| Christmas is just a waste of resources ... ?
Posted: 12/12/2007 10:32:25 PM | I dunno, maybe it's all the talk of drought, and recession, and fast dwindling natural resources that are non-replaceable, but does Christmas seem to be nothing but a vast waste to anyone but me?
We have tons of electricity being used for lights, decorations etc...
We have untold numbers of trees being sacrificed to make gift wrapping that will be discarded into the trash 20 mins after it comes off the present
Think of all the plastic in the food containers, ribbons etc.. that are then chunked into the landfills to lie there stagnant for hundreds of years..
It all seems so awful to me, so commercialized and just full of excessive waste. Sometimes I think " No wonder so much of the rest of the world looks at us rich Americans with a sneer over our wastefulness"
Comments anyone? Or am I the only one with this ecological bah hum'bug attitude this year?    | |
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| Christmas is just a waste of resources ... ?
Posted: 12/12/2007 11:48:32 PM | aawww ya seem a bit gloomy about it all. Here, have a pressie to cheer ya up 
Yes, a fat a$$ man in a red suit with a sack over his shoulder, kids on his lap & comes down a chimney breaking in once a year. I won't begin with why that is just so very wrong. Very commercialised indeed. Gee I'm glad we don't have a chimney here at our place, cause I'd make sure it was well a lit come xmas eve & the milk n cookies were tainted  | |
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| Christmas is just a waste of resources ... ?
Posted: 12/12/2007 11:58:14 PM | | Nah, it's fun and I enjoy it. I'm never going to change the world so I don't really care about all the environmental stuff. I just enjoy my life and live... | |
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| Christmas is just a waste of resources ... ?
Posted: 12/13/2007 6:42:49 AM | Awwww thanks Chester 
It was just what I wanted !
We might not be able to change the world, but my family is doing it's bit at any rate. No excessive wrapping paper used, re-usable tree and decorations, gifts that are practical and sure to be used for a while ...
Any more ideas on how we can make the season just as festive, but not quite as wasteful? | |
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Tramp
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Joined: 2/8/2007
Msg: 8 | |
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| Christmas is just a waste of resources ... ?
Posted: 12/13/2007 9:44:26 AM | | Well...NO! Seeing as i don't drive a big petrol guzzling car or go on lots of foreign holidays in big shiny aeroplanes or own 5 T.V's and 3 video computers, 5 DVD players and a massive larder...which i fill with food...most of which i throw away uneaten...then i'm going to feel guilty about enjoying one week out of 52! Yes, it's wasteful...yes it's commercialised and hyped...but that is why it's fun. And us not celebrating christmas is not going to stop starvation accross the world or save the planet...because the planet is on the decline anyway, whether we celebrate or not! Sorry, but i can't see people giving up their 4 x 4's in favour of a bicycle, etc, anytime soon! | |
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| Christmas is just a waste of resources ... ?
Posted: 12/13/2007 1:08:51 PM | Well, it could be said that you sitting there on your computer is contributing to the decline of the environment - the electricity it uses plus it going in the landfill when it's old and no longer useful......
It's my money and if I want my house lit up like the Griswold's, I'll do it. Besides, the new LED lights take up very little electricity. Wrapping paper can be reused (if you don't tear it off) or recycled or use those gift bags instead, they can be reused as well. I'm sure there's other ways you can have a happy holiday season and still be gentle on the environment. | |
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| Christmas is just a waste of resources ... ?
Posted: 12/13/2007 1:19:12 PM | | WHAT the rest of the world doesn't know I'm poor and green? Then Who cares what they say, they have their own filthy backyards to contend with. No one on this planet lives in a glass house. | |
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Rhett1
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Joined: 10/16/2005
Msg: 12 | |
| Christmas is just a waste of resources ... ?
Posted: 12/13/2007 5:12:58 PM | I hate to be the "bah-humbug" type, too, but yes, I agree.
Over the last ten years or so, I have become quite disgusted with our society and how Christmas has just become a big grab for material possessions and displays of wealth.
