Column: An annual ponderance: Limit our Christmas greeting card list to save the planet?

We have this conversation every year before Thanksgiving.

“Well, what do you think — should we send cards?” Meaning Christmas greetings.

And after a brief pause suggesting deep thought, we always say, “Of course we will!”

But then there’s the more complicated decision, especially these days, of deciding whether to send an old-fashioned card printed on paper, in a fancy envelope, with a seasonal postage stamp, maybe religious, and a hand-written greeting with a few bits of news, avoiding topics that cast doubt on good-will-to-men; or the option of stealing a holiday scene from the internet that looks okay for the whole group of family and friends, attaching our mailing list, and shooting our warmest wishes quick and cheap into the cooling December skies.

Well, no, it’s not that simple anymore. For one thing, there’s global warming. Will we be very responsible and weigh how our choice of delivering holiday greetings — by mail or by internet — keeps peace on earth at a comfortable temperature?

Let’s weigh the alternatives. Consider first the cost to the environment of sending an old-fashioned greeting card printed on paper. Dropped in the mailbox, it’s collected and transported hundreds, maybe thousands of miles, by land, air or sea, by all kinds of vehicles spewing tons of carbon dioxide. Not to mention the trees cut down to produce the paper for card and envelope.

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A bit of research: A study at Oxford in the United Kingdom finds that sending one card by mail produces about 140 grams of carbon dioxide, all things considered. And according to Hallmark, the number of cards mailed every Christmas season in the U.S. is around 1.3 billion.

So, multiplying 140 grams by 1.3 billion (check my math, please) we get 182 billion grams, or about 400 million pounds of carbon dioxide puffed into the skies to deliver our warmest greetings by U.S. mail.

Hmmm. Big number. How does that compare to using the internet? One source we’ve found says a simple, short email produces about 4 grams of carbon dioxide but with attachments can zoom to 50 or more grams. That’s still far below 140.

You’ll understand that, because the cards we ordered for the 2022 season have just landed on our doorstep, we’re going to put this analysis aside and think positively as we pen little notes, seal envelopes, and attach those clever Christmas stamps which the postal clerk assured us can be used to pay Christmas bills, too.

But keeping carbon dioxide in mind, we’ve agreed to be very careful about managing our mailing list this year. So, let’s see: shall we make this scientific and send cards only to people we heard from last year — if we can find those cards from last year?

No, we’ll have to add those new neighbors and friends down the street and at work, right? But how about those distant relatives who seemed so nice at the family reunion? Sorting out the relatives — always a problem.

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We’ll welcome advice and have even thought about asking Albert Einstein, Ho Ho Ho! As everyone knows, the Princeton prof was considered the world authority on relatives, which we understand he wrote about at some length in his “Theory of Relativity,” explaining everything, we guess, about constructing a mailing list of brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles, kinfolk and friends, etc.

Though we haven’t read his theory, we’ve found one quote by Al Einstein that we really like:

“It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity.”

That’s teacher-talk, of course. But we think Al is saying he’s appalled by Christmas greetings sent on the internet versus nice, handwritten cards sent by mail.

And yours will be on its way soon.

Norm Crampton, a writer in Bloomington, was founding director of the Indiana Institute on Recycling.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Columnist debates whether to mail or email Christmas greetings