We're told this arrangement appeals to "eco-minded consumers seek a natural tree without the possible guilt of dumping it curbside later." But — hello! — trucks have to drive around delivering and picking up these things, and growing them and preserving them in pots takes some doing. Possible guilt. What nonsense! Why not buy a cut tree and have it ground up into mulch in the end?
But "eco-minded consumers" are people with money to spend on their own good feelings about themselves. It doesn't matter what's really "green," only what they think is green. These people pay $100 a year for the scrawny tree. And how does said tree feel? Permanently pot-bound.
Here's a clue: Buy a nice artificial tree.
It's totally eco-friendly, in an honest and non-self-indulgent way. You'll save hours of trouble every year. I wouldn't have done this myself. I thought you had to buy a real tree. Oh, the many years when I put up the real tree — often by myself, which is not easy — and once I got a husband who could help me, he — my horticulturist husband — pushed me into getting an artificial tree! You can have your possible guilt. I've got my possible irony.
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97 comments:
This is nothing more than plant prostitution, and it's sinful.
How ridiculous! Plus the living trees have these GIANT root balls, no? How does that even work?
I am so jealous of you Ann (getting an artificial tree). My husband will never let me - we fight about it every year - and yet he does NOTHING as far as helping me decorate.
rrrr . . . good for you getting a false tree! Growing up we had one - it's still in use - thing is 30 years old now! How much more eco-friendly can you get?
Nevermind the eco-friendly angle, it still seems like it would be fun to have the same tree year after year. It could become part of the family - at least until it becomes infected with parasites and Dad has to take it out back and shoot it, children crying and wondering if "leafy" went to heaven.
I like formerly live trees. I like going to get them -- Summer's Tree Farm for me -- and stopping at Clasen's afterwards for a cookie.
It is a lot of work, but what's the Holiday Season without way too much work?
There are now more trees in North America than there ever were.
Take the Salt Lake valley as only one example. The arriving pioneers reported relatively few trees only along the creeks from the canyons.
Now the entire valley is populated with trees of all kinds - the streets are lined and the yards are filled with them.
Consequently, what harm is chopping down some extra trees for Christmas?
I might do that myself, actually. There are a bunch of tree farms/nurseries in my neck of the woods, and this option would solve our annual dilemma of whether or not to get a tree if we're going to be traveling over the holidays.
As to the "green" aspect of artificial trees, I'm not so sure. They're made of what, petroleum products or some other type of synthetic material? Probably shipped from China? Non-biodegradable so they are eternal landfill cloggers? That's somehow "greener" than cultivating, cutting and planting new trees all year long?
I love the thrill of nearly burning down my home when I put the dried out corpse in the fireplace. It's just an inch short of explosive and very exciting as I singe off my eyebrows and arm hair. It never gets old. And for a moment, it gives me a carbon footprint like an global warming conference attendee, making me feel as though I'm helping too.
Or you could buy the potted xmas tree and keep it in your living room year round. Provides oxygen, saves money on glade and fabreze.
Eco-nonsense.
Insty has a link up to the Climate Change Conf in Cancun - these "scientists" are falling for the dihydrogen monoxide ruse.
But "eco-minded consumers" are people with money to spend on their own good feelings about themselves. It doesn't matter what's really "green," only what they think is green.
The crux of the entire problem.
"these "scientists" are falling for the dihydrogen monoxide ruse."
I doubt they are falling for it, but rather reaching for it.
I always go with an artificial tree.
When I was young, my mother would burn the live (now dead) tree in the fireplace - WHOOOSH! It went up in flames like an accelerant.
No way I'm keeping a fire hazard like that in my house.
It is a lot of work, but what's the Holiday Season without way too much work?
Kwanza
Chopping down Christmas trees is no different than chopping down green beans or broccoli.
First Reynolds with the NYT quote about how people who can't afford bartenders shouldn't have parties, now this. Yuppie scum day on the internet?
I am a tree hugger. That is the best way to determine which way they are leaning when you cut them down.
