Christmas Tree
by Stan Tekiela
© NatureSmart
December 8, 2006
Are you like me? Each
holiday season I ponder the whole fake tree,
real tree conundrum? Which one is better for
the environment? I recently read a story written
by Gretel Schueller, in Audubon magazine. It
shed some light on this subject for me so I
though it would be worth paraphrasing some of
the article for you.
The first Christmas tree lot opened on the
streets of New York in 1851 when Mark Carr hauled
two ox sleds loaded with trees from the Catskill
Mountains to town. Today about a half a million
acres of land are used by 22,000 Christmas tree
growers, according to the U.S. Department of
Agriculture. These tree farmers produce over
32 million trees each holiday season.
So the question remains, is cutting down a
tree for temporary use in your home during the
holidays good or bad for the environment? Lets
first look at some facts about artificial trees
which apparently they are now called “permanent
trees”.
About 9.3 million artificial trees are made
and sold each year. About 80 percent of these
are made in China. The cost to the environment
in terms of how much petroleum is used to manufacture
these trees, packaging the trees in cardboard
boxes and transporting the trees half way around
the world is extremely high. Consider this,
the life span of the average artificial tree
in the U.S. is only 6 years but the lifespan
of this same tree in a landfill is an eternity.
Before 1950, most fresh Christmas trees where
cut from the wild. Obviously cutting from the
wild would be a problem if it continued today
but now 98 percent of all fresh trees are grown
on tree farms. Proponent’s pint out that
farm trees offer many environmental benefits.
They provide oxygen and remove carbon dioxide
and other pollutants from the air while the
tree is growing. They help stabilize soils,
help reduce flooding and provide nesting habitat
for many species of birds.
And because Christmas trees are often grown
on land retired from other uses, generally fallow
fields and cow pastures, they’re not supplanting
older forests. Also when trees are planted next
to natural woodland, a stand of Christmas trees
creates an “edge effect” that increases
wildlife diversity. Birds such as Goldfinch
and Cedar Waxwings and small mammals such as
rabbits and mice find these habitats very beneficial.
Bird counts have actually increased on farms
that start to grow Christmas trees.
But there is a darker side to the fresh Christmas
tree story. Not all Christmas trees are perfectly
green as they appear. In order to produce the
ideally shaped and colored tree, farmers often
use large amounts of chemicals. Insecticides,
herbicides and fungicides are used when growing
Christmas trees. These chemicals are highly
toxic to birds, fish and mammals, often counter-acting
the benefits of growing the trees. In addition
many farmers will spray the tree with a green
dye to make the tree look greener and hold the
needles longer.
When we buy a Christmas tree we don’t
think about the liberal amounts of chemicals
that were applied to the tree and are now sitting
in our living rooms. Off gassing of the chemicals
is a real concern not to mention the effects
this will have on our pets who sometimes chew
the fallen needles.
Fortunately I think there are a few things
we can do as a consumer. If you are purchasing
a fresh tree this season ask some questions
of the grower. Inquire about the growing practices.
Encourage your local grower to use fewer chemicals.
Most importantly don’t expect and demand
a perfectly shaped and colored tree.
My family has chosen a fresh tree for our
holiday tree. In the next Nature Smart column
I think we will take a look at what benefits
a fresh tree can be after the holiday lights
have been turned off and the presents have been
unwrapped. Until next time…
Back to Column Archives · Back to top
