Since we are going headlong into the Christmas season, we are going to be showing ways that we are going green during Christmas this year. We have already committed to buying only solar Christmas lights and doing without wrapping paper this year, but for today we get to the symbol of Christmas for many people; the Christmas tree.
There are many options when you get a Christmas tree. You can get a Christmas tree from a tree farm that grows them for that purpose so you don't take any out of the environment. You can purchase a Christmas tree and recycle it properly. You can purchase a Christmas tree and replant it after the Christmas season, or you can buy a fake Christmas tree.
At the Baird ranch, we have decided to go with the last option. Instead of buying a living tree that we only use for a few weeks, Layla and I are going to buy a Christmas tree that is fake. that way, we reduce our consumption of Christmas trees for years to come because we can keep using the fake Christmas tree over and over.
We feel that even trees in Christmas tree farms could be better used to take CO2 out of the atmosphere and provide us with oxygen, than as a centerpiece in a living room for the month of December. However, that being said, there are some tree farms that make the pledge to plant 10 trees for every one that you buy. That is a great idea, but not all tree farms do this.
Granted, a Christmas tree is not needed, but Christmas just does not seem like Christmas without a tree. Since we can buy a tree, and use it for 5, 10, 15 or even 20 years into the future, it seems like a pretty good purchase.
We chose a very small fake Christmas tree so that we did not consume more by buying a large Christmas tree. The tree we bought is only two to three feet high. The tree is primarily made of plastic and when the time comes, we will do what we can to recycle it properly so its materials can be used again.
