Is Santa's sleigh zero carbon? The answer lies in reindeer poo

By Mike Jeffries, Associate Professor, Ecology, Northumbria University, Newcastle

Santa’s sleigh is famously pulled by eight reindeer, nine if you include the luminous Rudolf who pitches in when it’s foggy. The classic eight are Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Comet, Cupid and Donner and Blitzen. Those last two are an easy-on-the-ear translation of Dutch, but the whole eight sound like a fun stag party.

The consequences of most intercontinental flights aren’t so jolly, though. Air travel is a significant contributor to climate change – one ticket on a return flight from London to San Francisco is thought to emit enough carbon to melt…

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