KEY POINTS:
Driving to the rellies' place in an overloaded 4WD, chucking all the Christmas dinner food scraps in the rubbish and leaving the fairy lights on all night are no-nos if you want to have a green(er) Christmas. Here are some tips on how to enjoy the season and save the planet from greenhouse gas emissions:
1 Leave the car at home
Walk, cycle or take the bus/train if Christmas is at the rellies' this year.
2 If you must take the car
Take the golf clubs out of the boot before loading the presents. A heavy vehicle has more drag and uses more petrol. You can save up to 13 per cent on fuel by driving at 100km/h instead of 110km/h.
3 Eat the turkey by candlelight
It saves electricity and makes it harder for the sister-in-law to spot your new wrinkles.
4 Do a spot of gardening after lunch
Exercise after Christmas pudding can be good.
5 Vegetables good, meat bad
One estimate puts the cost of producing meat at 20 per cent more per edible tonne than that of producing grains and vegetables. And livestock produce methane, a greenhouse gas.
6 Serve organic and free-range
Support organic farmers who don't use the nitrogen-based and petroleum-based fertilisers.
7 Save wrapping paper
We know you try this every year, but try again.
8 If it's cold
Leave those patio gas heaters turned off.
9 Wash dirty clothes in cold water
And only switch the dishwasher on when it has a full load.
10 When it's all over
Promise yourselves that next year you'll give your family a solar hot-water heater.
