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What kind of tree to buy
Artificial Christmas Trees
- They are good for people with allergies for real trees.
- You can purchase trees that are already decorated.
- They don’t loose their needles all over your floors.
- You don’t have to water them and they require little if
any maintenance.
- The down side to an artificial tree is that they are not biodegradable
so when they are eventually thrown out they pollute our landfill
sites.
- They are manufactured from PVC, plastic and metal - i.e. environmentally
damaging and non-renewable resources;
- You have to have room to store them after the holiday season.
Real Christmas Trees
About thirty-five million real Christmas Trees are sold in the United
States every year. A real Christmas Tree is a Christmas tradition
and contributes to making Christmas a real and meaningful experience
for many families. Some people use artificial trees, thinking they
are saving our forests. The truth is, however, that almost all Christmas
Trees are grown on Christmas Tree farms, not in the forest. Thanks
to the annual demand for Christmas trees, thousands of acres of otherwise
unfarmed land is being farmed with Christmas Trees. Indeed, Christmas
Tree farms are most often located on land which could not be used
to grow other farm products (these farms are on barren slopes or under
power lines). In addition, for each tree harvested, about ten others
are being grown on farms to prepare for the next ten harvest seasons.
Real Christmas trees have positive effects on the environment:
- They produce oxygen and rid the air of carbon dioxide, thereby
reducing the earth-warming greenhouse effect;
- They improve soil stability;
- They provide an aesthetically pleasing improvement to the land
and bring value to portions of land which could not be used to
grow other crops;
- They serve as wildlife habitat;
- They are naturally biodegradable and many towns collect trees
after Christmas and convert them to mulch. The Rockefeller Center
Christmas Tree produces 3 tons of mulch annually;
- They are a renewable resource.
Real Christmas trees are grown at home and have a positive effect
on local employment and the economy. Your local Christmas Tree farmer
buys his supplies locally and hires seasonal help locally.
Many people wrongly believe that a Christmas tree can be the cause
of a fire. This is not true. A Christmas tree that is well cared for
will remain fresh and will not catch fire unless a strong flame supported
by inflamable material is placed under the tree.
In fact, there have been reports of house fires where the house burned
completely, but the real Christmas tree in the house did not even
catch fire. Beware of fake trees because they do catch fire and, when
they do, they give off dangerous toxic fumes.
A real Christmas Tree that is watered and kept fresh won't shed needles.
If you keep your real Christmas Tree watered, you will find that it
will last two months or more in your home and it will shed very few
needles.
Enjoy the family of tradition of choosing and cutting your own real
Christmas tree this year!
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