Why should I be aware of this? Christmas is a season of giving.
It draws out the best in people each year. But, all this comes
at a steep cost to the environment: tons of extra garbage,
millions of chopped-down trees, and megawatts of flashing
lights. With a little effort, everything from holiday gift-
giving to light-stringing can be enjoyed with lower carbon
footprint. How does this affect me? Merry Christmas around the
world - In December 2004, Australians spent $612 million on
books and magazines. The production of these products created
approximately 430,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases – the
equivalent of a year’s pollution from 85,000 cars. Book and
magazine purchases also consumed 416,100 tonnes of materials (eg
waste paper, ink cartridges, packaging), and more than 40,000
hectares of land was disturbed. This includes plantations,
regrowth native forests and old growth forests in Australia and
overseas. This is the equivalent of over 5,000 MCGs. - If you
spend $30 on confectionary this Christmas, you wil