***Closing Jan 23th*** Christmas Tree Debate

Through the years there have been some controversy over chopping down Balsam Fir Trees to use as a Christmas tree; to give your house a more realistic feeling. But that being said most people find it easier to use the fake design of a Christmas Tree.

Sure we chop down trees for a week of life, or use fake trees that are made of plastic and aren't biodegradable?

So are you guys for or against real or fake trees? Here you guys can debate on your reasons and feelings on this subject. If you do use sources please state them. For participation marks you can gain a max of 60.

Vulcan/Blackjack wrote:

Real trees are biodegradable and although they are chopped down for maybe a week or two, their decomposition is not harmful to the envirement.

Just for clarification

Decomposition of Trees:

Quote :

decomposing wood and the process can take years or in fact never

Source

Decomposition of Fake Trees:

Quote :

Artificial trees are not recyclable or biodegradable

Source

I am for real trees. They can go back into the Earth when where done, unlike the fake trees. If you keep a fake tree though, you can use it agian year after year, and you don't have to kill a tree. But still, the smell of a freaash pine in your house....mmmmm. Unfortunatly, my family switched to facke trees...

I am also allll for real trees. While fake trees may be the initial choice because of its non-messiness, they give nothing to the environment. Especially in these days when trash is so out of hand, using plastic trees that must be thrown away in a couple of years is just not a smart idea. Real christmas trees means that there will have to be many people growing them. In fact, in the United States, there are more than 21, 000 Christmas tree growers, and more than 12,000 cut-your-own farms. Here there are so many trees that help the environment by providing a home to animals and such, even if they must be cut down by christmas, since they take years to mature before they can be cut, this is some time for an ecosystem to establish itself. It can also be beneficial for people with allergies, as christmas trees remove pollen and dust from the air.

Quote :

Artificial trees will last for six years in your home, but for centuries in a landfill.

just another reason artificial trees are not as great as they seem.

source:: http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/trees/treefacts.html

I am for the use of fake trees. They have a number of advantages over real trees because of:

1. The cutting down of real trees for merely a week is extremely harmful to the environment in a world where deforestation is occurring at a gigantic rate.

2. You can reuse fake trees for your entire life.

3. Elaborating on number 1, by cutting down an enormous number of trees just for Christmas and just for a week decreases the amount of oxygen that gets put into the atmosphere and increases the amount of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, that remains in the atmosphere. Also, trees take a number of years to grow and to reach maturity. Cutting down a tree takes minutes... a tree growing again takes years. Also, not all trees that are cut down for Christmas have a new one growing in their place, to replace them. Trees that are taken from the soil increase the rate of soil erosion that is no longer protected and held together by tree roots. This increased soil erosion leads to many more harmful effects to the environement, by polluting water sources through getting carried away by flowing water, polluting the air via wind, and if too much erosion occurs, than the soil will remain unfertile for a number of years and plants that previously thrived on the eventual non-existent topsoil and leaf litter will die, allowing for a possible takeover by an exotic/non-native/alien species.

Sources: My AP Environmental Science class and the textbook, Living in the Environment by.... *forgets the author*

I'm for fake trees.

Now, you could buy fake trees that look practically exactly like the real ones and the fake ones don't make a mess and you don't have to throw them away.

For fake trees. as June said, you can use them your entire life and don't have to worry about buying a new one each here (and spending money for it)

And the trees are usually up 1 or 2 weeks only and other than that, the real threes go in the trash and the fake ones go in the box for next year. Why buy trees if you can use the same tree forever for just a few weeks a year?

Even if the real trees have the 'festive air' you could decorate your fake trees with many ornaments and such so it'll look festive too. And if you really like the smell of the real trees, go buy a pack of those perfume/air refreshioner and put them under the tree...

:xmastree:

I've always been indesivie about real and fake trees.

My whole life I've had a fake tree but my Cousins have always used a real tree, however they don't chop it down they dig it up roots and all, and once Christmas is over they replant it once the ground thaws.

