The Environmental News Network, Monday, December 18, 2000. The holidays are upon us, blood pressures are rising and trash bins are already overflowing with 5 to 7 million tons of extra garbage produced in the five weeks between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day. All the extra trash is a fraction of the environmental impact of our annual holiday buying binge. The damage ranges from unsustainable resource consumption to greenhouse gas emissions to toxic byproducts to sky-high energy use. A recent survey found that 84 percent of Americans want a less materialistic holiday and a greater emphasis on things that money can't buy.
People hate the commercialization of the holidays.
We've done the survey for the past four years, and the results are fairly consistent. Americans will send 750 million greeting cards this season. We've designed our web site to help people make that transition by offering ideas and tools, including a 14-page downloadable brochure. And the things that matter to most people these days are time, attention, memories and joy. And it's tough to get off when you're deep in debt and moving too fast to consider alternatives.