Want to save nature? Buy a live Christmas tree!

So, now I’m going to break your stereotypes and your consciousness. Because I promised to write about this, and so I’m keeping my word.

So, New Year’s Eve is just around the corner. Traditionally, wonderful coniferous trees will appear in apartments and houses around the world: firs, pines… They will delight children and parents with their appearance and aroma, but they will terribly depress “environmentalists,” who already in November began posting nonsense on social media such as “A Christmas tree was born in the forest, let it live there,” “Buy an artificial Christmas tree — save nature,” and the like.

And now I come along and say something completely incomprehensible that no one can wrap their head around: “If you want to save nature, buy a live Christmas tree!” Oh, the horror =)

Actually, until recently, I thought so myself. Then doubts began to creep in… But just a couple of months ago, I was able to form a clear position based on facts. Let me tell you about it.

First, let’s look at what the fears and misconceptions of most people are based on. On the information we were given at school. It sounded something like this: “All trees produce oxygen by absorbing carbon dioxide.” This information is quite justified from the point of view of a 1st to 5th grade student. It explains the basics, on which we, as educated people, have the right to impose a greater amount of information, since the modern world allows us to do so. Do you need to run to the library, or is it enough to look at your smartphone? Each of us has a phone in our pocket that is 1,000 times more powerful than the computer that sent man into space… However, we prefer to use it for cats and porn.

Pornography is a prime example of such superficial knowledge. At school, we all learned the basics from our classmates about “mans, womens, and what they do in bed,” but our knowledge is not limited to that, is it? We develop in this direction, learn about positions and nuances.

The same applies to trees. However, no one has delved deeper into this area of knowledge. I will try to explain it to you in a few words.

So, yes, trees do produce oxygen. But not all trees are the same. The main period of positive oxygen balance occurs during the tree’s growth. In addition, the type of tree, the conditions in which it grows, and the surrounding environment also have an impact. You can even read about this in the regulatory and legal acts that are used in urban greening. But we will come back to this later.

So, oxygen is released during tree growth. Old trees release very little oxygen. Young trees, however, release it very actively while they are growing.

Now here’s a scary secret that most people don’t want to hear: trees for sale aren’t cut down in the forest, they’re grown on special farms. This is not a quick process, so each coniferous tree planted will grow for 6-10 years before it is cut down for sale, producing some oxygen (in reality, not much, but still, it will grow, this tree).

Now, let’s imagine for a second that we all stop buying live Christmas trees for the New Year… Businesses will suffer losses and become unprofitable. And so, while the country loses tax revenue, entrepreneurs and businesses themselves will stop planting and growing these very trees. That’s it, no one is planting tens of thousands of new trees a year anymore, and they don’t grow in 5-10 years. They are gone, they never were, and they never will be. You saved them from coming into existence, congratulations.

Let’s move on. About artificial Christmas trees. They are not made from living trees that grew and helped Mother Nature. No, they are made from artificial materials. Their production involves extracting oil, polluting the seas and oceans, and emitting pollutants into the atmosphere. And that’s not to mention the fact that the material may be unsafe for your family once it’s in your home.

Usually, during a debate, I hear the argument that such a tree lasts a long time. But let’s say you throw it away after five years. A regular tree does not rot in a landfill for hundreds of years; it is successfully used by municipal enterprises and boiler rooms, if they are not beaten to it by more agile private individuals. In other words, it is completely waste-free. But an artificial tree is made of plastic, which, as all environmentalists know, does not decompose. And for another 300 years, your tree will pollute the earth, while the five saved fir trees will not be able to compensate for the difference… This is what I was talking about — some trees release more oxygen, some release less. Poplar, linden, and maple trees are the leaders here… But spruce and pine trees produce such a negligible positive oxygen balance (approximately 1 poplar = 1 hectare of spruce trees), and the lack of foliage does not trap dust, that they are not even included in the State Standards for Greening, and it is not particularly recommended to plant them.

Let us summarize:

1. Buying an artificial Christmas tree causes irreparable damage to nature, which cannot be compensated for by the fir and pine trees saved during this period.
2. Buying a live pine tree does not cause any particular harm to nature.

At the same time, it should be noted that:

1. Despite their relatively passive role in purifying the air and producing oxygen, coniferous trees play other equally important roles in the global ecological system and deserve the same respect as other tree families.
2. Forests are an important part of our planet, and protecting them is our responsibility. Before purchasing wood, you have the legal right and moral obligation to ask the seller for all the necessary permits and confirm the origin of the wood. It must be artificially grown. If you discover poachers, call the police and publicize the case so that the offenders can be punished.

P.S. While I was writing this article, another three train cars worth of coniferous wood were cut down and will be transported from the beautiful Ukrainian Carpathians to Europe, completely legally and without regret. Satellite images show gaps growing. Think about where the real tragedy lies and fight it, rather than phantom ones.

Sincerely yours.

Owner of an artificial Christmas tree.