In our city, there are sections of town that go nuts decorating entire blocks. I'm sure they've had planes accidentally trying to land there...
Our city council decided a while back that they would help cover the cost of lighting up 3 or 4 blocks of houses. I believe BC Hydro also voluntarily decided to help with some of the cost...how about a discount for everyone, instead of just those who are contributing to environmental issues?
I think it's disgusting.
We have something like 600 homeless in this city and we're more concerned about getting those lights up and using more electricity. Not to mention the amount of vehicles that drive all over that area this time of year to see the lights...a little extra smog, anyone?
How many children go without even the smallest gifts this time of year?
How many families don't even have the money to have a small Christmas dinner?
But, boy, those lights are up...yay!
At the very least, I'd like to see a charge being levied to view the lights and have the money go towards the Salvation Army, homeless shelter, soup kitchen, etc.
I realize that we can't help everyone, especially if perhaps those people aren't going to even attempt to help themselves, but I see this as so wasteful and unnecessary. | |
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| Christmas is just a waste of resources ... ?
Posted: 12/13/2007 5:45:03 PM | | Well, when I was young and hung around with hippies, they'd make you a candle or peice of art or knit you slippers. The gift was not worth much monitarily, but it sure had a lot of feeling to it. You don't have to get the stuff at Macy's , you know. | |
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| Christmas is just a waste of resources ... ?
Posted: 12/13/2007 7:28:30 PM |
Well, it could be said that you sitting there on your computer is contributing to the decline of the environment - the electricity it uses plus it going in the landfill when it's old and no longer useful......
Well no, actually it doesnt, at least in this concept anyway. I have one computer, which I use for work and school as well as play.. I upgrade instead of throwing away, and donate when I do decide to get rid of one. I also turn out lights when I leave the room and wear a sweater around the house instead of zapping the heat up. Make me an  ? Not at all, but we all can do our parts to add up to a huge impact on our earth and our future.
Does bring up a point tho, it's the EXCESSES that people go to during the holidays. When a light bill goes from $100 to $1000 from nothing but Christmas decorations.. 10 x consumption just seems to be a bit senseless to me. Especially next summer when we're running out of power and having brown outs in the 100+ degree weather.
I have a tree up, with a couple of strings of lights and a red ribboned wreath on the front door, and have no issue with anyone else doing the same. It just seems to me as if it's a competition thing to see how big and gaudy we can get in our country, with no thought to the possible consequences. | |
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| Christmas is just a waste of resources ... ?
Posted: 12/13/2007 8:46:56 PM |
Well, it could be said that you sitting there on your computer is contributing to the decline of the environment - the electricity it uses plus it going in the landfill when it's old and no longer useful......
It's my money and if I want my house lit up like the Griswold's, I'll do it. Besides, the new LED lights take up very little electricity. Wrapping paper can be reused (if you don't tear it off) or recycled or use those gift bags instead, they can be reused as well. I'm sure there's other ways you can have a happy holiday season and still be gentle on the environment.
Those LED lights are hideous though. They give off no shine. I will never use them  ...My Christmas's are very wasteful. I buy the biggest tree, leave my Christmas lights (inside and out) on all day, tear open my presents and then some. In the grand scheme of things, Christmas is not what is leading the decline in the ecnomy etc. It's all the smog and pollution being emitted into atmosphere. Massive amounts of electricity have been around for years and cause no problems. But the growing amount of factories and smog does...
Plus, Mom2 here make an excellent point. All of us at these computers is using much electricity. So do concerts, parades, street lights etc. use tones of electricity. We should get rid of it all and just go back to cancles  | |
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| Christmas is just a waste of resources ... ?
Posted: 12/13/2007 10:16:00 PM |
We should get rid of it all and just go back to candles
Might not be a bad idea Joe !  Very romantic they are!
We all keep on wasting our natural resources and treating them like we only have today to live for, and the choice may be taken out of our hands... and it's back to candles whether we want to or not...
;) Electricity is just like money, we can piddle it away without ever realizing it or without even knowing what we've spent it on. Same goes for saving it. You'd be amazed how much small changes of savings add up to!
