie means you think of these things all the time.
We just bought our made in america tree this year. We're trying to do all american made things until the whole poison issue with chinese made things resolve.
Where do you find made in US ornaments? All of ours are from previous years, but there quite a few made in China, Czech Republic, Poland, etc.
One of my fave hockey players comes from the Czech Republic. :)
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