If Asked Why use Christmas Trees at all?
Many people don’t buy Christmas trees. In the US, there are over 300 million people and on average XXXX trees are sold each year. One may argue that not having a Christmas tree at all is the greenest thing to do. However, we could argue that the more sustainable thing to do is to purchase a live tree with root ball and plant the tree to live for years to come as a carbon sequestering, water filtering, habitat providing mechanism in your front yard. But for most people, a Christmas tree is cultural, it reminds us of our childhood, it’s a symbol of the end of a year and the pending beginning of a new.
How big of an impact is a Christmas Tree in the scale of daily life?
“The impact of the tree life cycle, both for the natural tree and the artificial tree, is less an 0.1 percent of a person’s annual carbon footprint and therefore is negligible within the context of the average American’s lifestyle,” said Nuno da Silva, Principal of PE International.
To give this context. Using 400 incandescent christmas tree lights for 4 hours per day, for 18 days would create greater environmental impacts for a single natural tree or artificial tree used more than one season.
We are talking a very small decision in the context of daily life, however, the study is useful in helping those who want to be a little greener this holiday season make the right Christmas tree choice for their unique lifestyle.
What is the average annual carbon footprint?
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-According to the US EPA 17.5 Metric Tons Per Person
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-European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC) measured the US in 2010 at 16.9 Metric Tons Per Person