真圣诞树 vs 人造圣诞树：哪一个是更环保的选择？

It’s the centerpiece of the biggest holiday of the year for many American families: the Christmas tree, the focal point for parties and presents, replete with favorite ornaments and lights.

圣诞节是一年中最重大的节日。对于许多美国家庭来说，圣诞树是这个节日里最耀眼的装饰物，也是圣诞派对上和圣诞礼物中的焦点。人们会用最喜欢的装饰品和彩灯来装点圣诞树。

Some cherish the scent of a real tree and the tradition of bringing it home, while others prefer the tidier and easier option of the plastic variety.

有人喜欢真实树木的味道，以及带一棵真树回家过节的传统，其他人则更喜欢选择更加整齐简单的人造塑料树。

But which is better for the environment? Here’s a look at some of the central claims — and the common misconceptions — in that debate.

但哪一种圣诞树对环境更有益呢？下面是关于这一论题的一些主要观点以及常见的误解。

Don’t feel bad about cutting down a tree for the holiday. Christmas trees are crops grown on farms, like lettuce or corn. They are not cut down from wild forests on a large scale, said Bert Cregg, an expert in Christmas tree production and forestry at Michigan State University.

密歇根州立大学圣诞树生产和林业专家Bert Cregg表示，不必为圣诞节砍伐树木感到过意不去，圣诞树是被种植在农场上的农作物，就像莴苣和谷物那样。圣诞树并不是从野生森林里被大规模砍伐的。

A five- or six-foot tree takes just under a decade to grow, and once it’s cut down, the farmer will generally plant at least one in its place. The trees provide many benefits to the environment as they grow, cleaning the air and providing watersheds and habitats for wildlife. They grow best on rolling hills that are often unsuitable for other crops and, of course, they are biodegradable.

一棵树长到五到六英尺只需要不到十年，一旦它被砍伐，农夫通常会在原来树的位置种上至少一颗树。树木生长对环境带来很多好处，清新空气、为野生动物提供汇水区和栖息地。连绵的山丘通常不适合其它谷物生长，但是对圣诞树来说却再适合不过了。当然，这些圣诞树是生物可降解的。

Oregon is the country’s biggest grower, followed by North Carolina. Many other states also have sizable Christmas tree farms, which preserve open land from development by their very existence.

俄勒冈州是该国最大的圣诞树种植地，其次是北卡罗来纳州。许多其他州也有相当面积的圣诞树种植农场，这些圣诞树的存在保护着农地免受其他用途开发。

Big growers tend to dominate in Oregon, like Holiday Tree Farms, which uses helicopters to harvest about a million trees annually, for sale at big box stores and other locations.

大型农场主在俄勒冈州占据主要地位。举个例子，在假日树农场，圣诞树年产量高达近100万棵，农场主们用直升机来收割它们，运到大型商场或其他地方售卖。

In western North Carolina, the farms tend to be smaller, like the one owned by Larry Smith, who has been growing trees for more than 40 years.

在北卡罗莱纳西部，农场的规模往往小一些，种了40多年树的Larry Smith拥有的农场便在其中。

His business, Mountain Top Fraser Fir, was chosen to supply this year’s White House Christmas tree, a 19-foot specimen on display in the Blue Room.

史密斯先生的公司——Mountain Top Fraser Fir被选为今年白宫圣诞树的供应商。今年，将有一棵19英尺高的圣诞树在白宫蓝厅展出。

“Tell the kids and grandkids to keep buying real trees so we keep the local economy strong and we don’t have to sell the land to the rich people from New York City to make condos,” Mr. Smith said.

他说：“告诉孩子和孙子们，每年都要买真树，只有这样才能促进本地经济的持续发展，我们也不必把土地卖给纽约这类大城市的富人去建造公寓了。”

Prices for real trees have reached record highs over the last few years because farmers planted fewer trees during the 2008 recession. That may have driven some families to make the leap to a manufactured one. The average price was $75 for a real tree last year, while the average price for an artificial tree — which can be reused — was $107, according to a Nielsen/Harris poll conducted on behalf of the National Christmas Tree Association, which represents sellers of real trees.

