Christmas Tree Debate

It's that time of year when Christmas trees are going up or, like my family, have been up for weeks. Heated debates about whether fresh-cut trees or artificial trees are more sustainable abound. And, I admit, I'm not sure of the whole thing myself. Everything has its pros and cons.

My coworker, Andree', put up a nice post on my work blog, Green Fork, that offers some intriguing arguments both for and against both Christmas tree options. I encourage you to check it out, and think about it.

I think Andree' sums up a lot of the debate nicely:

"Bottom line... Whatever you choose, remember to keep in mind what is important to you and what is good for the environment. Awareness is key! If you feel strongly to keep on the tradition of the live tree, do it, there are good arguments for it. If you love Aunt Hilda's fake pink tree that was passed on to you, kudos for reusing. If you don't mind being nontraditional, inventory what trees and shrubs you'd like in your yard and have your Christmas Tree serve two purposes."

But I also think that the comment we received at the end of the article includes a nice point. Remember the conversations about paper or plastic bags? Well, as Ron points out to us, the "paper or plastic" debate over the Christmas tree is similar to the paper or plastic debate for grocery bags. At the grocery store, we should really be bringing our own reusable bags every time we shop. So what does that mean for the Christmas tree? Well, you tell me. I'm thinking a little creativity and starting some new traditions might be good places to start, but there are pros and cons for everything.