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Dec 11, 2008 10:46 pm US/Central
Good Question: Should Xmas Trees Be Real Or Fake?
(WCCO)
For some, buying a Christmas tree is coming with a side serving of guilt. To some, cutting down a living tree to put it in your house for four weeks seems like it is wrong.
"Which is more environmentally friendly -- a real or fake Christmas tree?" asked Deanna Marshik of Sartell, Minn.
The question is one that's dogged environmentalists over the years, who originally praised the reusability of an artificial tree. However, today, most environmentalists seem to be lining up behind the real tree as the better choice, according to Matt Norton of the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy.
"Real trees are the best because they are typically farmed like a crop and replaced," said Maria Surma Manka, a Twin Cities blogger who writes on environmental issues. "The fake trees are made from a bunch of chemicals and plastics and usually shipped from China."
Real trees provide oxygen to the planet while they're growing on a farm, according to Dan Swan. He owns Swan's Tree Farm, a Christmas tree grower in Northern Wisconsin.
"The smaller trees actually produce more oxygen than the large full-grown trees, so they're actually better for the environment to cut one down and reproduce another," said Swan.
But it does take energy to drive real trees from the field to the retailer to the home. A study sponsored by the American Christmas Tree Association, a fake-tree lobbying group, found that real trees actually have a larger carbon footprint than artificial trees made in China, when compared over a 10-year period.
"Consumers who care about the environment have an easy decision this holiday season," said Jami Warner, executive director of the American Christmas Tree Association. "Choosing to invest in an artificial Christmas tree not only reduces global warming and other environmental impacts, it also is a wise financial investment."
The ACTA also argues that the pesticides used to grow real trees are harmful, and wouldn't be used if more people had artificial trees.
Swan, the tree farmer, argues that farmers have changed some of their planting habits, resulting in a reduction of pesticide use. Also, artificial trees are made with chemicals and plastics -- generally in China -- and those are hazardous to the environment.
Most environmentalists are now saying that real trees are better because they don't end up in landfills at the end of their lives. They are farmed like any other crop, and so cutting them down is not harmful for the environment.
Artificial trees cannot be recycled and they do end up in landfills at the end of their life cycle, which varies from 6 to 50 years.
"Ideally, a real tree with roots that can be replanted outside is the best option, but admittedly not so common," explained Manka.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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