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The tree debate

The traditional German Christmas carol, "O Tannenbaum," has many different translations into English.
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The traditional German Christmas carol, "O Tannenbaum," has many different translations into English. These are the opening lines on several websites although a little digging got me to: "O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree, How lovely are your branches" which is the version that I have always sung.

Whether it is branches or leaves, though, there is no denying the tree is a major player at Christmas.

We spend hours decorating our tree and many more gathered around it, especially on Christmas morning. The smell of a fir or pine tree in the house is intoxicating and instantly brings back childhood memories. As does the symbolism of all the ornaments we place upon it.

One could justifiably claim the raising of the tree is the true start of the Christmas season.

But what type of tree should we raise? The great debate remains between artificial and real trees. Each has its supporters. Each has its detractors.

On the plus side for the real tree is it's natural. It has natural compounds. It produces natural odors. It is recyclable. (Indeed, it is estimated that 93% of all Christmas trees get recycled into mulch.) And it reminds of the great outdoors.

On the plus side for the artificial tree is that it can be used over and over again. Its needles don't fall off. No one is killing a living thing just to put it in their living room for a couple of weeks. And an artificial tree doesn't need fertilizers, pesticides, and all of the other inputs natural trees consume.

It is a pretty heady argument. Indeed, if Charlie Brown's Christmas is to be believed, we should all have nice big shiny aluminum trees to keep with the times. When Charlie Brown brings back a little natural tree, well, it is met with derision. In the end, it turns out to be a pretty good tree after all. It just needed some love.

In any case, the decision between artificial and real tree is perhaps an offshoot of that long standing question: "Paper or Plastic?"

The solution may lie in doing a "Life Cycle Analysis". Done properly, LCAs are a complicated calculation looking at all of the inputs and addressing the long term outputs for various products. In the case of Christmas trees, everything from transportation costs, storage, chemical components, labour, time, and land usage need to be factored in.

The research firm, Ellipsos, has carried out such an analysis and they have come out with a "definitive answer." The real tree emerges victorious.

According to their research, an artificial tree has three times more impact on climate change and resource depletion than a natural tree over a six year lifespan. Further, the recycling of a natural Christmas tree actually contributes to carbon sequestration.

However, there is a proviso in their study. If you keep your artificial tree for more than 20 years or if you have to drive an exceptionally long way to buy a real tree, then over the lifespan of the artificial tree, it would come out ahead.

This is not really that surprising as an artificial tree is a one-time investment in materials and energy costs, whereas each real tree is an ongoing or annual investment. Each artificial tree uses perhaps 20 times the chemical costs compared to a single natural tree but that just means that 20 natural trees over 20 years will outweigh the chemical costs in an artificial tree.

The real question is: "How long do you plan to keep your artificial tree for?"

In environmental terms, if the answer is more than 20 years, it is a good investment. Indeed, with modern materials and manufacturing methods, it is quite possible that some artificial trees will still look decent 20 years from now. The same couldn't have been said 20 years ago!

This isn't all of the science involved in the Christmas tree, though. There is much research being carried out to improve the water release from trees so that they don't dry out as quickly. Presents covered in pine needles are not what anyone wants to see on Christmas morning.

Scientists are also developing tree strains that are less susceptible to root rot. It takes between 6 and 10 years to grow a tree which is a significant investment in time. Losing a crop to disease can be devastating to a plantation.

Scientists are working on tree species with better branch placements, stronger branches so that ornaments don't fall off, and trees that reach maturity faster. There is a lot of science involved in trying to grow the perfect Christmas tree.

All so that we can gather around on a winter's night with family and friends to sing:

O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree,

How lovely are your branches!