REPORT
Merry Christmas and Prosperous Mitigation
Published on December 18th, 2015
If you do not want Santa Claus to leave his winter cap at home and start using a t-shirt, it is necessary to halt climate change! In this festive season, Clima@ EduMedia spoke with environmental engineer Filipa Alves, to collect some mitigation suggestions.
Christmas is nowadays synonymous with consumption. During this time of year, grocery and electricity bills skyrocket, not to mention the spending on Christmas decorations and gifts. The economic impact of this consumption trend plus the environmental impact also influence the clime. But ultimately, what can we do to mitigate climate change without changing the traditions we so cherish this time of year?
Let's start with the Christmas tree. Those who prefer a natural tree should choose to keep it in a pot for a few years, and its cut. “Cutting a tree and throwing it into the garbage after Christmas is not a good solution because we withdrew a natural resource, which was retaining carbon dioxide during its natural process of photosynthesis”, says Filipa Alves, member of the work group Energy and Climate Change, of the environmental association Quercus. “Using an artificial pine is an option with less impact on the environment if it is maintained for several years”, she claims.
For decoration, we can take advantage of waste produced at home and make unique ornaments. Here, creativity is the limit. We recommend, for example, magazine and newspaper clippings in the form of small rings or stars, to be used individually or stapled, forming a chain which replaces traditional tapes; or reuse milk cartons to make shapes of angels and stars, with the silver side made visible. For the more daring, why not make a Christmas tree using PET plastic bottles (polyethylene terephthalate), as seen in the picture?
As for the usual illuminations, responsible for an energy expenditure increase, “we must opt for the use of LED lamps that consume less energy than incandescent bulbs”. Turn off the lighting of the tree or porch at night or when nobody is at home, should still be a habit to adopt.
Gifts with a conscience
“The number one criterion for choosing what to offer should be utility”, highlights Filipa Alves. This way, the emission of greenhouse gas effect is avoided in the manufacturing process and transportation of products that have no purpose. Accordingly, the environmentalist suggests the provision of food that is preferred by the recipient. If we are talking about local products so much the better, since the environmental impact associated with transport will be inferior. Wines, liqueurs, olive oil and traditional sweets, are examples of regional delicacies that are much appreciated.
Among the useful alternatives, in the choice of clothing, for example, one must value the ecological origin certification, which ensures a more environmentally sustainable production process.
In the case of small appliances, televisions or computers, whose “electronic components have a great environmental impact, we must be mindful of the European Union Eco-label”. The choice should lie with the equipment with a high class label, that is, that affect less the environment during their entire life cycle.
For the little ones, to receive toys is unquestionable. But “unfortunately, this type of product has no ecological certification”, says the expert sadly. Filipa Alves therefore proposes that didactic toys should be favoured because they answer the question of usefulness, and toys that are made of wood, a material with less impact than plastic.
Concerning the way gifts are wrapped, we can “replace the wrapping paper by using cloth bags or recycled paper, which can then be reused”.
Those who wish to go a step further and make their gift a more direct mitigation measure, can offer a tree. There are already offering packages for this purpose, initiatives offered by several partnerships between environmental groups and public companies.
Comfort without waste
Set a full table, but without excesses, full of national or regional products, some packaged, purchased in local shops and, if possible, of biological origin (produced according to environmentally sustainable practices) is the proposal indicated by the environmental engineer for Christmas and the New Year suppers. We should also “avoid disposable products such as napkins and paper towels, and plastic dishes and cutlery”.
In these days of feast, to maintain a comfortable room temperature, one often resorts to heating systems. Filipa Alves recommends using the fireplace at the expense of other equipment. “The trees have given their contribution in terms of carbon dioxide retention [CO2], so it is considered that the use of wood has a neutral balance in terms of CO2. The carbon that was retained while the tree was alive is released”, she explains.
If the house has no fireplace, it would be ideal to “always choose the system that has an energy label of higher classes, and traditional systems, such as oil heaters, which are the least efficient”. The expert also points out that the heating “should be used only long enough for a comfortable environment."
If Christmas or New Year's Eve is spent away from home, it is important to minimise the emission of gases with greenhouse effect resulting from displacement. If possible, we should opt for public transport or car sharing, for instance, with family or friends who will make the same journey.
Away from home, for example in hotels, holiday homes, restaurants and entertainment venues, frequented this time of year, “the tendency is not to be concerned about spending because we won´t pay the water and electricity invoices”. “We should strive, however, to maintain good practices, because we all pay the environmental bill”, said Filipa Alves.
