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When I was a small girl, my mother insisted on having a “fake” Christmas tree.  My mom was a bit ahead of her time as her concern was not about the cost of a live Christmas tree at the time…the 1970′s, but she was concerned with people cutting down the trees, only to have them the armature for the lights and the decorations, for a month or so, and to then be tossed away.  She was concerned about the forests and about each individual tree.  She acquiesced just once to my father’s wishes for a real tree, but I could feel her sadness while she was putting up the ornaments, and he could see it, and that was the last time we had a real tree.

For those who found themselves in one of the best Austin hotels this Christmas past, they may have noticed that one of the missions of the city during the holiday season, was a “green” mission.  The “Trail of Lights” provided the holiday environment and spirit, while still maintaining the spirit and the care of the environment.  This community event took place in Zilker Park. The lights of the park were powered by alternative energy, more than thirty percent of the lights were LED bulbs.  These bulbs use up to ninety percent less energy and not only did they cut the costs of the night, but they also had much less of an impact on the environment.  This is the kind of action that the city is dedicated to maintaining.  The programs for the Christmas show were printed with soy-based ink, on recycled paper.  There were prohibitions on materials such as styrofoam, plastic and glass.

All of the vendors were advised that they would be only allowed reusable or recyclable materials such as cardboard or other materials that could be put through the program of Single Stream Recycling.  And to top it off, mass transportation was provided for the convenience of the people attending the light festival, and was intended to put as little pressure on the environment as possible.  This is a cause that the city and the population of the city, has been dedicated to for years, and the example set is one that many other cities are taking notice of and applying to their own ways of life, and to the festivals and the practices of their own towns and their own ways of taking care of the world in which they, and we, live.