Yes, we know it’s still November, but Thanksgiving has come and gone, so it’s time to have that great annual debate once more: real or fake—Christmas trees, that is.
It’s no longer a simple choice. More and more “experts” seem to be telling us that buying a cut tree is bad for the environment.
It’s true that cutting down trees of any kind minimizes the level of oxygen that circulates in the air while increasing the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere (they release greenhouse gasses when they decompose). Christmas trees also take several years to grow, are almost immediately discarded and usually find their way to landfills.
But others, including the National Christmas Tree Association (naturally), tell us that real Christmas trees are actually better for the environment than fake trees. They say most plastic trees are only used for between six and nine years before they’re disposed of. Then they are thrown away and also end up in landfills, but unlike real trees, are not biodegradable.
Please login or subscribe to view the complete article.