I guess my main point is this : Does the warm fuzzy feeling we get from gawking at the lights justify the drain? Just like the drought hit states that are now shutting down big resource drains such as car washes.... Personally I'd rather voluntarily slow down the drain than have it come to that critical status. | |
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| Christmas is just a waste of resources ... ?
Posted: 12/14/2007 6:34:45 AM | ("Well, it could be said that you sitting there on your computer is contributing to the decline of the environment - the electricity it uses plus it going in the landfill when it's old and no longer useful......
It's my money and if I want my house lit up like the Griswold's, I'll do it. Besides, the new LED lights take up very little electricity. Wrapping paper can be reused (if you don't tear it off) or recycled or use those gift bags instead, they can be reused as well. I'm sure there's other ways you can have a happy holiday season and still be gentle on the environment")
^^^
Yes, we ALL do something which contributes to the worlds problems. My point is, i own 1 TV which is on for about 5 hours per day... I own a computer which i need for my studies, i use it a lot, i use it for everything...shopping, networking and work...i am saving the environment by not hopping in a car or on the bus or using my mobile phone every time i want to do those things... it is my 1 and only vice...on the whole i am very environmentlly friendly. I don't drive, i save water, i use about £6 worth of electrcity per week..not very much at all for a family of 3!!! I own all energy efficient appliances and light bulbs. I don't waste food, i live off a staple diet of meat, fish, rice, potatoes and vegetables and i don't go on holidays abroad...i've had 2 in the past 10 years...mostly owing to the fact that my kids are still too young, i use a clothes horse not a dryer...i got rid of my elecrtricity guzzling dryer because i thought it ruined my clothes. I reuse my gift bags, make my own cards or buy the recycled or charity ones and I have one set of plain lights on my tree. I don't do those things for the environment i admit, it has more to do with saving money. I don't think i'll ever own a compost heap or recycle all my rubbish, but for now i am doing a fair bit and i reserve my right to enjoy christmas however i like. Oh yeah, i also take all my kids old toys and clothes to the charity shops at the end of every year even though i could easily sell them for a fortune as they are all expensive toys in perfect condition!
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| Christmas is just a waste of resources ... ?
Posted: 12/14/2007 7:29:44 AM |
but for now i am doing a fair bit and i reserve my right to enjoy christmas however i like.
 Yay for you Claire !
If we all did a little bit more during the year, it wouldnt seen such a colossal waste at special times OF the year. | |
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| Christmas is just a waste of resources ... ?
Posted: 12/14/2007 3:58:26 PM | I think the media and society (in the USA, can't speak for other countries,) has gone way past the point of losing the whole meaning for the Christmas holiday. I'll agree, the lights are pretty, the brightly colored boxes are pretty, but when you see a child throw a tantrum because he/she did not get the $200 playstation, or the family who can barely pay their rent/utilities use their only few hundred dollars for the month buying ipods, and Xbox'es, I have a hard time with that.
When I was a child, we were in no way poor, but we were in no way rich neither. I was not raised in 'good faith,' yet we did celebrate Christmas. I, personally, looked more forward to the Tangerines and Walnuts that I got in my stocking, than any gift that someone could have bought from the mall. (Tangerines were very costly, and still are, which meant the only time I could have one, was for Christmas. That was my most prised gift.) Aside from the Tangerines, it was a time when the whole family got together and cast our differences and disagreements aside and spent the week hugging, and remembering the old times...
I think people as a whole, forgot what Christmas is all about... We are all clouded with being 'politically correct' that we strayed from the true meaning of the season.
I do agree with the OP, about the wastefulness of our society, and our country, and I don't think we are the only few that feel this way...
CowTrucker
Chapman, Kansas | |
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| Christmas is just a waste of resources ... ?
Posted: 12/14/2007 10:18:58 PM | I like your style of thinking.
