EEtthhiiccaall CChhrriissttmmaass??

CChhrriissttmmaass ttrreeeess Britons  decorate  and  throw  away  over  6  million  real   Christmas   trees   during   the   fes8ve   season  which  produces  an  extra  9,000  tonnes  of  waste.    Many   local   councils  provide   services   to   remove  and   recycle   real   trees   for   free.   The   trees   are  then   ground   and   turned   into   *woodchips   to  *mulch  gardens  and  parks.  

*woodchips  –  as8llas  *mulch  -­‐  abonar  

Christmas Cards The   Royal   Mail   delivers   as   many   as   150   million  cards  per  day  in  the  pre  Christmas  *run-­‐up  and  up  to  1  billion  of  those  cards  end  up  in  the  bin.  These   cards   can   take   up   to   30   years   to  decompose.  If   all   these   cards   were   recycled   rather   than  thrown  away,  it  would  help  save  the  equivalent  of  around  248,000  trees.    *run-­‐up  –  vísperas,  período  previo  

Wrapping paper Britain   uses   over   8,000   tonnes   of   wrapping  paper   over   Christmas,   which   produces   over   83  square   km   of   rubbish   –that’s   enough   to   cover  *Guernsey.   You   can   *do   your   bit   by   using  recycled   paper   and   making   sure   you   recycle   it  again  aRer  use.  According   to   Friends   of   the   Earth  an   addi8onal  125,000  tonnes  of  plas8c  packaging  are  thrown  away  over  Christmas..      *Guernsey  –  dependencia  de  la  corona  británica  ubicada  en  el  Canal  de  la  Mancha,  al  oeste  de  las  costas  de  Normandía.  *do  your  bit  –  poner  tu  granito  de  arena  

Alternative gifts In  Britain,  we  create  3  million  tonnes  of  waste  in  the  fes8ve  season  alone.  Consider  alterna8ve  giRs  that  require  liWle  or  no  packaging  such  as  *vouchers.  Or  giRs   that  help  sustain  the  environment  such  as  plan8ng  a  tree  or  sponsorship  of  an  animal.  

*voucher  –  cupón,  vale  

Food waste Around  16.5  million  turkeys  are  bought  every  year,  which   is   equivalent   to   one   turkey   for   every   three  people   in   the   whole   of   the   UK.   *Roughly   4,200  tonnes   of   *aluminium   foil   are   thrown   away   each  Christmas.  The   *average   family   wastes   around   a   third   of   the  food   they   buy   at   Christmas.   Plan   menus   carefully  and   put   any   vegetable   *le;overs   in   the   compost  bin.  *roughly  –  more  or  less  *aluminium  foil  –  papel  de  aluminio  *average  –  media,  estándar  *leRovers  –  sobras,  restos  

CCoo22 The   average   Briton   watches   thirty   hours   of  television   during   Christmas   week,   using   61.5  million   KWh   of   energy   and   genera8ng   over  28,000  tonnes  of  CO2,  which  is  enough  to  fill  the  Royal  Albert  Hall  155  8mes!  

Christmas lights Indoor   fairy   lights   don’t   require   much   energy  therefore   they   don’t   create   much   carbon  dioxide.  If   you’re   keen   to   cut   your   energy   consump8on  you   could   swap   your   ordinary   light   bulbs   for  energy   saving   ones.   Energy   saving   light   bulbs  last  roughly  12  8mes  as   long  and  use  a  frac8on  of  the  energy  of  ordinary  bulbs.  

Discussion questions Rules  You   mustn’t   use   any   of   the   following   words   or  expressions:  •  Yes  •  No  •  I  don’t  know  •  Nice  •  Maybe    

1.  Do  you  decorate  your  house  with  a  real  Christmas  tree?  

2.  If  so,  what  do  you  do  with  it  aRer  Christmas  season?  3.  Do  you  eat  a  turkey  dinner  for  your  Christmas  dinner?  4.  If  not,  what  do  you  eat?  5.  What  do  you  do  with  the  leRovers?  6.  Do  you  write  Christmas  cards?  7.  Do  you  receive  Christmas  cards?  8.  If  so,  what  do  you  do  with  them?  9.  What  kind  of  presents  do  you  buy?  

10.  Do  you  give  something  to  homeless  people?  11.  Do  you  donate  something  to  chari8es?  12.  If  you  could  change  something  about  Christmas  8me,  

what  would  it  be?  13.  Do  you  ever  think  about  the  real  meaning  of  Christmas?  14.  Do  you  wrap  presents?    15.  If  so,  how  do  yoy  wrap  them?  16. What  do  you  do  with  the  wrapping  paper  aRer  opening  

presents?  17.  Can  you  think  of  any  alterna8ve  presents?  18.  How  do  you  enjoy  during  Christmas  holidays?    

Final task  

Write  a  resolu8on  to  live  Christmas  more  ethically.  

List  of  references:  •  hWp://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/galleries/

ethicalxmas  •  hWp://iteslj.org/ques8ons/christmas.html