What's better: Artificial or Natural Christmas Trees? 🎄

I know some people who don't use Christmas trees, but personally I can't think of Christmas without a tree! Every year, we get a natural one (which smells lovely, but drops all its needles everywhere😂) and I always thought they were better for the environment than artificial ones because of the plastic and everything, but only this year did I actually wonder if they are. So, I've come up with pros and cons for each.

Natural Christmas Trees

Not only is it super fun to pick out your own unique tree that fits you, it brings a lovely, real feeling. It is good to know that three quarters of the Christmas trees used in the UK are grown here anyway, which reduces the transportation, so - if buying a real tree - it would be good to make sure to see if it is grown close to where you live. You may be thinking: 'but we're cutting down loads of trees just for decoration', but actually the trees are grown especially for this use, and most farmers plant new ones in place of the ones they cut down.  However, the farms only ever grow one thing, Christmas trees, every year (known as monocropping) which then weakens the earth and soil it is growing in. This then forces the famers to use chemicals to help the growth, and this obviously is bad (environmentally - killing insects - and socially - it is thought to harm human health). So, to make this better, you should see if you can buy organic trees, which are the most sustainable. 

Artificial Christmas Trees

When you think about it, these are much cheaper, especially if you reuse them every year. Some say that keeping one for years can be even more environmentally friendly than natural trees, but this is just an urban myth. Although artificial trees can be re-used, most of the other things about them are bad. Most are made of a plastic called PVC (Polyvinyl chloride), which is made of fossil fuels - and around two thirds of the carbon footprint of these trees comes from the plastic it is made from. It is estimated that a two metre artificial tree has the average carbon footprint of 40kg CO2e (a natural tree will have about 16kg, more than half). Then there is the problem of disposing of them. Yes, PVC can be recycled, but the other materials in artificial trees cannot, and so it's a problem of how they are disposed. 

You can probably tell from my pros and cons which tree is better. If you don't have an artificial tree, I'd say go for the most sustainable natural one you can find (one that was grown in the UK, maybe).

Thank you for reading! I can now say it has officially been a year since I wrote my introduction for this blog, so, yay! You can read it here if you like🙂. See you next Sunday!

Violet

         xxx

What is the World doing to help the Future?🌍

I've heard that climate change and global warming will be irreversible by 2030. I don't know if it's true, but it's something that makes my mind whirl. So, I thought I'd look around and see what the world is doing to reduce climate change, mass-extinction and more. 

In the United Kingdom, we are hoping to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 80% at least by 2050 (this was said during the Climate Change Act in 2008). The Government are also hoping that, after 2030, no one will produce any more diesel or petrol cars and so electric cars will be what we use - and I think they've moved it to a decade earlier for more action. Boris Johnson also has the 10 point plan, which is hoping to make some things better - including: public transport, cycling and walking; nature; homes and public buildings; and electric vehicles. With nature, we're hoping to plant 30,000 hectares of trees a year, and with public transport they are hoping to invest in having public transport with zero emissions.

I don't live in the USA, but from what I have heard and seen, here's some of what they are doing: California set goals to be carbon neutral by 2025, Nevada wants the amount of energy taken from renewable sources to increase by 50%, Colorado have launched a 'Green Bank' that will pay for clean energy projects and 5.3 million homes in Texas can be powered by wind. 

In China, they have taken steps to coal-fired power plants (which are burning fossil fuels), and are reducing emission levels. China is also paying a very big amount of money on wind and solar power. And in Australia, I believe they have invested billions of dollars into renewable energy.

Yes, I have only done around 4(ish) countries out of 197 (I think), but I couldn't do them all! But thank you for reading, and I believe next week will be a one-year-anniversary - since I started on the 29th November 2019. I will see you next week!

Violet

         xxx

Clear outs before Christmas!📤

Before my birthday and before Christmas, I usually have a clear out of all the things that I don't need anymore, or I'm too old for. This is so that that my room doesn't get messy and full of things I don't really need. It also helps decrease stress levels and might help you appreciate the things you have.  

We need to avoid adding more to landfill, so where can you take your things when you're decluttering?

