While we all had a good social media-inspired laugh at the scrawny 45-foot-tall Norway spruce holiday tree being erected at Manhattan’s Rockefeller Plaza and are eagerly anticipating the arrival of the 18-foot Oregon fraser fir to grace the first family’s White House, your readers may spare a thought for the approximately 50 pounds lost in carbon sequestration that these two trees represent.

It is noteworthy that approximately 30 million coniferous trees are sacrificed annually in the U.S. for holiday decoration. Many of these trees not grown for the purpose may have become mature carbon scavengers. As covid-19’s rampage makes us rethink our personal holiday plans, let us also think more green.

Peter J. Counihan

North Fayette

Copyright ©2025— Trib Total Media, LLC (TribLIVE.com)