WV: cries - if trees have feelings, then they cries when they cut down.
WV2: mistste - misty over mistletoe. Which I also cut down. It is even a worse parasite than a democrat.
But "eco-minded consumers" are people with money to spend on their own good feelings about themselves. It doesn't matter what's really "green," only what they think is green.
Ya I got to make some money off these suckers.
We two trees. One is an artificial "evergreen." That's the one we decorate and put presents under. We found it up in the attic when we bought our house so it's been "recycled." The other (my favorite) is a silver aluminum one with a rotating color wheel lamp that basks it in four colors: red, blue, yellow and green. My Dad bought the silver one at Wollf-Kubly's in the 1960s and I sort of inherited it.
Fir is Murder!
a kit to test your food for dihydrogen monoxide levels. That should sell.
The memories are good from taking the kids to a tree farm where you picked out a growing tree and cut it down yourself. That was great fun, But once the curtain climbers got friends of their own and driver's liscenses then everything changed. A good quality artificial tree is the way to go. At Macy's one year they had 8 or 10 decorated artificial trees, supposed to be decorated by Martha Stewart, on display; and on Xmas eve they let buyers who had pre-paid weeks earlier come and get them. So Macys had a way to get rid of the trees quickly while we have to take them down slowly into the attic storage.
/from the insty link
"The first project, entitled “Petition to Set a Global Standard” sought to isolate and punish the United States of America for defying the international community, by refusing to bite, hook, line and sinker on the bait that is the Kyoto Protocol. The petition went so far as to encourage the United Nations to impose tariffs and trade restrictions on the U.S. in a scheme to destabilize the nation’s economy. Specifically, the scheme seeks to lower the U.S. GDP by 6% over a ten year period, unless the U.S. signs a U.N. treaty on global warming.
This would be an extremely radical move by the United Nations. Even so, radical left-wing environmentalists from around the world scrambled eagerly to sign."
"Consequently, what harm is chopping down some extra trees for Christmas?"
No harm to the forests at all. These things are grown as crops in farms, many of them here in Wisconsin. They absorb carbon dioxide as they grow, and if they are harvested and disposed of the right way, you have a shot at sequestering the the CO2.
@Lincolntf Thread winner!!!
wv "verbers"
Not, I note, "verbians" :)
If fir is murder then potted trees are slavery.
That's not surprising at all, though, Fen. What IS surprising is the dihydrogen monoxide getting so many signatures.
WV - "bunder" a new character on Futurama. A saucy robot made entirely of bread.
"As to the "green" aspect of artificial trees, I'm not so sure. They're made of what, petroleum products or some other type of synthetic material? Probably shipped from China? Non-biodegradable so they are eternal landfill cloggers? That's somehow "greener" than cultivating, cutting and planting new trees all year long?"
But the truck that delivers the live tree is fueled by "petroleum products." The artificial tree doesn't use up these products. It recycles them!
How does it clog a landfill if you're reusing it every year? You pay $300+ for a nice artificial tree. You don't throw it out!
Also, what is wrong with landfills? They sequester CO2. And they make nice hills for the landscape. What is the problem?
chicklit loses the thread.
chickelit, we had one of those silver trees when I was a kid (it was also our second tree).
At my primary residence, we go to a local tree farm that sells trees as a benefit for the boy scouts. You tromp around, select your trees, and two boy scouts cut it for you. Wonderful experience every year. At my weekend house, we cut our own right from the yard. There are many pine and cedar trees there, although none are traditional Christmas tree varieties. Everyone finds this tree funny, a Charlie Brown tree, but I love it. Both trees stay fresh for a long time, and after I take them down I put them outside for the birds. After that they go into a compost pile.
Also, what is wrong with landfills? They sequester CO2. And they make nice hills for the landscape. What is the problem?
Not to mention future job security for the anthropological unions.
Ann Althouse said...
chicklit loses the thread.
Grinch!!!
"What is the problem?"
