From the Australian bushfires in January, to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and one of most divisive elections in US history just last month, it’d be fair to say that this year has been an eventful one. Though in many ways, this term on Compass hasn’t failed to keep up: we’ve talked about everything from literary landscapes to the politics of cat cafes; we’ve introduced you to dozens of events to keep busy between Zoom lectures; we’ve showcased some of our third years’ dissertations and are now bringing you blog posts to keep you entertained in the run-up to Christmas. But in the midst of all of this, we’ve failed to ask one vital question and that is: how is Santa doing?
Despite Santa’s best efforts in adapting to the pandemic, he and his elves are still at risk from all sorts of problems. As geographers, we may not be surprised to learn that the most pressing of these are climate-related. Santa’s official home at the North Pole isn’t located on a permanent landmass, for one. Found in the Arctic Ocean and permanently covered by shifting ice masses, the temperature of the area surrounding Santa’s workshop, according to the latest IPCC report, is likely to increase by 1.5°C between 2030 and 2052 if GHG emissions continue to increase at the current rate. The report also explains that in many regions, including the Arctic, warming of two to three times higher than the global average is to be expected. This has the potential to be catastrophic for Santa and his friends, compounded by positive feedbacks driven by the albedo of ice.
Sleigh it ain’t so…
Rudolph and his reindeer friends may also find themselves in a spot of trouble. Reindeer typically feed on grasses, lichens and mosses during long winters by brushing aside the snow that covers them. However warmer temperatures have meant that precipitation falls as rain, not snow. Once on the ground, the rain freezes, locking away the reindeers’ food under a layer of ice. Consequently, reindeer go hungry and at risk of losing their babies. While reindeer can adapt to this by changing their feeding ranges, mining and fossil fuel excavation have become increasingly viable and present in Northern Arctic regions and disturb the reindeer’s annual ranges further. Indeed, 2019’s Arctic Report Card states that the population of wild reindeer in the Arctic has decreased by more than half in the last two decades.
But wait, there’s myrrh!
Buddy the Elf was perhaps one of the first people to suppose that Santa himself might not be all he’s cracked up to be. But is Santa really “sitting on a throne of lies” as Buddy once suggested or have we got him all wrong? Well, it seems that in some areas Santa himself seems to be playing his part for the environment: limiting his flying to one essential trip per year is almost certainly a positive step. His vehicle of choice also seems to be particularly eco-friendly. While there are many ideas as to how exactly Santa powers his sleigh, one thing we can all agree on is that it is clearly a marvel of modern engineering. Even if there were a chance that his modus operandi were to emit toxic gases (Santa would have to put himself on the naughty list surely?) his saving grace comes in the form of his sleigh’s magical qualities. Synthesising findings from end-of-Michaelmas screenings of Arthur Christmas and Elf, the sleigh is thought to be powered by Christmas Spirit and public belief in Santa, visualised by a claus-o-meter. For non-believers in magic out there, statisticians at Purdue University estimate that in order for Santa to reach everyone in one night, he must travel at a minimum of 4,705,882km/h. While very impressive, this speed is also fast enough to potentially vaporise Santa, his presents and all of his beloved reindeer instantaneously. However, as Santa is yet to be represented as a pile of glittery dust, magic must play a part in his festive travels. To that end, if the sleigh has the ability to defy the laws of physics, then I’d say a fair assessment would be to also suppose it’d be able to offset any toxic emissions it may produce at the same time.
It’s snow laughing matter…
Toy production, however, is where we see Santa’s carbon footprint rise. The creation and of toys in the lead up to the festive period emits an estimated 68.1 million tonnes of carbon dioxide. For context, 68.1 million tonnes of carbon is approximately the same amount of carbon that was released throughout the 2018 California Wildfires. Clearly Santa’s methods of creating enough gifts to supply his young fans are not sustainable. The social and environmental repercussions of this will be discussed in greater detail in the “Is Santa a Marxist?” article towards the end of Blogmas.
However, in the face of that scary statistic, it is important to mention that in recent years, Santa’s clientele are doing their bit in ever increasing numbers to call for governments to drastically ramp up climate action. Some have stormed Nancy Pelosi’s office, others have forgone school every Friday since 2018; many have attended protests, signed petitions and let the adults in their lives know what needs to be done to stop the trends we are seeing become a reality. All their work has contributed to an uptick in the popularity of eco-friendly gifts such as adoption of endangered animals and days out, allowing Santa to slowly ditch the single-use wrapping paper and pollutive methods in favour of greener alternatives.
Of course, all of us just like Santa can take further steps to improve our carbon footprints, but one thing that we all require is for change to also come from the ones who are polluting the most, from the ones who have the power to initiate and sustain a green transition and make sustainability the sine qua non of everything we do.
⛄🎄🎅🏼Wishing you a wonderful Christmas and a happy start to the coming year! 🎅🏼🎄⛄
Hannah Harrison, 2nd year Geographer at Fitzwilliam College
DISCLAIMER: THE VIEWS EXPRESSED IN THIS ARTICLE ARE THOSE OF THE AUTHOR ONLY AND DO NOT REPRESENT THE VIEWS OR OPINIONS OF COMPASS MAGAZINE AS A WHOLE OR THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE DEPARTMENT OF GEOGRAPHY