Yeah, in the US it is a drawn-out time of commercilization and waste. All the holiday music, extra printing of sales flyers, all the little touches to get shoppers in there (more gas to truck in more made-in-China stuff). Then at home with outdoor lighting, the tree (real or artificial), its lights, extra stuff. Then the (real) tree is dumped on the curb in a few weeks.
Nahh, just see it as a time to spend days with family and friends and to continue (or revise) family traditions. | |
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jimi77
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Joined: 7/13/2004
Msg: 21 | |
| Christmas is just a waste of resources ... ?
Posted: 12/14/2007 11:48:03 PM | I think in today’s world it's lost its true meaning.. Christ.. It’s been hijacked by big business that have commercialized it and made it a shopping holiday not the birth of Christ and what that ment to the world.
To me I enjoy spending time with my family more then presents.. Just all of us together with a nice dinner talking and laughing.
It’s really sickens me what they have done to Christmas.. Opps… can we say that any more? Huff. | |
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| Christmas is just a waste of resources ... ?
Posted: 12/14/2007 11:59:36 PM | There are a lot of things you can do to reduce your ecological footprint during the holidays. Start with Christmas shopping. Try to plan it out. Think about each person you want to get a gift for and about what they might want. Try to think of 2-3 things for each person. Then, figure out which things you can get that are closest to eachother. For example, can you get almost everything at the mall near you? Can you go to a large department store and get all your shopping done? Do some research on line, look at stores that you think might have what you're looking for. Then take on day and go to the mall, or wherever and try to get it all done at once. If you know ahead of time and have a list, you'll be able to get it all done without making multiple trips. Another alternative would be to purchase all your Christmas gifts from a thrift store or to make Christmas gifts.
As for Christmas lights, I agree, far too many people do this to excess. If you want to do something for the environment, try something that doesn't take up a whole bunch of power. Either use LED lights, or if you don't like the appearance of them, tone it back. There really is no need for many of the excessive displays people put up, and I personally think that many of them just look tacky anyways. Don't even get me started on those huge inflatable things that have become popular in the past year!
When it comes to actually wrapping the gifts, use reusable packaging wherever possible. It is very easy to make a fabric bag if you know how to use a sewing machine. Better yet, if you go to a fabric store after christmas all the Christmas fabric will be on sale, and you can pick up a bunch for next year. If you don't know how to sew at all, try using re-usable gift bags from the dollar store. Much better than using wrapping paper. If you're careful with the tissue paper, you can re-use that as well.
Edit: forgot to add in a bit about the tree. If you do opt for a real tree, see if there's a tree recycling program in your city. My city has several locations you can take your tree to after the holidays where they will pick up the tree (without tinsel or decorations), shred them up and use it for bedding for the animals at the zoo (that's owned by the city) or they'll use it to put on some of the hiking trails in city parks. | |
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| Christmas is just a waste of resources ... ?
Posted: 12/15/2007 6:10:59 AM | Something I heard on the radio this morning. Someone (who must have too much time on their hands) worked out the carbon footprint of the average christmas dinner
I didn't hear what the total amount of carbon produced I was too busy thinking what will the next carbon foot print be that they start moaning about.
This must only apply to the UK christmas dinners but they said half of total carbon footprint for the total dinner is the cranberry sauce! as its all imported
So no cranberry sauce if you want to save the planet
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| Christmas is just a waste of resources ... ?
Posted: 12/15/2007 10:23:57 PM | Nah, it's fun and I enjoy it. I'm never going to change the world so I don't really care about all the environmental stuff. I just enjoy my life and live...
[random]Never having kids, eh? I always find it very odd how I seem to care a bit more about the environment than the average person, yet I'm the one not leaving anyone behind.[/random]
I think in today’s world it's lost its true meaning.. Christ.. It’s been hijacked by big business that have commercialized it and made it a shopping holiday not the birth of Christ and what that ment to the world.
To me I enjoy spending time with my family more then presents.. Just all of us together with a nice dinner talking and laughing.
It’s really sickens me what they have done to Christmas.. Opps… can we say that any more? Huff.
lol. Says the man holding a wad of money in his main profile picture. | |
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