Lighted Christmas displays are one of many traditions of the holiday season. Store windows, Christmas trees, homes and light posts transform into colorful collections of dazzling color. While stunning, they pose both a risk and an opportunity for going green.
Christmas lights carry some environmental baggage that can’t be denied. There is the electricity factor. Whether you use 500 LED lights or the mini lights, you’re going to tap anywhere between 9 to 36 kWh of energy during the holiday season, based on keeping the lights on for six hours each day.
In the days where you may be trying to reduce your carbon footprint, skipping the lights may be a green option. If the electricity isn’t enough to convince you, perhaps the other side of lighted displays may illuminate some facts.
Artificial lighting at night can adversely affect both plants and animals. Flora and fauna depend upon the photoperiod or the duration of light exposure to trigger physiological changes, such as mating, shedding or hibernation. Lights can confuse animals by altering their daylight. Plants may also be impacted for the same reason.
Lighting that carries negative effects such as these is referred to as light pollution. The impacts are not confined to plants and animals. Artificial light can alter your normal circadian rhythms. This can lead to a host of human health issues because it alters brain activity and hormone production. It also can have more serious consequences.
A study by the University of Haifa in Israel, published in the January 2008 issue of Chronobiology International, found a positive association between artificial night lighting and breast cancer. Several mechanisms may explain these effects, including melatonin production and “clock” genes or those involved with circadian rhythms.
Christmas is still Christmas if you skip the lights and go for natural decorations like evergreen boughs. If you can’t forgo the Christmas lights, you can take some measures to make your holiday a little more green.
- Limit the time your lights are on.
- Use a timer so you won’t forget to turn off the lights.
- Invest in LED lights or wait until the post-holiday sales to stock up.