What is usually left at the end of a party, are bins bursting. Try to reduce to a minimum the production of waste, by using materials and containers that are reusable, saving resources that can be used on other occasions (bows and wrapping paper, for example), and forward what really is garbage for recycling, are practices to adopt during this time of year, and maintain for the rest of the year.
By: Isabel Pereira
Let's start with the Christmas tree. Those who prefer a natural tree should choose to keep it in a pot for a few years, and its cut. “Cutting a tree and throwing it into the garbage after Christmas is not a good solution because we withdrew a natural resource, which was retaining carbon dioxide during its natural process of photosynthesis”, says Filipa Alves, member of the work group Energy and Climate Change, of the environmental association Quercus. “Using an artificial pine is an option with less impact on the environment if it is maintained for several years”, she claims.
For decoration, we can take advantage of waste produced at home and make unique ornaments. Here, creativity is the limit. We recommend, for example, magazine and newspaper clippings in the form of small rings or stars, to be used individually or stapled, forming a chain which replaces traditional tapes; or reuse milk cartons to make shapes of angels and stars, with the silver side made visible. For the more daring, why not make a Christmas tree using PET plastic bottles (polyethylene terephthalate), as seen in the picture?
As for the usual illuminations, responsible for an energy expenditure increase, “we must opt for the use of LED lamps that consume less energy than incandescent bulbs”. Turn off the lighting of the tree or porch at night or when nobody is at home, should still be a habit to adopt.
Gifts with a conscience
“The number one criterion for choosing what to offer should be utility”, highlights Filipa Alves. This way, the emission of greenhouse gas effect is avoided in the manufacturing process and transportation of products that have no purpose. Accordingly, the environmentalist suggests the provision of food that is preferred by the recipient. If we are talking about local products so much the better, since the environmental impact associated with transport will be inferior. Wines, liqueurs, olive oil and traditional sweets, are examples of regional delicacies that are much appreciated.
Among the useful alternatives, in the choice of clothing, for example, one must value the ecological origin certification, which ensures a more environmentally sustainable production process.
In the case of small appliances, televisions or computers, whose “electronic components have a great environmental impact, we must be mindful of the European Union Eco-label”. The choice should lie with the equipment with a high class label, that is, that affect less the environment during their entire life cycle.
For the little ones, to receive toys is unquestionable. But “unfortunately, this type of product has no ecological certification”, says the expert sadly. Filipa Alves therefore proposes that didactic toys should be favoured because they answer the question of usefulness, and toys that are made of wood, a material with less impact than plastic.
Concerning the way gifts are wrapped, we can “replace the wrapping paper by using cloth bags or recycled paper, which can then be reused”.
Those who wish to go a step further and make their gift a more direct mitigation measure, can offer a tree. There are already offering packages for this purpose, initiatives offered by several partnerships between environmental groups and public companies.
Comfort without waste
Set a full table, but without excesses, full of national or regional products, some packaged, purchased in local shops and, if possible, of biological origin (produced according to environmentally sustainable practices) is the proposal indicated by the environmental engineer for Christmas and the New Year suppers. We should also “avoid disposable products such as napkins and paper towels, and plastic dishes and cutlery”.
In these days of feast, to maintain a comfortable room temperature, one often resorts to heating systems. Filipa Alves recommends using the fireplace at the expense of other equipment. “The trees have given their contribution in terms of carbon dioxide retention [CO2], so it is considered that the use of wood has a neutral balance in terms of CO2. The carbon that was retained while the tree was alive is released”, she explains.
If the house has no fireplace, it would be ideal to “always choose the system that has an energy label of higher classes, and traditional systems, such as oil heaters, which are the least efficient”. The expert also points out that the heating “should be used only long enough for a comfortable environment."
If Christmas or New Year's Eve is spent away from home, it is important to minimise the emission of gases with greenhouse effect resulting from displacement. If possible, we should opt for public transport or car sharing, for instance, with family or friends who will make the same journey.
Away from home, for example in hotels, holiday homes, restaurants and entertainment venues, frequented this time of year, “the tendency is not to be concerned about spending because we won´t pay the water and electricity invoices”. “We should strive, however, to maintain good practices, because we all pay the environmental bill”, said Filipa Alves.
What is usually left at the end of a party, are bins bursting. Try to reduce to a minimum the production of waste, by using materials and containers that are reusable, saving resources that can be used on other occasions (bows and wrapping paper, for example), and forward what really is garbage for recycling, are practices to adopt during this time of year, and maintain for the rest of the year.
By: Isabel Pereira