Sure, I enjoy gift giving and getting, but in the end I'd trade every gift I've gotten this year and every other if every human on the planet would stop using violence to "solve" their problems. I also would LOVE to see capitalism take a back seat to, well, just about anything else these days.
That said, here are a few links I found over at TreeHugger.com that are kind of Christmassy and still responsible to the human race and mother nature in the same breath:
First off, TreeHugger.com points out [http://www.treehugger.com/files/2005/12/hanukkah_the_pe_1.php|that Hanukkah is the peak oil holiday]. Here's their blurb on it:
In our house we celebrate both Christmas (real tree, LED lights) and Hanukkah, which like much from the middle east, is all about oil. The Temple was recovered after a civil war (another story) and the oil lamps had to be kept burning. There was only enough oil to burn for one day, but it would take eight days to prepare more; miraculously one days supply of oil lasted for eight. We suspect that in years to come a lot more people will be praying for such a miracle, so perhaps a Happy Hanukkah is in order as well as a Merry Christmas to all.
That last bit really made me smile--though I still don't believe 100% in peak oil. I do belive it's something to watch out for.
Next up, TH.c [http://www.treehugger.com/files/2005/12/what_can_we_do.php|blogs about Expanded PolyStyrene] (better known as StyroFoam) that is formed into peanuts and other packing material that many of your gifts came to you floating in today. Specifically, how to recycle them. It's a pretty interesting read and something I think we should all learn more about since Expanded PolyStyrene (EPS) is so incredibly common our world. You can get a DVD player, TV set or box of cookies from grandma without getting a goodly supply of StyroFoam peanuts, too.
On Christmas Eve, TH.c [http://www.treehugger.com/files/2005/12/us_national_ene.php|blogged about the US National Energy Research Lab budget being cut by 10%]. Just to give you an idea of what 10% means in people, that's 100 scientists and researchers who will lose their jobs in the coming year. Guess this lets us see just how much the Bush 43 Administration cares about developing energy sources other than oil. Say, Bush--where are those hydrogren-powered cars you promised a few years back?
TH.c also [http://www.treehugger.com/files/2005/12/led_fibre_optic.php|posts on the only fake tree you should consider if you don't want to go with one that was kidnapped from its natural habitat], a plastic one that has fiber optics coursing through it's branches--in other words, it comes with lights built in. The lights are sourced by LEDs and this means they use helluva less energy and you don't have to deal with those stupid tangled lights. Isn't that cool? What's even better is that it comes with a built-in mp3 player with Christmas carols pre-loaded.
OK, well, I could do without the pre-loaded
On Christmas, I always like to post something offensive, but this year I can't get my powerbook online thanks to not being anywhere near a wifi connection today (I'm on my parents'-in-law PC and I'd hate to screw anything up with it by say, removing an ethernet cable). This means that my favorite disturbing Christmas image (Santa and his reindeer shot dead by a hunter) will once again have to wait until next year. In the meantime, Images.Google.com has netted me the below shot:
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