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I said in the previous article about wrapping Christmas presents that so many of us spend all year saving energy and thinking green, then blow all the hard work away through about 3 / 4 weeks over the Christmas and New Year celebrations.

Just about the worst effect on the carbon footprint is Christmas lighting, both in the home and in the High Street where much caution is blown to the wind.

Last year, Regent Street was ablaze with 260,000 light bulbs. Although the Authorities and those responsible claimed they were saving between 50% and 80% over the previous year (from three sources) by using LED bulbs, it was still using enough energy to sustain 250 trees for 100 years – incredible! Times that by all the other Towns and Cities around the Country and the rest of the World, the result is quite frightening!

It’s when you think of how many light bulbs you may have turned on for ‘X’ amount of hours a day, you can start to work it out. Let’s say we burn 5 Bulbs on average for each day for an average of 7 hours per day during the year. Then compare this with 250,000 turned on 24 hours a day (yes, even if it’s sunny) for 5 weeks.

As far as the Home goes, LED Christmas Lights are now available and these can save up to 6 times less to run than the old type. I learn from a Government Website if every Household in the Country switched to LED lighting, it would equate to taking 70,000 cars off our roads.

The hypocrisy to me seems to be that Officialdom tells us to save energy, reduce our carbon footprint etc. then stands by and allows our Councils and Retail Outlets to do whatever they wish, the cost of which is charged out to us through Taxes or built within the price of the products we buy.
Asked by the Liberal Democrats as to why this was allowed, one source from a Retailing Centre said “Christmas Lights enhance the Christmas experience, all making for a good environment in which to shop”.

I rather liked the word ‘environment’ put in there – one day maybe we’ll not have one !

I seriously don’t feel ‘bah humbug’ over this. I’m sure that most of us, regardless of age, don’t want our Children and their’s and their’s to know that although we knew what was happening to our Planet, we did nothing about it.

Unfortunately, it appears, like charity, that thing’s begin at home, but it really should be the other way round. Those in control and with authority should be the one’s leading the way, championing and flying the flag.

We must save energy and lighting and Christmas time is a good time to look at this right in the face.

Bring back the Holly, the expectations, the hope and the peace, the gifts from the heart and not from the wallet and maybe we’re on our way?

Less than two weeks after Christmas Day, we wake up to a cold damp January day, switch on the TV to find that after all the talk of peace, love, the glitter and glamour, things are pretty much the same as before and the lights go back in the box.

But maybe the restpite does us good ?