Reindeer gas 'too polluting'

Published on 23/12/2005 12:21

SANTA Claus should leave Rudolph and his other reindeer in their stable and deliver presents by bus to make it a green Christmas, Liberal Democrats said today.

Transport spokesman Tom Brake said that Santa's reindeer-drawn sleigh was not an environmentally-friendly mode of transport because the animals produce the greenhouse gas methane in their wind.

According to the Lib Dems, nine reindeer would emit methane with a global-warming impact equivalent to 40,667 tonnes of carbon dioxide as they covered the 122 million miles needed to deliver to every house in the world.

This makes his sleigh ride almost as environmentally unfriendly as an aircraft, which would produce 41,480 tonnes of CO2 on the Christmas Eve trip.