Happy Holidays!
Working in the environmental field, I try to think about how my actions and decisions affect the environment. As the holiday season approaches, I start to think about this even more. Many of us feel overwhelmed by the onslaught of shopping, wrapping, and racking our brains to find a gift for our friends and family, some of whom really don't need or want more stuff. Stores opened as early as 4AM this year on black friday! 4 AM! Yikes!
We've all heard helpful hints to reduce our impact on the environment during the holidays. Is it really going to make a difference if you wrap a present in a homemade cloth bag versus wrapping paper? Consider this: the United States produces 5 million extra tons of trash between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day. While some wrapping paper may be recyclable, much of it is not because of metallic dyes or plastics in the paper or the ribbons and bows still attached to it with tape. Wrapping paper is picked out of the recycling process at the sorting facility because it's just too difficult to sort what's clean and what isn't. It all goes straight to the landfill or incinerator. So yes, Virginia, it does make a difference to use a cloth bag that can be reused. Other alternatives to wrapping paper include reusable giftbags, wrapping with newspaper comics, or skip the paper altogether! A plain white box wrapped in a fabric ribbon is a beautiful alternative. This season, think of the three Rs-reduce your use, reuse what you receive, and buy recycled content wrapping paper. If every American family reused just two feet of holiday ribbon, the 38,000 miles of ribbon saved could tie a bow around the entire planet.
Here are a few other ideas that are simple to carry out and will help to reduce your impact on the earth:
See DEC's holiday tips to reduce, reuse, and recycle at: http://www.dec.ny.gov/chemical/8829.html
Support your local cultural organizations. Memberships and tickets make great gifts.
If you like to decorate the outside of your home for the holidays, invest in LED (Light Emitting Diode) outdoor holiday lights that use 1/50th of the electricity and last 20 to 30 years.
If you want to support fair labor practices, look for stores where handcrafted merchandise from around the world is fairly traded (search the Internet for "fairly traded gifts").
If you are an Internet shopper, visit sites that feature environmentally friendly gifts. Search the Internet for "environmental products" or "green businesses."
Shop local - help support locally owned businesses. The ElmwoodVillage was just named to the 2007 list of Great Places in America. Download the Elmwood Village Association's Holiday guide at:
http://www.foreverelmwood.org/ . There is so much going on!
For the person who has everything, a ton of air pollution can be purchased from the Adirondack Council for $50.00. With this purchase, an air pollution allowance that would normally allow a power plant to emit one ton of sulfur dioxide into the air is retired. This prevents the sulfur dioxide from going up a smokestack, contributing to acid rain. Visit http://www.adirondackcouncil.org/arcert2.html
If you are throwing a holiday party, use reusable dishes and silverware whenever possible. Avoid Styrofoam and if you must use disposable, consider buying compostable supplies.
Check out the New American Dream website at
www.newdream.org . There is so much great information on this website about more fun, less stuff, and more of what matters.
When it comes down to it, our best holiday memories usually include time spent with those who are dear to us. This year is extra special in my family because my husband and I are expecting our first child around the winter solstice. The New American Dream website has a lot of great books and tips for parenting in a commercial culture. It's so easy to fall into the craziness of it all - especially with baby stuff - it's just so CUTE!
Maybe you could get outside or check out our new education center with your familyand friends! Our December programs are listed right here on YourHub under Reinstein Woods events. There's bound to be something for everyone!
~ Lauren Makeyenko