Comments on: Here Comes Solar Claus! How to Plan a Solar-Powered Christmas

By: Global Patriot

Global Patriot — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 00:34:17 +0000

Christmas should be all about loving each other, and loving the planet, which means being Green!

By: Making Christmas a Green Holiday | An Eco-Friendly How-to Guide for Christmas | Easy Ways to Go Green

Tue, 15 Dec 2009 19:31:18 +0000

[...] found so far that includes a ton of practical and meaningful ideas to make the holiday more green: How to Plan a Solar-Powered Christmas over at the CalFinder blog, where users can find nationwide information on solar power contractors [...]

By: Dan

Dan — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 23:34:37 +0000

Calsolareng, I completely agree with your sentiment. I admit the Fox News jab, they can be hard to resist considering that they unabashedly alter news stories and even manufacture video, but the “no red or blue” was meant to convey your exact feelings; that there are no red or blue states at Christmas time. Christmas, especially a Green Christmas, transcends Fox News and MSNBC as well as red and blue party lines.

Jennifer, you too are right that experiences are much more awarding than material gifts, and some bamboo products are questionable. I see it as an alternative to the cotton/polyester socks or shirts I received every Christmas (which is why I included clothing on the list). As far as deforestation goes, bamboo is an incredibly resilient grass that regenerates after harvesting within nine years. Indeed it has even been a pest for some friends who planted some in their yard and then it took over. They chop it down, it grows back. As far as materials go, bamboo is nigh renewable and is much easier to sustain than “lumber” trees.

Thanks for the wonderful compliment Maureen!

Cheers to you all and thanks for reading.

By: Maureen McHale

Maureen McHale — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 22:01:25 +0000

EXCELLENT post and great blog! Makes me want to run out, rip the lights off my house and put up a Solar Claus!! Keep up the good work…we’ll turn this planet green yet!

By: calsolareng

calsolareng — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 18:58:10 +0000

In regards to this sentiment:
“Solar Claus is coming to town and his bag of goodies is growing like Pinocchio’s nose on Fox News. Fortunately, there’s no red or blue in town this holiday season.”
Even if I agree with your opinion of Fox News the “no red or blue” sounds a little anti-patriotic, EVEN if it’s not, which I realize it probably isn’t.
Still, my point is that when we are touting the joys and benefits of solar and of going green it’s important to stay politically neutral and to reach across all lines to get the message across, “This is not about division, it’s about all of us. The planet belongs to everyone!”
I see so many Anti-Democrat/Anti-Obama comments on solar blogs and it makes me wince. We need to take the higher ground and fight clean. Clean and Green!

By: Jennifer

Jennifer — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 18:44:58 +0000

I’ve heard mixed things about bamboo clothing. Yes, it doesn’t require the huge amounts of pesticides, insecticides, and water that conventional cotton does, but processing it into viscose requires plenty of pretty un-green chemical solvents. And farming anything often means deforestation and habitat destruction, especially for something few of us really need.

Treehugger.com has suggested that truly green gifts consist of giving experiences or services rather than gifts. I haven’t been following that rule religiously, but I think it’s a good rule of thumb.