The "problem" is that your "perfectly eco-friendly" tree is nothing of the sort. Yes, I suppose a truck might be involved somewhere along the way in the life cycle of my Christmas tree, but that's not equivalent to a massive shipping vessel coming from a country with next to zero environmental regulations. And since when is filling up landfills with petroleum products considered good for the environment?
When my (hypothetical, we haven't gotten ours yet) tree is done, it becomes mulch, yours becomes a mini toxic scar.
Also, what does this do to your carbon fooprint?
Its even worse these days, because peeps are buying faulty light kits from Dollar Stores.
chickelit said...
Not originally mine. Saw it on some TV show (maybe The Simpsons?) recently.
My wife and I did real trees until our real tree fell over.
The water in the stand spilled over, decorations scattered (or broke!).
We got it back up, had to lean it in the corner, and the following year, bought our first artificial tree.
I do miss the smell of real trees (I have not found a good, artificial source), but the fact is, the smell fades after a while.
I don't miss the needles on the carpet, artificial trees are made for balance, and we don't have to transport the thing every year.
For the last 5 years, or so, we've bought our "formerly live trees" (I like that) from the UW Forestry Department. It's for a good cause, and all.
Before that, we went to nearby tree farms and cut our own. It was a family holiday tradition. There are pluses for that, too.
Even as we grow older and don't want to wrestle with a 6-footer, I hope to always get a real one - even if, eventually, it's a table top model.
Not originally mine. Saw it on some TV show (maybe The Simpsons?) recently.
Well in that case I say fowl & withdraw my declaration.
My wife and I did real trees until our real tree fell over.
We couldn't do real tress growing up because my youngest brother had an allergy. Now, I wouldn't even try it until my youngest is 3. That's two very long years from now.
I like this idea, but then I do bonsai so I've already got trees in pots. In fact, I wouldn't give it back to them, I'd keep it myself.
I see a problem with this idea, however. Bringing them into a warm house for a month in the winter is going to be pretty stressful on them.
Can't stand fake - yes, fake! not artificial - trees. We buy a real one (when we can afford it) and, yes, I decorate it (The Blonde has a couple of things (understandable) about Christmas). I like the smell of them, the look of them, and the feel of them.
Ours go up Christmas Eve and comes down 1/2. We (and Sherlock(!)) keep it watered, so there isn't a fire hazard.
We even bought a live one the first year in our present house and planted it after Christmas out back. So there are several ways to do it.
Some people can make a fake tree work for them, but I suppose I'm a sentimental slob.
PS A friend of The Blonde's, who used to make sure she had Christmas before I came along, gave us a fake tree with fiber-optic lights a few years ago. We'll use it this year. Money's a bit tight.
And how does said tree feel? Permanently pot-bound.
As opposed to the ones to be ground up into mulch. They feel quite chipper.
Buy a nice artificial tree. It's totally eco-friendly, in an honest and non-self-indulgent way.
Althouse the Nanny knows what's best for us!
For the past several years, we have dragged the kids about an hour north to cut down a fresh tree. Always nice to have a fresh tree, but sometimes a pain in the ass. This year, we stayed in town and thought we'd get one at the local farmers' market. Lowest price? $80. Ended up at the local hardware store and picked one up for $25. The needles are already falling out, and it's not sucking up much water. Plus, it took longer to get around town than just going up to cut the damn thing down. Next year? Cancel Christmas! Ha.
We're buying our formerly live tree tonight.
We got a beautiful Scotch Pine at Hanns.
"And how does said tree feel? Permanently pot-bound."
Best laugh I've had all day!
I decided if you're going to go with a fake tree, why constrain yourself to an approximation of a real tree? So I too got a silver/white/iridescent tree, with all monochrome lights and ornamentation, and instead of the vintage (and inefficient) color-wheel and spotlight, I got one of these and set it to cycle through all the hues. It uses so little energy I can leave it on all the time.
We already have an artificial tree:
http://30daysout.files.wordpress.com
/2008/11/aluminum.jpg
Two problems with having a fake tree: it doesn't smell like a real tree, and I have to find a place to store it. I prefer to cut down a tree, which the city will chip for mulch at the end of the season. I buy cut flowers, too -- somehow plastic and silk ones do not satisfy.