1. Charity Shops. This is where my family always go when we declutter, and they are brilliant places because they will recycle your things by allowing others to enjoy them.
2. There are some shops, such as H&M, who take old clothing (any brand, any type) and recycle them at the nearest recycling plant. Some are even made into new clothes!
3. There are some sites on social media, where you can show what you would like to give away or sell, and then anyone can come and collect them from your home. 
4. For books, you could see if your local library is collecting donations of books. If they are, you can send your books there and if they're not - you could usually take them to a charity shop too.

Not only can decluttering reduce your stress levels and give you more space, it is good for the environment because you would be allowing others to recycle and enjoy your old things, instead of them buying something completely new.  However, after reading this interview, I have found out that after so many people have been donating clothes, there is now too much to recycle or give to more people. This means they are shipped around the world, which then means they are increasing carbon emissions which you know isn't good. 

So, yes, decluttering is a good thing to do - but there's even more you can do in the first place: don't buy as much! You may think that after having a clear out, you need to fill up the empty spaces again, which you definitely don't. Enjoy what you have!

This is my 52nd post, so it technically means it's been a year since my first ever post!😀 (However, I did start on the 29th November, so I think next week will be an official year.) Thank you so much for anyone who's been reading the whole year, and I hope to see you next week!

Violet

         xxx

Carbon Footprints!👣

What is a carbon footprint? Well, it's the total number of greenhouse gasses that we are creating by our actions. There are loads of causes for carbon emissions, including: transportation - in 2016, 28.5% of greenhouse gas emissions were from transportation - , generating electricity, agriculture (this is farming, growing crops and livestock for food and other products) and industrial things, where they're burning fossil fuels. 

To find your carbon footprint, you could take this questionnaire: https://footprint.wwf.org.uk/#/, which is from WWF. If you are a child, you may need to ask your parents to answer some of the questions (like how you heat up your house, and what type of boiler you have). 

How to reduce your carbon footprint: 

(These are things I have mentioned and talked about in my past blogs)

• Drive less. You could tell yourself that if the walk is less than half an hour, then you should walk. You could also cycle, or go on public transport. And if you want to go even further, you can buy an electric car, since they emit less greenhouse gasses.
• Eat less meat. I said this a few weeks ago, in my Being Vegetarian, Vegan or Pescatarian blog. A vegan diet would be the best, since if you replace red meat (or beef, which gives off more than six pounds of carbon dioxide per serving) with dairy, your carbon footprint might just stay the same. 
• Waste less. Make sure you don't make to much of a meal if it means you won't eat it all. Just adapt your recipe to fit the amount you need. Of course, you could eat the leftovers the next day or - if you're able to - freeze it until later. 
• Recycle. Just recycle or reuse anything you can! Look to see what your neighbourhood recycles and what they don't, since different councils may recycle different things

Thank you for reading, see you next week!

Violet

          xxx

Compost!

Composting is really good for the environment. It's a brilliant type of recycling, since you take biodegradable things and break them down, then you can use that for soil. Putting compost over your existing soil adds nutrients to it, which is used by the plants to help them grow. 

It is also good for the environment because you're making sure you're not using and relying on factory-made fertilizers and chemicals to make nice soil - and the process of composting is aerobic and uses natural things such as fungi, insects and worms to decompose the waste inside, so is not using any chemicals.

You'll need a garden to compost - and then it depends how big it is. If you have a big garden, you could use a compost heap; but your heap always needs to be in direct contact to the ground, so that insects and worms can reach it. However, you may think this looks 'ugly', or you may have pets that might go looking for scraps in the heap, so instead you could use a compost bin. With these, it would be better to have a large opening at the top to make sure you can mix the insides with a garden fork, and that the air can come in.

Here are some things that can be composted in your garden:

• Fruit and vegetable clippings
• Tea bags and coffee grounds
• Leaves, grass clippings
• Plants that don't have diseases
• Crushed egg shells

And things that can't be composted at home:

• Leftover meat, fish or cheese
• Walnut or hazelnut shells
• Plastic, glass or metal
• Wood chips which have chemicals in them
• Diseased plants 

Your council may have a green bin collection service and if they do, you can use that.  You will probably be able to put a lot more food and garden waste in their green bin than you can in a home composter but you won't create your own compost for your garden.  This is great for people who don't have a garden, or don't want to have a compost bin.  

Thank you for reading my blog this week! I was going to do a Halloween inspired one, but it was yesterday and I forgot to do one last week... So that'll be for next year then! See you next week!

Violet

        xxx