2008年的经济危机期间，农民种树量削减，真树价格水涨船高，并在近几年达到历史新高——这可能促使一些家庭转而购买人工圣诞树。代表真树经销商利益的美国圣诞树协会委托Nielsen/Harris公司进行的一项民意调查显示，在去年，一棵真树的平均价格为75美元，而一棵可以再利用的人工树的平均价格为107美元。

Tim O’Connor, a spokesman for the organization, said the best way to ensure future supply was to buy a tree this year.

该组织的发言人Tim O’Connor表示，确保未来圣诞树能继续供应的最佳方式，就是在今年买一棵真树。

A recent survey for the American Christmas Tree Association, conducted by Nielsen, found that three quarters of American households display a tree — and the vast majority of those, around 80 percent, are artificial.

Nielsen公司最近为美国圣诞树协会所作的一项调查显示，四分之三的美国家庭会在家中摆放一棵圣诞树，而这其中的绝大多数（约80%）都是人工树。

Most of the artificial trees on the market are made of PVC and steel in China and shipped to the United States — and eventually sent to a landfill.

市场上大部分的人工树由PVC材料和钢铁制成，都是中国制造，它们由PVC材料和钢铁制成，远渡重洋来到美国，最终被送到垃圾填埋场。

While that may not sound eco-friendly, the A.C.T.A., which represents manufacturers, claims the environmental impact is lower than that of a real tree if you use the artificial tree for five or more years. The group argues that getting a new, real tree each year — and possibly disposing of it in a landfill at the end of the season — has a bigger impact on greenhouse gas emissions, water and energy use, and other areas than a reused artificial tree does.

虽然这听起来对环境有害，但代表人造树制造商的A.C.T.A.组织声称如果你使用人造圣诞树五年甚至更久以上，对环境的影响要低于使用真树。该制造商组织认为，每年获得一棵新的真树，并且可能在季末将其丢弃在垃圾填埋场中，对温室气体排放、水和能源使用以及其它领域的影响要比再利用的人造树大。

That assertion is based on a study carried out on the group’s behalf by WAP Sustainability Consulting.

这一论断出自一项该组织授权WAP可持续咨询公司所做的研究结果。

Mr. O’Connor of the N.C.T.A., the organization that represents sellers of real trees, said he rejected the study’s findings, saying it was “fall-off-your-horse simple that a tree made out of oil, turned into PVC plastic in China and shipped over on a boat, cannot be better than growing a real tree.”

代表真树销售商的N.C.T.A.组织的O’Connor先生说，他拒绝接受这项研究的调查结果，他说“用油做原料，在中国变成PVC塑料，然后用船运过来的人造树，不可能比种植真树更好，这是显而易见的。”

Mr. Cregg, the forestry expert at Michigan State, said the study’s parameters were too narrow. What about the effect on wildlife and local water supplies, he asked, and the benefit of preserving farmland and jobs?

密歇根州的林业专家Cregg先生说，研究的参数太有限。他问道：“那么对野生动物和当地水源的影响，以及保护农田和就业的好处呢？”

“Are you interested in supporting the local economy and keeping plastic out of landfills?” he said. “Those would be the questions I would focus on.”

他说：“你对支持当地经济和把塑料垃圾从垃圾填埋场运走感兴趣吗？这些都是我会关注的问题。”

Thomas Harman, the founder and chief executive of Balsam Hill, a high-end artificial tree company, said that his factories recycle scrap plastic for use in some components of their products. But manufacturing a recyclable tree has been challenging. The copper, steel and plastic that are fused together in the production process would need to be taken apart to be recycled.

