O', as in Organic, Christmas Tree!

A quick disclaimer: I am not a scrooge! I love giving gifts and celebrating the season! Hell, if my cat would let me I would have a live tree. Instead I celebrate with my artificial tree. I love a natural tree, the smell, the natural beauty of it and all. That being said. . .

A neighbor of mine was telling us about their weekend plans. To the ooh's and aah's of some, he told us they are going to get a Christmas tree this weekend. . .AN ORGANIC CHRISTMAS TREE! They are going to jump in their Jeep Cherokee, drive 80 miles out to the country, cut down a tree; strap it to the roof and drive back another 80 miles.

Where do I start?! First off, aren't all trees by nature of being a tree ORGANIC? Yeah I know, tree farms use toxic pesticides to grow bigger better trees, but that is what people want.

I have also heard many times that the best way to be organic is to do so local! You have to consider your carbon footprint when buying organic. If the organic food you are buying is shipped in from California, consider all the resources being used to deliver that "better for the world" product to your table? It is considerable, from packing to shipping to marketing etc. Buying locally grown organics saves all of that and is truly better for the world in the end.

This Norman Rockwellian outing is loaded with bad things for the environment all in the name of being ORGANIC. Let's start with the less than fuel efficient vehicle. A quick Google shows an average MPG to be 16, 10 gallons of fossil fuel. On the Annual Greenhouse Gas Emmissions scale of 16.2/worse to 3.5/best it rates 11.4

At season's end, is that ORGANIC tree going to be composted properly? Every strand of tinsel removed meticulously so as not to add to the earth non-biodegradable materials? Or will it be out at the trash with all the wrapping paper, ribbons and packing materials destined to a landfill. How sad that would be an ORGANIC tree left to rot in a toxic landfill.

And lastly, would the best way to have an ORGANIC tree be to leave it growing in the earth where it can do the best for the environment? Cleaning the air, being a home and resource for all sorts of nature, removing airborn pollultants? The trees in all the tree lots have been cut down. If they do not sell they go to waste. The tree had to die for nothing! I say buy a tree that has been cut already. Why waste one of nature's creatures?

I think the best organic tree is an artificial one! Families have done this for years and typically keep and use the same tree year after year after year! That's my kind of organic tree. Leave the living ones alone to do their job in the world.