Christmas Grinch

I have been approached by a number of my neighbors and quizzed as to why (like last year) I don't have my Christmas lights up???

First, let me declare that last year was out of PURE laziness! I'm guilty of putting it off until it was too late. Yep, that's me. Guilty as charged.

This year is for completely different reasons. First, let me tell you that I do not have any political party affiliation - I am affiliated with the CS & D party...the party of Common Sense and Decency. I have scrutinized my day-to-day activities ever since watching Al Gore's telling docu-drama "An Inconvenient Truth".

Real or exagerrated, global warming scares me not for my sake, but for the sake of my neighbor's kids I see playing in the yard and for the children that I will have in the very near future.

With the approach of Christmas and the ritualistic hanging of the lights, I have been reading about how much pollution and waste incandescent Christmas lights create. So I am taking a stand and putting my money where my mouth is (and maybe my foot, too).

Incandescent Christmas lights can create as much as 4x's the amount of carbon emissions as non-lighted homes. That's alot. The electrical costs can be limited by incorporating timers, but the power company is still churning out electricity to support the lights.

This link can explain it alot better than I can - it's logical and supported by numbers.

http://www.celsias.com/2007/10/23/christmas-lights-scrooge-or-savior/

So come Dec 26, when they stores discount their decorations, I will be shopping for LED light displays. And next December, when my neighbors see my lights, I will proudly say that they are Earth-friendly.

Just a thought...Rich