高端人造树公司Balsam Hill的创始人兼首席执行官Thomas Harman说，他的工厂回收废塑料用于产品的某些部件。但是制造一种可回收的树一直具有挑战性。在生产过程中被熔合在一起的铜、钢和塑料需要被拆开以便回收。

In the meantime, he encouraged people to reuse trees and to adorn them with LED lights, which save energy.

同时，他鼓励人们重新利用人造圣诞树并用LED灯来装饰，这样可以节省能源。

“We’re focused on making our trees reusable as long as possible,” Mr. Harman said. “I hope that our trees are in use 20 or 30 years later.”

Harman说：“我们尽力想让我们的人造圣诞树能反复使用，越久越好——最好二三十年后，依然能拿出来用。”

The preference for real trees is strongest in the Northeast and along the West Coast, data from the A.C.T.A. shows. Mr. O’Connor said that younger, more environmentally conscious consumers — the same ones who buy organic produce at the grocery store — are increasingly embracing real trees. And some families enjoy visiting farms to choose and cut their own trees.

来自A.C.T.A.的数据显示，在东北部和西海岸，人们对真树的偏爱最为强烈。奥康纳先生说，更年轻、更环保的消费者，也就是在杂货店购买有机产品的消费者，越来越喜欢真树。一些家庭喜欢参观农场，选择和砍伐自己种植的树木。

“There’s this wonderful family experience that’s just not parallel to dragging a dusty box out of the attic,” Mr. O’Connor said.

奥康纳说，“这种美妙的家庭体验，与从阁楼里拖出一个满是灰尘的盒子完全不同。”

Bill Ulfelder, the executive director of the Nature Conservancy in New York, said real trees were “unquestionably” the better option. He added that there are ways shoppers can lessen the impact of using a real tree: Shop locally, minimize driving and recycle the tree.

纽约自然保护协会(Nature Conservancy)执行理事比尔·乌尔菲尔德(Bill Ulfelder)表示，真树“毫无疑问”是更好的选择。他还说，消费者有很多方法可以减少使用真树所造成的影响，比如在当地购物，减少开车和回收树木。

New York City collects thousands of trees for MulchFest each year, and uses the mulch in public parks to enrich soil and prevent erosion. Some areas also use discarded trees to prevent beach erosion or sink them into lakes to create fish habitats.

纽约市每年都会收集成千上万棵树用于参加“护根节”，并在公园里利用这些护根来改善土壤，防止水土流失。一些地区还利用废弃的树木来防止海滩侵蚀或将它们沉到湖泊中，以创造鱼类栖息地。

You can also avoid the need to discard an old tree entirely. Some vendors sell living Christmas trees that can be replanted. Others rent traditional Christmas trees, complete with delivery and setup.

你也可以不把旧树直接丢掉。一些商贩出售可以重新种植的活圣诞树。另一些则租用传统的圣诞树用来送货和布置。

Brad McAllister, a managing director of WAP Sustainability Consulting, said he was surprised by how small the impact of either tree choice was compared with other central elements of the holidays, like air travel and shopping.

WAP可持续发展咨询公司(WAP Sustainability Consulting)董事总经理布拉德•麦卡利斯特(Brad McAllister)表示，与航空旅行和购物等假日的其他核心元素相比，这两种树的选择的影响都非常小，这让他感到惊讶。

“If a consumer wants to celebrate the holidays in a truly environmental fashion, they need to look beyond just the Christmas tree,” he said.

他说:“如果消费者想以一种真正环保的方式来庆祝节日，他们需要考虑的远不仅仅是圣诞树。”

Jami Warner, the executive director of the A.C.T.A., was eager to avoid a direct confrontation on the issue of real versus artificial.

杰米·华纳(Jami Warner)是代表人造树制造商的A.C.T.A的执行董事，他急于避免在真树和假树的问题上发生正面直接冲突。

“We really do believe that there is no such thing as a bad Christmas tree,” she said.

她说:“我们真的相信，没有不好的圣诞树这回事。”