Editor's Choice
Ideas for a new world
BMJ 2023; 383 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.p2971 (Published 21 December 2023)
Cite this as: BMJ 2023;383:p2971
Rapid Response
Re: Ideas for a new world
Dear Editor
Festival Season Without Burdening The Planet
Every year the Festival Season including Christmas and New Year is celebrated with joy by sharing 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 the best use of available materials.
It is better to give ‘battery-free’ gifts 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 has 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 activities 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 the festival season can also enrich the giver and acknowledges nature as the source of our well-being.
During the Christmas and the new year celebrations, consider decorating the trees for the birds by placing 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 niger seed bells. This is a great activity for kids, and offers an important food source for birds during the winter.
Another way to make 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 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 forever.
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 the festival season consider using environment healthy wrapping paper made up of fibers such as hemp, or paper using recycled content to wrap your gifts. It is better to avoid buying glossy foil or metallic wrapping paper.
In Christmas and new year celebrations, with a little effort and imagination, we can reduce the environmental impact of the holiday season without burdening our planet.
Competing interests: No competing interests
23 December 2023
M.A. Aleem
Professor of Neurology * Consultant Neurologist **
Dhanalakshmi Srinivasan Medical College Siruvathur Perambalur * ABC Hospital **
Siruvathur * Trichy ** Tamilnadu India
@drmaaleem
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