Thursday, December 20, 2007

I'm Dreaming of a Green Christmas

Merry Christmas! I've really got the spirit this holiday season, and what better way to pass on the mood than to find some ways to make your Christmas just a bit greener.
1. Ask for gift cards so you can go buy compact fluorescent bulbs for all your lights. I read that if a household replaced all the fixtures in the home with compact fluorescent, they could save from $440 to $1100 over the life of the bulbs. An awesome gift that gives for years!
2. Don't wrap EVERY stinkin' present! But if you absolutely have to, use recycled newspapers (the comics section is great for this), or gift bags that can be reused, or use one part of the gift, like a T-Shirt to "wrap" another part of the gift. Get creative, throw away less wrapping paper and kill fewer trees, a win all around.
3. Use LED Christmas lights, they use 80% less energy than regular lights and last ten years or more! On top of it all, get yourself one of those timers that turn the lights on and off at certain times, like at 3 am when no one is looking at them anyway.
4. The Christmas Tree, what is better real or fake? Real is, but living, in a pot, that you can plant in the spring. (In the interest of full disclosure, I have a fake tree... I know, I'm bad!)
5. Buy your Christmas gifts from local sources... No, I don't mean stores in your town, but rather, from vendors that use locally sourced raw materials. Saves the planet by saving petroleum on reduced shipping costs.

Easy stuff. Easy to do. No compromises. Save the world!