leave that tree alone

January 12, 2008

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Tonight Buddy and I roamed the streets of our town. He is an Airedale terrier and loves to be vigilant. Unfortunately his eyesight is not keen and he will often mistake something like a fire hydrant for a possible attacker.

Along our route were many discarded Christmas trees abandoned at curbside. Perceiving them as critters, Buddy would pitch forward on the leash at each sighting. It made these sad encounters refreshingly comical.

I could not help but reflect on all the resources we put into these trees: the time, land, labor, fertilizer, pesticide, herbicide, shipping, selling, buying, decorating, stripping, tossing, and disposing. Over 100 million of these trees are harvested worldwide each year. It seems a waste.