Chopping Spree
Science World, Dec 11, 2000 by Christy Brownlee
Each holiday season more than 36 million pine trees are chopped down in the U.S.--enough to blanket the state of Rhode Island! That may sound like a raw deal, but the tradition actually helps the environment, claims tree expert Craig McKinley at Michigan State University. "Trees grown for Christmas provide homes for wildlife and keep soil healthy," he says. "Plus, they're a renewable resource--unlike artificial trees, we can grow new real trees every year."
Each harvested tree is replaced by two to three seedlings. This year alone, 56 million new trees will be planted on tree farms across the country, where 98 percent of Christmas trees are grown. More than just ornament stands, trees help remove dust and pollen from the air, give off life-sustaining oxygen, and can be recycled into fertilizer or used to fuel wood-burning fireplaces.
What happens to Christmas trees after the holidays? Fifty-nine percent are recycled, says the National Christmas Tree Association. Want to recycle a holiday tree? Check out: www.realchristmastrees.org/ enviro.html, or call your local recycling center to learn more.
- 5 Rules for Immediate Annuities
- Death in the Family: 12 Things to Do Now
- Dumbest Things You Do With Your Money
- 6 Online Networking Mistakes to Avoid
- 401(k) Mistakes to Avoid
- 5 Economic Scenarios to Keep You Up at Night
- The Real ‘Best Places to Retire’
- Best Credit Cards for You
- 12 Tough Questions to Ask Your Parents
- The Real ‘Best Colleges’
- Home Buyer Tax Credit: How to Cash In
- Why You Shouldn't Bash Cash
- 8 Phony 'Bargains' and Better Alternatives
- Danger: 3 Debit Card Scams to Avoid
- 6 Myths About Gas Mileage
- 29 Fees We Hate Most
- Quick and Easy Ways to Boost Returns
- Best Stocks to Buy Now
- Lower Your Taxes: 10 Moves to Make Now
- New Jobs: 8 Lessons from Real-Life Career Switchers
- The New Job Market: Who Wins and Who Loses?
- Health Care Reform's Public Option: Everything You Need to Know
- Volunteer Work When Unemployed: Should You Work for Free?
- Whose Recovery Is This?
- Long-Term-Care Insurance: 4 Biggest Risks to Avoid
Content provided in partnership with
Most Recent Reference Articles
- A Maryland state trooper gave Erik Bonstrom an $80 ticket for driving too slowly
- In California, postal worker Dean Hudson has been found guilty
- Alec Loorz, the 15-year-old founder of Kids vs. Global Warming and recent Brower Youth Award recipient, went to Congress in November for a press conference with Senators Barbara Boxer and John Kerry, who are championing legislation to stabilize US greenho
- Foreign exchange
- The buzz on bees
Most Recent Reference Publications
Most Popular Reference Articles
- Credit card debt on college campuses: causes, consequences, and solutions
- 9 questions to ask your new lover: what you were afraid to ask, but always wanted to know
- How Tyler Perry rose from homelessness to a $5 million mansion
- Rejoice anyway - Zephaniah 3:14-20, Philippians 4:4-7 - Living by the Word - Column
- Living by the word


