Without you, Elvis’s Christmas would be so blue. This year, make the King proud and make Christmas a green, eco-friendly event.
Deck the Halls with a Real Christmas Tree
The battle over real vs. artificial Christmas trees has been waged for decades, yet upon further analysis, we believe the live, green tree is the best way to go. Most faux pines are created with (surprise, surprise!) faux materials that are non-biodegradable and which will sit in landfills for centuries after they’ve been tossed. These artificial trees also tend to come from faraway places, polluting the environment with the fuel and energy it takes to get them stateside.
Go with an authentic tannenboum and once New Years’ has come and gone, participate in one of many tree-cycling programs. Real Christmas trees are easily recycled and reused for a number of projects, including soil erosion barriers, fish and bird feeders, mulch and paths for hiking trails. And the added bonus of a real spruce is the amazing pine scent that fills your home!
Light It Up With LEDs
LED Christmas lights have come down in price and are certainly worth the initial investment, as they will last 50 to 90 times longer than regular twinklers. This means you won’t throw away yet another set of lights on December 26. And because LED lights burn cooler, they use 15 percent less energy than other lighting options.
LED lights are a great idea for all of your home’s bulbs, not just the ones strung around your tree. To green up your lighting plan, here are some other lighting tips from Just Energy.
I heard about Just Energy through a friend of mine. I went with them because of their low rate, and I save more energy too. With their service, our bills went down. Their people were nice as well.
Franklin Powe
Send It With Love
Let’s face it—while it may be the best option for the environment, the excitement of receiving an e-holiday card doesn’t compare to the joy you get from receiving a card in the mail. If you want to go the digital route, there are lots of free options here, here, and here.
Note, however, that there are ways to send an actual greeting card via snail mail without causing any environmental damage. Paper Culture always prints their fully customizable cards on post-consumer recycled paper (perhaps made from last year’s recycled Christmas tree?) and for every order placed, the company plants another tree. Canada-based Botanical PaperWorks is also careful about post consumer waste. All of its cards and stationary are made from actual seeds that can be planted and which will grow into flowers, herbs and vegetables.
For more ways to green your holidays, make sure to like Just Energy on Facebook and follow us on Twitter!
Brought to you by justenergy.com
Sources:
- http://earth911.com/news/2010/11/29/real-vs-artificial-christmas-trees/
- http://www.egreetings.com/
- http://www.bluemountain.com/ecards/holidays
- http://www.americangreetings.com/ecards/holidays
- http://www.paperculture.com/cards-to-trees.html
- http://www.botanicalpaperworks.com/