Going “green” has never been so festive as in westernmost Canada where two start-ups are offering an eco-friendly Christmas tree rental service for the holiday period.
For about C$100, Evergrow Christmas Trees and Carbonsync Christmas will drop off a potted tree at your home or business and pick it up three weeks later after all the presents have been opened and Santa has parked his sleigh.
Carbonsync plans to donate its trees to habitat restoration groups for replanting after Christmas, while Evergrow says it will return them to a nursery to be cared for until next Christmas when they may be rented out again.
It’s a far cry from what usually goes on. Trees normally cost four times less on average, but are usually turned into mulch or sent to garbage dumps after the holidays in most North American cities.
“What (folks) are doing now is they’re growing these hordes of trees everywhere in the Fraser Valley to ship to Vancouver,” Brad Major of Carbonsync Christmas told public broadcaster CBC.
“These trees grow anywhere from six to 12 years to be used for one Christmas, and all these trees go to the landfill, and it’s this huge pile of trees,” he said. “It’s like the biggest waste of a resource.”
The Canadian firms’ trees will also continue to draw CO2 from the atmosphere, doing their bit to help curb global warming instead of ending up as waste.
And if a family wishes, they may even rent the same tree year after year from Evergrow, as long as it has not grown too large to fit in their living room.
(AFP)
加拿大最西部的耶誕佳節從沒這麼大吹「環保風」過,當地兩間新興公司在耶誕假期期間,提供一種有利生態環保的耶誕樹租賃服務。
花費約一百元加幣,「長青」耶誕樹公司和「碳同步」耶誕公司就會將一盆耶誕樹送到你家或辦公室,等三週後,所有禮物都被拆開、耶誕老公公也完成任務後,他們會再來回收這棵耶誕樹。
碳同步公司計畫在耶誕節過後,將耶誕樹捐給棲息地復育團體再植;長青公司則表示,他們會將耶誕樹送回苗圃照顧,直到隔年耶誕節再租出。
這和一般處理耶誕樹的方式迥然不同。耶誕節期間,耶誕樹的價格通常是平常的四分之一,但假期結束後,北美各大城市通常就把它們攪碎作護根,或直接當垃圾丟棄。
碳同步耶誕公司的布萊德.梅澤對加拿大公共電視CBC表示:「現在(大家)的作法是,在菲莎谷大量種植樹木,再將它們運往溫哥華。」
他說:「這些被大量種植的樹需要六到十二年生長期,然後只使用一個耶誕節,這麼一大堆樹就全被當成垃圾掩埋。這簡直就是最大的資源浪費。」
這兩間加拿大公司的耶誕樹也將繼續吸收大氣中的二氧化碳,為減緩地球暖化盡棉薄之力,而不是被當作廢物一樣丟掉。
若租樹家庭想要,長青公司甚至提供讓他們每年都租用同一棵樹的服務,只要這棵樹還沒長到大得放不進他們的客廳。
(法新社╱翻譯:袁星塵)
Tangbao are one of the most internationally renowned delicacies, that win the hearts of both locals and tourists. Their charm lies in the paper-thin flour wrapper that needs to be folded evenly almost 20 times. Folding a tangbao requires skill to deal with a bulging filling and a thin wrapper. Tangbao are served in a bamboo steamer in which they are steamed, not only adding to the visual appearance, but ensuring they do not get cold before reaching the table. The best way to enjoy a tangbao is to dip it in a mixture of vinegar and soy sauce with
The Bank of Japan (BoJ) announced a seismic change in direction on March 19, hiking interest rates for the first time in 17 years. The move represents an unwinding of an ultra-loose — and maverick -- policy aimed at putting Japan’s “lost decades” of stagnation and deflation behind it. The last time the BoJ raised interest rates was in 2007, but its war against deflation began in earnest in 2013 under then-prime minister Shinzo Abe. “Abenomics” combined generous government spending and central bank monetary easing. The BoJ spent vast amounts on bonds and other assets to pump liquidity into the
Have you ever wished for an extra hour to prepare for exams or finish homework? In some countries, people actually adjust their clocks to gain or lose an hour, all for the sake of Daylight Saving Time (DST). Specifically, clocks are set forward by an hour in March and then set back in November. One of the primary reasons for implementing DST is to make better use of natural daylight so that people can reduce energy consumption. The concept originated with Benjamin Franklin in 1784 and became widely adopted during World War I. Today, this system is in place
For the first time, the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has fined a company for improper disposal of its defunct satellite. The satellite cable company Dish Network was fined US$150,000 because it failed to move an old satellite that was no longer in operation to a safe distance from others currently being used. The FCC had asked Dish Network to move one of its older satellites, EchoStar-7, 186 miles further from the Earth. However, the satellite had only advanced 76 miles before it ran out of fuel at the end of its operational life in 2022.