ARE you dreaming of a white Christmas?

Just a few inches of snow for a few hours on Christmas Day to make the children’s faces shine?

Perhaps….but what they really need, and desperately need, is not a white but a Green Christmas.

Santa’s black boots must leave a smaller carbon footprint this year than last year- if they don’t our national treasure David Attenborough has told us we are heading for self-extinction.

At the UN Conference in Poland this week he called us The Last Chance Generation - that means if we don’t halve our greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 it’s too late.

It will be impossible for those who come after us to prevent catastrophic climate warming.

The earth will be on a one way ticket to drought, famine, flood and fire and the “civilisations will collapse”.

In her column Jill Bruce explains the science, gives the facts and forecasts and proves this is not scaremongering- it is true.

2030 is when babies born now will go to secondary school.

We can start now to reduce our Christmas carbon emissions with advice on presents this week, catering next week, travelling and keeping warm in the run up to Christmas and how to reduce the post Xmas rubbish boom.

So greener presents and the greenest of all, what about giving an experience rather than a thing?

Gazette:

  • Dr Laurel Spooner

It won’t don’t need wrapping, won’t clutter up the house, break or go to landfill. The memories can last a life time. Tickets, days out, gym membership, enable someone to learn a new skill or fulfil a dream…?

Do you have to give presents or is your presence enough?

Perhaps give a small token of love on the day but show it most by being there.

What about buying fewer things in total and share out the cost of Christmas by dividing up the shopping and the catering?

Everyone brings something to the feast and that is their gift.

Presents don’t have to be “new”, they can be “loved by a previous owner”. Shopping in a charity shop helps a good cause at the same time.

The gifts, toys and varied clothing are probably some of last year’s unwanted gifts!

Christmas can mean “too much” of everything, especially heaps of plastic toys. Children often have just a few favourites. Some families swap forgotten ones with other families - their new owners are delighted with their Christmas presents and the old owners never notice.

Best of all why not give someone the greenest present of all - the world’s most efficient carbon capture device which is a habitat as well - a tree.

If they have nowhere to plant a tree sponsor one in their name, or better still, an acre of rainforest.

Make a donation to an environmental charity on someone’s behalf, not only protecting this beautiful planet for you to share but for future generations too.

Dr Laurel Spooner, Retired GP and Climate Change Champion.