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You can buy your Christmas tree online
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A Christmas tree cut and ready to move at a tree farm - photo by Herb Scribner
Herb Scribner
Deseret News special workflow
Published: Dec 8, 2017, 2:29 AM
Should you buy your Christmas tree online?

Slate recently pointed to the new trend of buying Christmas trees online, saying its something that not a lot of holiday celebrators do, despite the massive shift to online shopping.

Its amazing, its still not a very well-known thing yet really, even though its been available a lot of years, Wes Brown, the owner of online Christmas tree seller ATreeToYourDoor.com, told Slate.

Brown said he has sold Christmas trees online for the past eight years. New customers continue to act surprised that they can purchase their favorite pine tree over the internet, he said.

Most customers who order online receive their tree within a week of ordering it, Slate reported.

Brown said his company will personally cut down the trees, box them within two days and then ship it out. Most supermarkets cut their trees in October.

Online trees might even be cheaper, depending on the shipping. Most trees purchased online cost about $50, with shipping increasing the price tag to $100-$120, according to Slate.

Buying a tree online may be a welcomed alternative in 2017, given how the scarcity of Christmas trees has driven up the prices this year, according to the Deseret News.

Droughts in North Carolina, along with the Oregon wildfires earlier this year, dramatically decreased the amount of available Christmas trees.

The shortage can also be attributed to the 2008 economic downturn. At the time, fewer people were interested in spending money on trees, so fewer trees were cut down, leaving less space on tree farms for new seedlings to be planted. According to USA Today, Christmas trees take 10 years to grow. The U.S. is now seeing the result of that slim planting season.

Now that the economy has bounced back and more people plan to buy Christmas trees again, we're left with a high demand for trees, and a low supply meaning tree prices are expected to go up, according to WSMV-TV.

Prospective Christmas tree buyers may want to start looking now. Quartz reported that prices for Christmas trees tend to dip the closer we get to Christmas.

Buying a tree two weeks earlier also means two extra weeks of twinkling Christmas lights and the aroma of pine in your living room, according to Quartz. So a trees price isnt just a reflection of quality, but also of a premium placed on the Christmas spirit that comes with it.
Its toxic: New study says blue light from tech devices can speed up blindness
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A new study from the University of Toledo found that blue light from digital devices can transform molecules in your eyes retina into cell killers. - photo by Herb Scribner
Herb Scribner
Deseret News
Published: Aug 13, 2018, 1:39 PM
It turns out checking Twitter or Facebook before bed is bad for your health.

A new study from the University of Toledo found that blue light from digital devices can transform molecules in your eyes retina into cell killers.

That process can lead to age-related macular degeneration, which is a leading cause of blindness in the United States, according to the researchs extract.

Blue light is a common issue for many modern Americans. Blue light is emitted from screens, most notably at night, causing sleep loss, eye strain and a number of other issues.

Dr. Ajith Karunarathne, assistant professor in the UT Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, said our constant exposure to blue light cant be blocked by the lens or cornea.

"It's no secret that blue light harms our vision by damaging the eye's retina. Our experiments explain how this happens, and we hope this leads to therapies that slow macular degeneration, such as a new kind of eye drop, he said.

Macular degeneration is an incurable eye disease that often affects those in their 50s or 60s. It occurs after the death of photoreceptor cells in the retina. Those cells need retinal to sense light and help signal the brain.

The research team found blue light exposure created poisonous chemical molecules that killed photoreceptor cells

"It's toxic. If you shine blue light on retinal, the retinal kills photoreceptor cells as the signaling molecule on the membrane dissolves," said Kasun Ratnayake, a Ph.D. student researcher working in Karunarathne's cellular photo chemistry group. "Photoreceptor cells do not regenerate in the eye. When they're dead, they're dead for good."

However, the researchers found a molecule called alpha-tocopherol, which comes from Vitamin E, can help prevent cell death, according to Futurism.

The researchers plan to review how light from TVs, cellphones and tablet screens affect the eyes as well.

"If you look at the amount of light coming out of your cellphone, it's not great but it seems tolerable," said Dr. John Payton, visiting assistant professor in the UT Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. "Some cellphone companies are adding blue-light filters to the screens, and I think that is a good idea."

Indeed, Apple released a Night Shift mode two years ago to help quell blue lights strain on the eyes, according to The Verge. The screen will dim into a warmer, orange light that will cause less stress on the eyes.