This Christmas: Real tree, fake tree, live tree or no tree?

You might think an environmental blog would come to the defense of all those helpless trees grown only to be chopped down, strapped to a minivan and then strangled with Christmas lights.

But chopping down a tree isn’t the end of the world – especially when a new one will in all likelihood take its place. After all, we’re going to need to plant 73 million more in preparation for Christmas 2018.

Now let’s make some comparisons:

Real tree vs. fake tree: Contrary to popular belief, plastic trees don’t have a limitless lifespan. In fact, most are thrown away after less than a decade. So there’s three problems with plastic trees. It takes synthetic substances to make them, it takes a lot of energy to ship them here from Asian producers and they’re likely to end up in a dump some day. Real trees, on the other hand, are 100 percent organic.

Real tree vs. live tree: A relatively new phenomenon, live trees are just more hassle than they’re worth. They have to stay outside nearly all Christmas, and even when handled with care have a very poor chance of living until next winter. While tree farmers already have 5-foot tall trees spurting up for next year, live trees are likely to stay small and end tragically. In my mind, it’s better to buy some legitimate houseplants to green up your living space.

Real tree vs. no tree: So few children – and adults, for that matter – spend enough time among nature. We forget what it looks like, what it smells like. Bringing a tree into a household brings some of those senses to life, especially if you take the time to visit a tree farm yourself.

If you take my advise and get a real tree, environmentally friendly families may also want to think about trying to find a local Christmas tree farm and one that avoids the use of pesticides.