Beginning some years ago, people were guilted into buying living Christmas trees. But, unless you want to turn your back yard into a fir forest, there's nothing you can do with your LCT after the season ends. A LCT that someone will store for you sounds ideal.
Althouse the Nanny knows what's best for us!
Unless she's introducing the Holiday Seasonal In-House Decoration Fire Hazard Avoidance Act of 2010 at Congress, she's got nothing on our current Nannies.
whether or not to get a tree if we're going to be traveling over the holidays.
For years, we would put up our tree early in the month, and take it down the weekend before we left home.
These are the bomb, artificial-tree wise. I dig that flip technology.
Alas, my fake tree budget isn't quite Frontgate worthy.
These trees will still grow from year to year. They will get too big for the house or to move with reasonable ease. (An acquaintance who grows Christmas trees told be a 6' tree with a root ball will weigh 300 lbs of more.)
Not a well thought out idea except to rip-off eco-idiots.
These trees will still grow from year to year. They will get too big for the house or to move with reasonable ease. (An acquaintance who grows Christmas trees told be a 6' tree with a root ball will weigh 300 lbs of more.)
I have a 5 foot tall yew in a pot. Have grown it in that pot for years. You keep it the size you want by pruning. It's called bonsai.
Oh, yeah, the weight of a potted tree is much greater than the weight of a cut tree. I'm sure all that trucking around of the potted trees is terrible for the environment.
Artificial trees are lightweight, and they are transported once, used for decades, and yes, eventually they are thrown out. But they're not toxic. And the total trash is much less than for many other things you buy. No worse than throwing out a couple plastic lawn chairs. Do you avoid buying things like that because of your concern for landfills?
I saw a really nice hill the other day that was made from a landfill. What is wrong with that? It looked good.
Meade wanted to put artificial grass in the front yard. I couldn't accept that.
My place is too small for a typical Christmas tree, real or fake, so I get a living Norfolk pine to put in the bay window instead.
And I routinely end up killing it within a few months because I keep underwatering it or overwatering it or feeding it poison or something.
Maybe I'll go for a rosemary plant instead this year. I would get a cut three-foot mini-tree, which would fit in the bay window (and I really do miss the smell of a real tree), but I can never find any tree stands!
One of these years I am going to plant a couple dozen fir saplings and grow my own Christmas trees.
Last year we got a live tree with the intent to plant it in the yard, but it died before the ground was soft enough to dig.
Most years, we cut a live tree--mostly from commercial places, but sometimes from our lot. A couple of years, while living in Vermont, I would climb-up a mature fir tree and cut off the top with a bow-saw.
Thus, a fresh tree without actually killing any trees!
Ann Althouse said...
Meade wanted to put artificial grass in the front yard. I couldn't accept that.
Good for meade. He sounds very pragmatic, like my spouse. She wanted to put artificial turf in our backyard, in part to cut down on maintanence.
Maybe you two should get a bunny or a goat. It worked for me: Link
wv "trannol"
Yuck! I wouldn't want to change that oil! Tranny's scare me: Link
Artificial trees are manufactured in China usually, of plastic, then shipped to the US. They are not eco-friendly by any stretch of the imagination. Real trees, on the other hand, typically come from self-sustaining forests and take their weight in carbon out of the atmosphere in their lifetimes, to then be mulched and recycled as playground chips. Then a new seedling is planted to restart the process.
This notion that we're obliterating whole forests for the sake of Christmas trees is a delusion. In the end, artificial trees put carbon in the atmosphere while real trees take it out.
What were Meade's reasons?
Thus, a fresh tree without actually killing any trees!
The one tree farm we go to claims new trees will sprout from the stump we leave.
This would make a great experiment.
I've got suspicion that an artificial tree-especially the older ones-would burn just as fast as a Guy Fawkes effigy lit by drunks.
Artificial trees-suck.
