Are+real+or+artificial+Christmas+trees+better+for+the+environment?

Are real or artificial Christmas trees better for the environment?

The Los Angeles Times December 14, 2017 Accessed December 14, 2017
 * Are real or artificial Christmas trees better for the environment?**

Jose Gill, 23, left, and Jorge Adrian, 27, work at the Barr Evergreens Christmas tree farm in Crumpler, N.C. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) @http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-real-or-artificial-christmas-trees-environmental-impact-20171214-story.html

The American Christmas Tree Association commissioned a study of the lifetime environmental impact of both real and artificial Christmas trees. Christmas trees (Monterey pine - grown in California) are a bit less water intensive than fruit trees, as compared in the article. To manufacture artificial Christmas trees, PVC plastic, steel, and aluminum, plus cardboard for packaging and additional resources to ship the trees from Asia, where most are made due to cheap labor, is required for the whole process. The American Christmas Tree Association's 2017 Christmas tree survey, which was conducted by Nielsen, found that 81% of Americans have artificial trees, and 19% have real Christmas trees. The conclusion was that with either Christmas tree, the environmental impact is not particularly significant in the grand scheme of things.
 * Summary:**

This is clearly related to what we have been studying in AP Environmental Science as it relates to the topic of environmental stewardship and the role we humans have in the grand scheme of things as a whole (Miller 799-801). Additionally, by looking at the environmental impacts of different materials we humans put in our atmosphere, this source looks at the sustainability and long-term results of this human action by utilizing the sample of Christmas trees in the study conducted.
 * Relation to Class: **

Reading this article brought to light for me the importance of different decisions we, as humans, make on a day to day basis and how these different decisions that we make may influence not only our environment of the present, but also have long-term impacts on the environment of the future. Reading about the simple question about whether real or artificial trees had less of a negative environmental impact allowed me to realize that we need to find different solutions to the environmental problems that face us as a society that may risk having consequences on our environment as a whole.
 * Opinion: **

A law which relates closely to this article is the National Forest Management Act of 1976, which intends to regulate the cutting and deforestation of different forests, which may all in all help control the harmful effects of cutting down Christmas trees for sale during the winter and holiday season.
 * Law: **