Green Christmas
 BY GLEN HOOKS SPECIAL TO THE DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

As a time for giving, the holidays are the perfect opportunity to give back to the planet.

Making sure you’re doing your part to help the environment goes hand-in-hand with many of the holiday traditions we’ve come to love. Most of the world’s major religious faiths contain specific calls to stewardship of the Earth and, as we celebrate the season, we can easily honor those calls to stewardship.

Here are a few ways to make this December greener without scrimping on the holiday spirit. One easy thing to do is to brighten the holidays this year with energy-efficient LED holiday lights. Not only will you have the best-lit house on the block, you’ll save money, too.

 LEDs-the letters stand for Light-Emitting Diode-consume 90 percent less energy than the traditional incandescent mini-lights, which can shave off as much as $50 from your monthly electricity bill. With the money you’ll save on lighting, you can spread your love for the planet to friends and family with environmentally conscious gifts.

There are green gifts galore that are truly one of a kind. Many imaginative artists have given stuff headed for the landfill a second life by creating works of art from recycled materials.

Wrap your green gift in enviro-friendly wrapping paper. Most mass-produced wrapping paper is not recyclable and ends up in a landfill. Making your own is not only an opportunity to reduce waste, it’s also a chance to give your gifts the personal touch that the holidays are all about. Kids will be delighted by toys that come wrapped in the comics section of the newspaper, and Grandma’s heart will melt when she gets a present covered in her grandchildren’s artwork. A little creativity goes a long way: If every family wrapped just three of their gifts this way, it would save enough paper to cover 45,000 football fields!

Another step is to bring the green holiday spirit to your table with organic and local foods. Your holiday feast can help support family farmers who grow sustainable meat and produce. Most foods one finds in the supermarkets travel thousands of miles before reaching your dinner table, trips that decrease freshness and increase pollution. Buying locally helps Arkansas farmers and lessens the amount of greenhouse gases released into the environment. Not only will your holiday ham be better for you and taste better, but you’ll be doing your part for the planet, too.

If you don’t want pesticides in your food, you probably don’t want pesticides on your tree, either. Your boughs could be decked with over 40 different pesticides and chemical colorants. Fortunately, many tree-farms are going pesticide-free. Ask your local tree seller about this.

After all the eggnog is gone and the presents are opened, don’t let your tree be one of the 10 million sent to landfills every year when it could be put to better use. Most cities have tree-recycling programs, many of which offer curbside pickup, that convert your retired holiday centerpiece into mulch or wood chips.

Finally, when it’s time to start making your annual New Year’s resolutions, consider resolving to make 2007 the year where your family reduces its “carbon footprint” on the Earth. Any family can take simple steps toward a healthier environment by recycling its waste and reducing its energy consumption. 2007 can be the year where your family resolves to “reduce, reuse and recycle.” Your lifestyle doesn’t have to change dramatically. Every small step makes a difference.

Incorporating these simple tips into our holiday traditions is the best gift that we can give to the planet and to each other. Make your holiday season one of peace, love, family and mindfulness. For more ways to make this year’s holidays green, visit www.sierraclub.org/holidays.

•-–––––•–––––-Glen Hooks of Little Rock is an associate regional representative for the Sierra Club, the nation’s oldest and largest grass-roots environmental group.