Maggie: even if it's Christmas, we can still be environmentally-conscious

I found this in one of the FAWCO bulletins, and thought AWG members might enjoy it.

Holiday Food

One aspect of American holidays is the traditional food, and that may be hard to find in Timbuktu, Bangkok or Lima. Resist, if you can, the urge to buy imported items like turkeys and mincemeat, both of which have racked up their own CO2 emissions in getting to you. The WWF in Switzerland has done a number of studies comparing the energy expended when a fruit or vegetable is grown locally compared to one that is imported. A ratio of 15 to 1 is not uncommon for veggies that have crossed the Atlantic - "veggies with jet lag", as my fellow eco-writer Ann Zulliger calls them. Consider local and seasonal substitutes that are close to the mark. Want a bird for dinner? If you are in Eastern Europe, for example, how about a goose? Request recipes from new-found friends or Google "international recipes", where you will find dozens of websites. Balance this concentration on the new with traditions like Christmas-cookie making, particularly as this usually involves togetherness with the little cookie lovers in the family.

In fact, the whole Environment Bulletin is usually full of interesting information.  Here’s another example:

There are probably a million websites devoted to do-it-yourself projects; get the most IT - savvy family member to trawl the Internet. Don't forget those helpful YouTube videos with how-to instructions for nearly every aspect of every handcraft. And while we are on the subject of material gifts,  let's look at wrappings other than 

the traditional seasonal paper and ribbon. How about newspaper tied with red yarn? The comics? Cloth scraps left from sewing projects? The point here is not to compare the environmental cost of manufacturing ribbons and yarn, it is to recycle what you have rather than buying, buying, buying.

You can subscribe to it via the FAWCO website.

Once again, happy holidays to all.

      -maggie