Christmas Trees- real v. fake

The True Debate- Real v. Fake

Each holiday season, shoppers find themselves confronted with a choice: celebrate with a fresh, Christmas tree, or one that is artificial plastic or aluminum. What most people don't realize is that the best choice has always been the traditional and natural choice - a Real Christmas Tree.Consider this:• While they're growing, Real Christmas Trees support life by absorbing carbon dioxide and other gases and emitting fresh oxygen.• Real Christmas Trees are grown on farms just like any crop.Harvesting a Christmas Tree is no more damaging to the environment than harvesting an ear of corn.• To ensure a constant supply, Christmas Tree farmers plant a new seedling for every tree they harvest.• Artificial trees are a petroleum-based product manufactured primarily in Chinese factories.• The average family uses a fake tree for only six to nine years before throwing it away, where it will remain in a landfill for centuries after disposal.• Christmas Trees are often grown on soil that does not support other crops. The farms that grow Christmas Trees stabilize the soil, protect water supplies and provide refuge for wildlife.• Farm-grown trees are biodegradable, which means they can easily be reused or recycled for mulch, feeding goats or other purposes.• The polyvinyl chloride (PVC) used in most artificial trees has been boycotted by environmental and health groups.• Swedish researchers found that Real Trees are five times more environmentally compatible than fake trees.• American Forests, a world leader in tree planting for environmental restoration, has publicly endorsed the commercial growing and use of farm-grown Christmas Trees.• Real Trees can be recycled in a number of ways, including mulch for parks and trails, in lakes and ponds for fish habitat, dune and coastline restoration efforts and as boiler fuel for factories.