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Show Christmas Trees For Ecology . . . Many people believe that the cutting of trees for Christmas "robs" nature and destroys a portion of our forests each year, but the truth is that nearly three-quarters three-quarters of such trees are raised specifically to be cut at Christmastime. Christmas-time. Most of the remainder re-mainder are "thinnings" "thin-nings" young trees cut in forests to improve . the growth opportunities opportuni-ties for other trees. Forestry experts and nurserymen point out that young, growing trees give off more oxygen ox-ygen and absorb more carbon dioxide than mature ones, so that the cultivation of Christmas Christ-mas trees actually helps the ecology. In contrast, they say, the manufacture manufac-ture of artificial trees uses up valuable energy and natural resources, which are not recoverable. recover-able. After Christmas, discarded dis-carded trees can be used in various ways to benefit the environment. environ-ment. Even if you live in a city, ecologists suggest, sug-gest, you can help by getting in touch with a local conservation organization or-ganization or commercial commer-cial nursery. |