Big corporate taking out the small business agrarian once again.
I don't care what kind of tree you use, bur insisting that 30 pounds of Chinese plastic and metal are "greener" than an actual, you know, tree, is absurd.
It's the hegemony of the phony.
[wv:firdin]
Bough down to your bitters, er betters.
Now they're the bough hum buggers of Christmas-oops!
"The Holidays".
I would cut a new cedar every year. Can't beat that smell. Very difficult to handle, both up and down, but I like them. Afterward, the limb pruner lived in the front room until the limbs had all been bobbed as fire starter.
Cedar are farm vermin.
We cut our tree in the forest every year. Have done so every year since I was about 10. We take the kids, some hot cocoa, have a fun hike through 3-foot drifts of snow, get exhausted dragging the thing back to the truck. For us, it really wouldn't be Christmas without this kind of baroque tradition. "Convenient" and "easy" are two words I don't really associate with Christmas. Besides, the forests around here are way overcrowded with smallish spruce--total fire hazard every summer.
Every year, my parents' llamas eat the trees after we take them down. Well, they eat the needles anyway. Then we cut the trunks up for firewood/kindling. And use the resulting llama poo to fertilize our garden. Fully recycled.
If I got an artificial, it would be white or aluminum. My grandmother had one just like chicklet's that I wouldn't mind having, but my cousin got it. If he doesn't put it up every year, I'll bet he'd let me borrow it.
(I would find a green artificial depressing, somehow.)
Meade wanted to put artificial grass in the front yard. I couldn't accept that.
So, what you're saying is, that your "front lawn" is "real". How long to you keep it cut?
Some have guilt, some have irony and and the M family has 8 of their last 12 Christmas trees gracing the landscape around their MI home with living beauty. God's truth. The oldest, a Blue Spruce is now over 25 feet tall.
All began as 2-3 foot trees with large root balls. Small but heavy to move around, that size tree appears diminutive in comparison to most indoor trees. Keeping a small tree alive in a warm house requires a big pot and drip tray (water softener pan) and daily watering. They've a short shelf-life, and need to come in out of the cold the week before Christmas, go out to the cold enclosed porch 3 weeks later, to be planted early March. Dormancy is an issue with 4 of the 12 surviving through spring but dying the year following their planting.
Decorating is easy and fun, involving one large box of goods, a string of lights, balls hung in berry clusters, and an assortment of Martha Steward glass birds with tail feathers. With a large skirt and some elevation provided, our little trees end up looking quite lovely. Real but different.
Live Christmas trees require attention, muscle, planting space, a non-traditional mindset and a large hole.
We choose live trees because they work for us and allow our family to enjoy green, not "be green".
Cedar are farm vermin.
As a weekend warrior woodworker, all I can say to that is BLASPHEME! KILL THE HERETIC! PERSECUTE!!!!!
Artificial trees are totally the way to go. I'd think that even if I wasn't allergic to most of the natural pine trees.
What does Meade have against people who operate Christmas tree farms?
Guys, Althouse isn't saying that artificial trees are greener than the real tree at Bob's Tree Emporium, she's saying they are greener than a real tree that is dug up, trucked in, trucked out, and replanted every year. I'd wager she's right about that.
Or at the very least, it's less green than buying a real tree at Bob's and chucking it on the curb, despite it being billed as and eco-minded alternative!
I have a large potted sequoia on the deck outside the living room windows decorated with edibles for the critters and birds...but we use an artificial tree too.
Actually there are American Christmas tree manufacturers, producing trees in the US from recycled materials. I bought our Douglas fir from this company.
Hang a big fresh wreath on the inside and outside of the front door to enjoy the fresh tree smell without the mess.
Why not build a house with a large hole in the floor of the living room. Then, at Christmas time (or, if you prefer, during the Holidays) your house gets hoisted by a crane and relocated so that it fits over an evergreen that you have growing on your property.
@fen
The dirty little secret (pun intended) of holding the conference in Cancun is that the Maya Riviera has become the hot sex tourism spot in Latin America. Anything goes.
