Nf-From: cdp.UUCP!ecologycntr Nov 19 09:26:00 1992
We here at the ecology center have become kinda the local experts on
the environmental impacts of xmas trees. Here are a few things we tell people
that they may not have thought of.
Though there still are places where you can go onto wild forestland and
"harvest" a wild tree, most cut trees are farmed, often in urban-suburban
areas which would probably hold minimalls if it wasn't for the tree farm.
The environmental impact of your tree choice includes transportation from the
farm to the lot, then to your house, then to the area where the tree is
disposed of. (planting of a live tree is included in the term "disposal".)
Cut trees weigh much less than live trees, due to the absence of a rootball;
they therefore use less energy to transport.
Though reusable trees can provide an alternative, most people throw out their
"fake" trees after an average of 3 years, removing mosty of the[advantage over live trees, especially when you consider the impacts of prodution of those trees. (plastic and aluminum are not benign materials.) Though,
theoretically, you could plant a live tree in a pot and use it year after
year, VERY FEW people actually do this, preferring to plant the tree
"somewhere" and buy a new one each year rather than taking care of a tree.
(convenience without guilt is the apparent goal here.)
Many cut trees sold in the West are Monterey Pines; if cut above the first
(lowest) branch, that branch can be retrained as a leader, producing a "new tree" in a few years.
Finally, most popular Xmas tree species are native to fairly small areas. Replanting live trees out in "the wild" can be very disruptive of the local silvic
flora. At best, the tree dies. At worst, you get monterey pines taking over
your dry grasslands.
So it ain't that clearcut (pardon the logging pun). People concerned about
the effects of their holiday celebrations on the planet should spend their
