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It's a time for festive lighting. For those decorating trees and homes, there is the light-emitting diode option. LED lights last for many years and use as little as 10 percent of the power of their incandescent equivalents. Many cities, including Santa Barbara, offer LED strands free in exchange for your old ones. The big trees at the White House, Rockefeller Center in New York, and on the Champs-Elysees in Paris are now all lit with LEDs. If you feel you must use your old incandescents, at least consider turning them off when you go to bed or having them on timers so that they end up using half the electricity they would otherwise..

A room lit with candlelight is so warm and lovely, and just as much so whether you use standard petroleum-based paraffin candles, or the cleaner beeswax or soy candles—which burn longer, helping to make up for the added cost. There might be a health benefit, too, depending on the number being burned and the size of the room, as air quality can be compromised by candles. Regular candles emit small amounts of toxins as well as carbon and soot—scented candles more.

The sale of lead-core wicked candles was banned several years ago, but some may remain in cupboards or store stocks. Watch for the stiff wicks in container and votive candles; tapers did not have them. Whatever candles you burn, keeping wicks trimmed to 1/4 inch makes them burn cleaner. This is the kind of knowledge that we just don't seem to carry around anymore, in this light-emitting diode era.

Happy holiday lighting!

Related Links

• WebMD article: "Sweet-smelling danger?"
• Santa Barbara Community Environmental Council's holiday light-exchange locations
• More Ecofacts columns

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