Wonder how much the UN has paid for lap dances, hookers and heavy partying this week? Above and beyond the usual amount, of course.
We use an artificial tree every year and spray it with pine scent.
But I kind of like this idea. The whole thing about trucks driving in and out delivering is silly because 1) you will be driving a truck to bring a cut tree and 2)most people will be driving the same tree to the dumps, also possibly in a truck. So, there will be truck rides either way. In fact, if this business picks up, they might be able to move many trees in the same 'truck roll', thus reducing truck based emissions.
Actually..the 'dumps' part might not be true for everyone - but is true for me. I live in the boonies, in non incorporated land - so the city doesn't pick up and mulch trees.
I could, however, deliver 4-5 decent sized potted trees in my truck to households in the neighbourhood. I should steal this idea. $20 per tree per year. I deliver all of them around Dec 1st, collect all of them around Jan 31st - thus streamlining my delivery process so I can transport 5 trees at once.
I live in the boonies, in non incorporated land - so the city doesn't pick up and mulch trees.
Same here, san boonies. It is unincorporated, though. The "village" (subdivision, really) residents' association does two mulching days a year. One of them is timed around Christmas tree chucking.
Peter, lol, I'll bet you're known as 'the smart one' at family gatherings.
I thought that after Christmas you planted the live tree. I always liked that idea.
Meade: strange new disrespect, fella!
so the city doesn't pick up and mulch trees
In the absence of a chipper: Leave it out; the needles will fall off and can be used as mulch -- their waxy coating makes them rot resistant. Then cut off the branches and put them at the bottom of your compost pile. You're left with a pole which has numerous uses around the garden: Center prop for a pole bean tepee, support for a sapling, etc.s
If I lived in a sleek, modern house, I would definitely buy this tree.
If I had a tiny apartment, then I'd make one of these.
Peter, that second one could double as a menorah if it used seven candles. Hmmmm.
FLS, I would not recommend putting branches in a compost pile. Twigs can work, as long as they are thinner than a pencil and shorter than your finger, but branches take much too long to break down.
The idea is that a base of branches helps with air circulation. However, what a compost pile really needs is to be turned over once in a while, and branches impede that process. It's okay if you don't want to turn over your compost. It just takes a lot longer -- but the branches will still be there unless you plan to leave the pile alone for 10 years.
I nominate rh to be the first Walmart hugger. Could there be a better fit?
peter hoh said:
Why not build a house with a large hole in the floor of the living room. Then, at Christmas time (or, if you prefer, during the Holidays) your house gets hoisted by a crane and relocated so that it fits over an evergreen that you have growing on your property.
Peter, that sounds akin to something out of The Peterkin Papers, except in Hale's story, the family saws a hole in the ceiling/floor and enjoys the tree at two different levels.
We go with fresh cut trees. As to footprint, I didn't buy a Sunday newspaper last week. I bought the tree instead. Three arguments:
(1) We live where there are numerous small tree farmers. We're happy to give them our money, which stays in the local economy.
(2) A cut tree is an excellent humidifier just when we need it most. If I ever get tired of decorating the thing, I think I'd still put one up just for that.
(3) It's a tree. In our house. Not just a decoration. It's a tree. In our house.
If it's good enough for Badger Football, it's good enough for Meadhouse.
I'll bet Meade doesn't like picking loose needles out of the carpeting.
We did live trees for several years after my parents moved to a new house. It's hard work moving the root ball around and digging a hole in winter, and if you leave it inside more than a week or so, it breaks dormancy and likely won't survive.
And how does said tree feel?
Ha ha ha!
"(3) It's a tree. In our house. Not just a decoration. It's a tree. In our house."
That is pretty much always my finishing argument when we get one. When else do you get to bring the real world into your own little fake world for a week or two?
Plus, my cats can get their climb on without endangering any little birdies.
madawaskan said...
It's the hegemony of the phony.
Oh come on! They're not like breast implants. We're talking ornamental here.
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