California's Tree Ready for Decorations -- and Fuel Cell
Cranes erected the State of California's 2007 Christmas tree, a 55-foot white fir, on Friday, and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's office said this was the last Christmas tree for the state to be felled by Jeff Boddes, a veteran California Department of General Services employee who had the job of cutting them down for 20 years. Now in place at the Capitol, the tree will be trimmed by DGS staff in the next few days with 6,500 lights, more than 2,000 ornaments -- and a fuel cell.
"In keeping with the Governor Schwarzenegger's commitment to reduce California's carbon footprint, the tree will be powered by a fuel cell for the second year in a row," his office said in a news relesae." Also again this year, ultra-low-wattage LED lights will be used, saving 95 percent of the energy that would be consumed by incandescent bulbs."
The governor and First Lady Maria Shriver are scheduled to participate in the annual tree-lighting ceremony Dec. 4. Some 1,500 of the tree's ornaments came from the Department of Developmental Services and were hand-made by children and adults with developmental disabilities it serves.