I prefer fake trees because in my opinion they're safer, now I would never wish the curse of bing allergic to anything on anyone but I do know some people who are allergic to Pine trees/spruse trees. If you have friends who visit often I'd suggest a Fake tree for the holiday's however if you're not as passive as myself then stick with the real tree that will clog ecosystems once you despose of it. We have a fake tree in our basement storage until Christmas and unless our basement becomes a dump then I don't think it'll cause a nation upset if it stays there forever.

just my opinion.

I lean toward artificial trees mainly because I am allergic to the needles of the real ones. I am also concerned with the fire hazards that can be involved with real trees. I'm aware that there are steps that can be taken to prevent a fire, but there is too much of a risk for my taste.

Also, as a lover of all things living (I even feel guilty for swatting mosquitos), I have a series issue of cutting down a tree. I did like the sound of what Dancingsunset's cousins do.

My family used to use real trees, but it got to the point where none of us could handle them anymore. We kept the same tree for years. I now have one that my roommate and I use in our apartment that she's had for years. I'm sure she'll be using it for a long time. I think that to keep them for so long and then throwing them away is preferable to chopping down a new tree every year.

My family has always had a real tree and I really enjoy it. No matter how good looking a fake tree is it can never replace the real thing. I also think that you can replant where you chopped down the tree. Chrismas tree farms do that so that they can have more trees in years to come, so really were not losing any trees because were planting them back. Also, even if the wood doesn't go back into the soil people can use it for like fire wood and other things you can't do that with a fake tree.

That is a good point. I suppose you could also use needles for potpourri or decorations. I hadn't thought of the use as firewood.

However, the burning of trees contributes carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases to the atmosphere! Also, if the companies that grow trees especially for Christmas DO replant, it takes a very long time before that seed becomes a semi-mature tree. Also, the making of a Christmas tree farm is environmentally detrimental. In order to have a tree farm there, the land there must first be completely cleared. This results in a loss of habitats for species, a decrease in biodiversity if a specialist species is wiped out, and also promotes soil erosion in the time between the first steps of clearance and the finished planting of christmas trees/other trees. In order to have a tree farm, some sort of biome must be destroyed, usually part of a deciduous/coniferous forest or grassland.

*Bites lip to keep from going on a longer environmental tirade*

In this debate there is also the the issue of safety. Real trees, which I grew up with, pose a more severe fire hazard than do their faux counterparts. Real trees are dead, and even under the best conditions will begin to dry out, couple that with the intense heat of some chirstmas lights and you have a recipe for disaster.

Fake trees, like the one I know have, often come prelighted with lights that were tested to work best with the tree. In these days where the scent of a real tree can be captured in a can, there is little asthetic difference between the two. My first artifical tree, which my husband convinced me to get, actually rotated (although I compromised with the artificial tree, I won with white lights).

A lot of people argue that artificial trees can last for years, but that has certainly not been my experience. From broken trees, to lights that no longer blink, to limbs that refuse to fluff, artificial trees need replacing.

I beleive that in the future artificial trees will be more enviormently friendly. For now those who wish to preserve the enviorment, the best choice may be to plant an evergreen in your front yard and decorate with it outdoor lights.

You have a great point, Skie

But Skie, most people who use real trees DON'T mulch them. Where I live, after Christmas, I see tons of christmas trees lying on their sides, limp and brown next to the curb. Then, the garbage truck takes them away and dumps them somewhere.....

i think no matter what kind of tree somebody decides to use, there is no good way to dispose of it. A real tree though will eventually naturally be decomposed back into the ground. A fake tree cant do that because its, welll man made. Its not natural. it wont decompose safely, but instead will release toxins and other harmful things into the surrounding environment just like any other trash.

Lets all just use holograms of trees. Get the smell in a candle or something and all the christmas cheer is there without the issue of "real or fake?"