In these days of environmental consciousness (or the facade of it anyway) is it environmentally irresponsible to put up Christmas lights? There are billions of Christians in the world and a lot of them put lights up for long periods before and after Christmas Day. Other people who are not Christians also put up Christmas lights (the Japanese, for example). Jews put up lights for Hanukkah (the festival of lights). So, is religion more important than the environment?
Christmas Lights - Environmentally Irresponsible?
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Christmas Lights - Environmentally Irresponsible?
That's a very good point.
However all the environmentalists only think of the 1st hand effects, convieniently ignoring the fact you need to burn a fossil fuel to get electricity. (Normally, anyway)
However all the environmentalists only think of the 1st hand effects, convieniently ignoring the fact you need to burn a fossil fuel to get electricity. (Normally, anyway)
I think there are people who should get slapped in the face for doing things like... http://de.youtube.com/watch?v=rmgf60CI_ks 
On the other hand, if it's just normal christmas lights (it's getting more and more each year tho), i think it's not a bad thing. Environmentally speaking, maybe yes, but it's good for the mood in the winter. It's dark and cold outside these days, so bringing a bit of "light into the darkness" sure isn't a bad thing.
In other words, if it's not too much, i don't see something bad in it.
PS: I'm an atheist.
On the other hand, if it's just normal christmas lights (it's getting more and more each year tho), i think it's not a bad thing. Environmentally speaking, maybe yes, but it's good for the mood in the winter. It's dark and cold outside these days, so bringing a bit of "light into the darkness" sure isn't a bad thing.
In other words, if it's not too much, i don't see something bad in it.
PS: I'm an atheist.
I don't do Christmas lights (as I'm not even remotely religious and I hate the commercial aspect of it, plus I'm not a mug), but if I did it'd be the most polluting Christmas in the world. 
Bah Humbug!
Although it does make me laugh that a few people round here leave them up all year.
Although it does make me laugh that a few people round here leave them up all year.
That is amazing lol. Good how they have done it.
I find it also very stupid and annoying. 
#8
- Crashgate3
Using a computer to post on the internet in thread discussing Christmas Lights. Environmentally Irresponsible?
Until every problem in the entire world is solved forever I don't think anyone should be allowed to have fun. Anyone caught doing so will be arrested by the fun police.
Until every problem in the entire world is solved forever I don't think anyone should be allowed to have fun. Anyone caught doing so will be arrested by the fun police.
Show-off Christmas lights is one of the worst things ever. I hate the bright blue/red/green/whatever/non-normal-white lights people but up. Also, more interestingly it seems that lack of taste seems to correlate the date people put up these ugly lights. More uglier the lights more before Christmas you see them. Of course, some might argue they are seasonal winter lights, which I can understand. After all, it's a dark long winter here, but I still prefer normal natural colored lights over tacky bling ones which just remind me about consuming mad Christmas.
Yes, and environmental light decorations. If you are really in to that sort of thing, keep them reasonably small, use less consuming lights, and most importantly turn them off when they can't really be seen. You could also get a timer which turns them on only for few hour. And if you think they still consume extra power, you might compensate it by turning few lights off in your house, this also saves you some money. Or, use candles, which of course results your house burning down.
Man I should start some eco-ego consulting business.
Yes, and environmental light decorations. If you are really in to that sort of thing, keep them reasonably small, use less consuming lights, and most importantly turn them off when they can't really be seen. You could also get a timer which turns them on only for few hour. And if you think they still consume extra power, you might compensate it by turning few lights off in your house, this also saves you some money. Or, use candles, which of course results your house burning down.
Man I should start some eco-ego consulting business.
over there they are using low temperture power saving lights, which actualy does not require a lot of energy.
It's weird how everyone tends to use the same tune when going for that uber xmas light spectacle. There's a guy in my class who's dad put together a very complicated xmas tree light show which synced to that song. After 20 seconds or so it gets pretty annoying
Mum has a single row of Xmas lights out on her balcony which she turns on when she knows her sons are coming to visit. It's a nice welcome.
edit:
PS, these kids must feel special when they come home!
the was one guys who had a huge display and when asked why he didnt ever take them down his answer was ' buy the time i have taken them all down its about time to start putting them up again' lol
Yuck.
OTOH, perhaps they compensate by eating a vegetarian Christmas dinner.
Please don't. If may be fun, but burning down houses is very environmentally unfriendly.
As much as I care about the enviroment, I would go out of my way to make an over the top lighting display of the world melting, with text saying exactly how damaging my light display was to the enviroment underneath it, just to piss off those hippy bastards that stop me in the street and ask why I'm not a member of Greenpeace.
I might just stick to telling them that the only thing I like about the French is that they blew up one of their boats, and it would unfair of Greenpeace to cause me to completely hate a nation just for the sake of boosting their membership statistics.
I might just stick to telling them that the only thing I like about the French is that they blew up one of their boats, and it would unfair of Greenpeace to cause me to completely hate a nation just for the sake of boosting their membership statistics.
we've got some new lights recently that run off a little solar panel, but thats only some fairy lights in the garden. xmas is just a big scam to make everyone spend money nowadays. Jesus rarely gets mentioned anymore lol.
And so he shouldn't get mentioned. We have to listen to enough of the bible bashers mumblings in the year, so we deserve a break.
'sides, Xmas has been commercialized for the last 20 or 30 years.
'sides, Xmas has been commercialized for the last 20 or 30 years.
Whilst the Christian church has since about 336AD insisted that the 25th December celebration is actually the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, A Jewish preacher born 29th September 6AD.
It is simply the cynical claiming of the Feast of Natalis Solis Invicti from the Mithraic Hindu pantheon, the Roman/Pagan festival of Saturnalia, and the Germanic Pagan festival of Yuletide (originally 21 December).
Which itself was probably a claiming of another event, which was the claiming of another event etc etc. I don't see why anyone would celebrate christmas at all. It's just a total waste of a day (actually, several days).
Darn you beat me i was going to post that
Well for the Gamanic Pagan's it was really a whole month of partying, and for the Roman Pagan's a week of resuing to work. Several Roman emporors actually tried to pass decree's to shorten the festival to no avail.
Basically it's a dark, gloomy, and miserable time of year. So let's have a party spend lots of money get drunk and end this pretence of "It's all about the ikkle babbie Jesus y'know". He wasnt a baby, he was preacher who slept with a whore. Now let's get drunk.
Very true, but at least it's a couple of days off work
Which means a couple of days in the workshop at home or doing the decorating. I can't stand sitting around watching TV or eating mince pies. A couple of years ago we just played at the local airfield in a single seater for Christmas - much more fun pushing cars on and off trailers than being bored at home.
A couple? I'm off from the 19th until January 5th
The christians just appropriated a heathen festivity, which was originally meant to say "c**p that damn depressing darkness is now going to shrink". 21st december is the shortest day of light and after that it just gets better.
So putting up lights means let's get happy because spring is what comes next.
If you wanna celebrate that, go for it, and if you want to make it healthier for the environent, use LEDs instead of conventional bulbs.
Pfffftttt.
Last Xmas when I was working at Sainsburys, I was working Christmas Eve.
Christmas Day and boxing day I had off. Then back to work. I was even asked to work New Years Day, but I wasn't 'asked', it just happened to be on a day I'd have to work normally. I wasn't happy about that so I called in sick
Christmas Lights - Environmentally Irresponsible?
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