In Rockefeller Center, one of the most famous public spaces in New York City, there is a nearly seventy-five-foot tall Christmas tree. Every year, they cut down a tree, transport it to Rockefeller Plaza, and decorate it with tens of thousands of lights.
And every year, people flock from all over the world to see it. But should we be cutting down healthy, young trees for Christmas? Here’s why we should ban cutting down Christmas trees.
by David Stone
The Roosevelt Island Daily News
Rockefeller Center is one of the most iconic places in New York City during Christmastime
Christmas in New York City wouldn’t be complete without Rockefeller Center. This iconic landmark is renowned for its Christmas display. And the highlight of it all is the city’s largest Christmas tree.
Every Christmas, workers adorn the grand fir with over 30,000 Christmas lights – a veritable Hollywood moment, but in the heart of New York City!
All these Christmas spirit-inducing displays light up Rockefeller Center and honor a cherished tradition. It makes you proud to be a New Yorker, but maybe it shouldn’t.
The tree is cut down each year and then put on display
Every year, the famous Christmas tree disappears forever from a nearby homeowner’s land, sometimes from the front yard, grown tall and straight.
The tree is breathtaking, with its sheer size and and natural beauty. That’s lost forever, and even its remains are on display for just a few weeks.
A hundred years of healthy, environmentally enhancing growth is reduced to wood chips.
While Rockefeller Center management compensates with promises of new tree plantings, shouldn’t they be doing that anyway? Does a quid pro quo for killing one of nature’s gifts make any kind of sense?
This process harms the environment
Decorating a real Christmas tree is one of the most treasured holiday traditions, but what many people don’t realize is that it’s harmful.
Not only does it remove an environmentally enhanciing life, but even transporting a real tree from its original place takes away energy and resources which could be better used elsewhere.
Other environmentally friendly options available
Reducing the energy and resources required for Christmas trees is an important part of environmentally friendly living.
While using a living tree every year is traditional, other options such as artificial trees or even a living tree serves just as well.
Environmentally friendly alternatives not only provide a greener choice, but they are less expensive in the long run too.
Making environmentally friendly choices at Christmas ensures the smallest possible impact on our plane.
Being mindful of the impact on the environment
The consciousness of environmental impact has become increasingly necessary in many facets of life.
Considering ecological repercussions, no matter how small, shows reverence for natures now-threatened gifts.
Being mindful of the role our everyday decisions play in either harming or preserving the planet helps keep us safe for generations to come.
We are at a pivotal moment; let’s work together to protect this Earth and keep its resources available for future generations!
Celebrate Christmas but save the trees
Rockefeller Center is one of the most iconic places in New York City during Christmastime – and it’s also home to one of the most loved Christmas trees. But a tree must be cut down each year, hauled to Rockefeller Center and put on display.
Doing so is unnecessarily harmful to the environment. It ends a healthy, young life and takes a lot of energy and resources. Other options are more environmentally friendly, like artificial trees or even living trees that can be replanted after Christmas.
Whatever option you choose, make sure you’re being mindful of the impact on the environment – we need to take care of our planet.
I Take the Tram Because I Have To
There are people on this Island you learn to recognize long before you ever learn their names. Like the real estate man with the blue goatee, the one whose name I keep forgetting, though I could pick him out of a lineup any time of day.
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