Celebrate Environment friendly Festival Season - M.A.Aleem Advocate Climate change and releases. SWACHH BHARAT AMBASSADOR TRICHY

Celebrate Environment friendly Festival Season 

- M.A.Aleem Advocate Climate change and releases. SWACHH BHARAT AMBASSADOR TRICHY 

Every year the Festival Season like Christmas and New year is celebrated   with joy by  sharing of gifts.

Many gifts in today’s marketplace come from halfway around the world, and the impact of transportation contributes significantly to greenhouse emissions and global warming. Local craft fairs and artisan shops are a good source for gifts that come without the added costs of transportation. 

Many individuals and small businesses have developed great products using recycled materials. Supporting these businesses helps reduce the waste stream while promoting the concept of making best use of available materials. 

As a gift it is better to give ‘battery-free’ gift during the festival season. 

Discarded batteries are an environmental hazard. Even rechargeable batteries find their way into the waste stream eventually. So select a gift that have less of an impact on the environment like that of naturally -powered toys. It is also better to   avoid , toys  that promote violence and the new wave of video games for children are disturbing.

 Remember the theme of Christmas is “Peace on Earth.” There are many toys and games that are fun, and nurture children’s’ creativity and sense of active play. 

Nature restoration activity like
planting a small tree together symbolizes the value of nature and offsets the ‘taking’ of the Christmas tree. An hour spent cleaning up or enhancing a natural area during Festival season can also enriches the giver and acknowledges nature as the source of our well-being.

During the Christmas and the new year celebration, consider to decorate the trees for the birds by placing the seed bells, suet, pine cones with peanut butter, and seed trays on any tree in your yard, preferably a tree in the open where that can be seen easily by the birds. To attract a wide variety of birds, use varied seed types such as black oil sunflower seed, wild bird mixed seed and nyjer seed bells. This is a great activity for kids, and offers an important food source for birds during the winter.

Another way to make the Christmas more sustainable is to use a living tree as your Christmas tree. 

Although plastic Christmas trees are reusable from year to year, real trees are the more sustainable choice. Plastic trees are made of petroleum products , and use up resources in both the manufacture and shipping. While artificial trees theoretically last forever, research shows that they are typically discarded when repeated use makes them less attractive. Discarded artificial trees are then sent to landfills, where their plastic content makes them last for ever.

Live trees, on the other hand, are a renewable resource grown on tree farms, that are replanted regularly. They contribute to air quality while growing, and almost ninety percent are recycled into mulch. Live trees are usually locally grown and sold, saving both transportation costs and added air pollution.

Never burn Christmas tree branches in your fireplace. It can cause the buildup of creosote, which is a highly flammable compound.

In Christmas and New year, 

it is better to lower the impact of lighting, this will cut down the cost of electricity usage.  It is better to use LED lights for house and Christmas tree lighting . It will use up to 95% less energy than larger, traditional holiday bulbs and last up to 100,000 hours when used indoors. LED holiday lights use .04 watts per bulb, 10 times less than mini bulbs and 100 times less than traditional holiday bulbs. 

During Festival season consider to use environment healthy   wrapping paper made up of  fibers such as hemp, or paper using recycled content to warp your gifts. It is better to avoid buying glossy foil or metallic wrapping paper.

Christmas and new year celebration   doesn’t have to be a burden on the planet. With a little effort and imagination, we can reduce the environmental impact of the holiday season with caring   of our earth.

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