Make it an earth – Part 5

The holidays can undermine our efforts to practice green, earth-friendly habits. Who has the time to stop and consider every choice? Arm yourself with these tips so you can make earth-friendly choices.

Send emails personalized with your scanned embellishments, photos or your child’s artwork, instead of cards. Send postcards or buy cards made from recycled material. Re-use cards as gift tags or glue the front to new, folded card stock. Donate used cards to St. Jude’s Ranch.

Try to eliminate traditional wrapping paper. Sturdy paper gift bags, cloth bags or permanently wrapped boxes can be re-used. Wrap the lid and the box separately to re-use. A pillowcase can be made into a drawstring bag for larger gifts. Use cloth ribbons and avoid non-recyclable metallic paper.

Do not use bubble wrap or Styrofoam peanuts to ship gifts. Use crumpled paper or cornstarch peanuts. Consider dealing with a store local to the recipient and arranging for the local delivery of your gift. Donate bubble wrap or peanuts from gifts you receive to a local mailing store for re-use. Have your name removed from unwanted catalog lists.

Buy earth-friendly gifts. A refillable water bottle discourages the use of bottled water. Camping stores have bottles with built in filters for good tasting water on the go. Look for gifts made with recycled materials or that use solar power instead of batteries. Another option is to give tickets to concerts, movies or the theater. Make a donation to charity or adopt a manatee or a wolf in your recipient’s name, a truly earth-friendly gift. Give gifts with no waste such as soap, candles or edibles that are used up.

Use LEDs, 90 percent more efficient, on the house and your tree. A US Dept. of Energy study estimated two billion kilowatt-hours of electricity could be saved in one month if all holiday lights were switched to LEDs.

Mulch, do not burn, your tree so as not to release the carbon into the atmosphere. Re-furbish your old ornaments instead of throwing them away.

An earth-friendly holiday is not too hard with a little planning and when it is all over you can pat yourself on the back for a job well done.

http://news.nationalgeographic .com/news/2004/12/1220_041220_ green_christmas_2.html

http://www.musc.edu/recycle/ho lidays.htm

http://www.eco-artware.com/eco -news/green-holiday.php