christmas is hurting environment

[fromdust]

noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!! we must stop christmas now! oops, i meant this holiday. we must stop this holiday. wait that means holy day. we must stop this federal winter day off. this federal winter day off is killing the environment.

Sydney - Christmas is damaging the environment, says a new report by the Australian Conservation Foundation.

The report titled The Hidden Cost Of Christmas calculated the environmental impact of spending on books, clothes, alcohol, electrical appliances and lollies during the festive season.

Every dollar Australians spend on new clothes as gifts consumes 20 litres of water and requires 3,4 square metres of land in the manufacturing process, it said.

Last Christmas, Australians spent AUS$1,5-billion (about R8-million) on clothes, which required more than half a million hectares of land to produce, it said.

'We can all tread more lightly on the earth this Christmas'
Water that would approximately fill 42 000 Olympic-sized swimming pools was used in the production of Christmas drinks last December - most was used to grow barley for beer and grapes for wine.

"If your bank account is straining under the pressure of Christmas shopping, spare a thought for our environment," Don Henry, the foundation's executive director, said in a statement.

"It's paying for our Christmas presents with water, land, air and resources. These costs are hidden in the products we buy."

The report said that gifts like DVD players and coffee makers generated 780 000 tons of greenhouse pollution, even before they were unwrapped and used. A third was due to fuel consumption during production.

Even a box of AUS$30 chocolates or lollies this Christmas, will consume 20kg of natural materials and 940 litres of water.

"We can all tread more lightly on the earth this Christmas by eating, drinking and giving gifts in moderation, and by giving gifts with a low environmental cost, such as vouchers for services, tickets to entertainment, memberships to gyms, museums or sports clubs, and donations to charities," said Henry.

[Randy]

Not only is it hurting the environment, it is hurting my wallet.

[windowphobe]

And what's more, all these people exhale carbon dioxide, which is a greenhouse gas. Obviously all humans must be exterminated at once, for the protection of the earth.

[Jay]

Do not forget all that excess methane produced from all the cheap beer, egg nog and holiday specialty food consumed at Christmas gatherings. That has to be depleting the ozone, singeing nose hairs and damaging olfactory nerves.