So it’s almost July 4 so everyone in the US is gearing up for firework day. Plenty people have already had premature firings of fireworks in late June. Even in Canada we have our national day on July 1 and even though you’re technically not even allowed to shoot fireworks in many major Canadian cities anymore, people still do and still do it days in advance. And it’s not like celebrating with fireworks is a Anglo-North American thing either, pretty sure every country does it.
But here is why I don’t think they should be used, and I will attempt to convince you as well.
I think the most obvious problem is noise pollution. Everyone, myself included, has been trying to comfort their dog whenever some asshole decides to unexpectedly shoot one off on June 27. It’s generally doable to take your dog to a more remote area on the day of so they don’t hear it, designated firework quiet zones in the city are a godsend for this, but do you expect us to go take our dogs away for a week before the actual day? It obviously affects cats and other pets too. As well as young humans, you might have a couple of those in your house as well. And mitigations by moving oneself away from the noise can’t help the wildlife in the area, who are even more severely affected. The fast and erratic nature of firework sounds makes it very difficult to ignore. Wildlife can sometimes adapt to ambient human-caused noises like cars on a road, but basically no animal with hearing can tune out fireworks, not even humans. Sources are in the dropdown below, (pop the DOIs into SciHub to read them for free, I usually try to link free papers to begin with but it seems that everything on this subject is pay per view):
Sources. Trigger warning: Science
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Recreational noise pollution of traditional festivals reduces the juvenile productivity of an avian urban bioindicator - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2021.117247
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Evaluation and analysis of firecrackers noise: Measurement Uncertainty, legal noise regulations and noise induced hearing loss - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apacoust.2021.108462
Second and perhaps the biggest issue is pollution. Fireworks are explosives, and as such use a lot of highly reactive chemicals to get the energy needed to fly high up into the air and release a ton of light for all to see. Highly reactive chemicals, especially ones not commonly found in nature and therefore organisms have fewer or no defenses against them, are generally very harmful to both human and ecological health. The unexploded fuel along with bits of plastic and paper casings get thrown everywhere in the vicinity of the firing site, and if you do it at a park with a lot of natural greenspace and wildlife, that’s even worse. These pollutants are extremely long-lasting in the environment and get washed into groundwater, rivers and lakes, and eventually the ocean, not really decomposing in any amount of time relevant to human life, just dispersing and becoming less concentrated. Not to mention the smoke and fumes become air pollution and can spike the particulate concentration in an urban area. Same with the metal salts that give fireworks their brilliant colours, they don’t really burn up and just fall to the ground or float around in the air. Metallic pollution is also extremely harmful to the environment. Not going to go too far into the ecology or biochemistry behind this, but here are some scholarly sources if you’re interested. Sources are in the dropdown:
Sources. Trigger warning: Science
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Fireworks induced particle pollution: A spatio-temporal analysis - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosres.2016.05.014
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The air pollution caused by the burning of fireworks during the lantern festival in Beijing - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2006.07.043
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Changes in air pollution and attitude to fireworks in Beijing - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2020.117549
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The air pollution during Diwali festival by the burning of fireworks in Jamshedpur city, India - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.uclim.2018.08.009
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Environmental impacts of perchlorate with special reference to fireworks—a review - https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-014-3921-4
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Not just a flash in the pan: short and long term impacts of fireworks on the environment - https://doi.org/10.1071/PC22040
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Impact of 4th of July Fireworks on Spatiotemporal PM2.5 Concentrations in California Based on the PurpleAir Sensor Network: Implications for Policy and Environmental Justice - https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18115735
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Particulate Pollution from New Year Fireworks in Honolulu - https://doi.org/10.3390/environments10040068
The other major ecological impact, and the one that’s been memed to death, is the risk of wildfires. Climate change is making summers hotter in dryer in many places, including the US and Canada. And might I remind you that July is indeed the summer in this part of the world. Along with mismanagement of forests and refusal to use controlled burns to reduce the risk of a massive, out of control wildfire, the risk of a single stray spark falling back down burning down entire forest ranges is not out of the realm of possibilities, nor is it unheard of. We’ve all heard the news reports about gender reveal forest fires and most people seemed to take it as a joke and not as the ecological and humanitarian disaster that a massive unquenchable forest fire actually is. When every year we get thousands of pictures of forest fires rolling through towns and making them look like Dante’s Inferno, maybe we should be more careful about what incendiary devices we use. Sources are again in the dropdown:
Sources. Trigger warning: Mainstream News
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Quebec wildfires: Province bans fireworks in many areas ahead of Fête nationale holiday - https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/fete-nationale-quebec-wildfire-fireworks-1.6883013
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California couple whose gender-reveal party sparked a wildfire charged with 30 crimes - https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jul/21/couple-gender-reveal-party-wildfire-charged
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Weirdly enough I actually couldn’t find much scholarly sources on wildfires caused by fireworks.
Good news is that this is not an unfamiliar issue. Fireworks are already being restricted or banned all around the world. China invented fireworks and they have deep cultural legacies and symbolism, and is extremely important to many people during certain holidays (speaking as a Chinese person), and even they are getting more and more restrictive with it especially in urban areas. I too will miss the sight of fireworks lighting up the sky during lunar new year, but I genuinely believe the ecological impacts outweigh the benefits. Fireworks are pretty, but so is ivory. If its only job is to look pretty and is extremely harmful otherwise, that’s no excuse to keep it around.
Drone shows are pretty great tbh, I hope they get more popular
The first drone show that I saw was in Megamind, way back in 2010. I was awe-struck as a child.
We are in the future.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eagle_Creek_Fire
The Eagle Creek Fire in Oregon and Washington was caused by a teenager with fireworks, during a burn ban.
My only experience with fireworks have been in major celebration events when they are regulated and safe. I have no idea why regular people can just buy them
Can you create an exhaustive list of what “regular people” should be able to buy? Who are the special people who get to buy more stuff in this society you’ve concocted. Perhaps we could have some kind of official status that we give people that dictates what they are allowed to own? Maybe we could even tie voting, land owning, and political office holding to this status?
“special people”
I assume they mean experts in that specific field, i.e. people whose job it is to put on firework shows. It’s not that there’s one specific group of people who can buy a lot more, but that there are some things that we should only allow experts to buy.
Wait till you hear about the special people who can drive a car.
Those should be regulated on a federal level and ideally 95% of people wouldn’t be able to drive on public roads. I suspect that isn’t what the OP or any of the other reactionary’s commenting in this thread really want though since that would affect themselves personally.
Certain things are simply dangerous and folks can’t be trusted to not endanger themselves and others with them. Fireworks are explosives and projectiles that simply go largely unregulated despite having very real risks associated with them. It’s extremely common around this time of year for folks especially outside of the big cities to have parties involving lots of alcohol and fireworks, and guess what? People get injured, stuff catches fire and sometimes people die
Part of what we as a society have decided is to form governments that among other things pass and enforce laws to guarantee that when you buy something it is safe and does exactly what it says, and contains exactly what it says it contains. We as a society have also largely decided certain things are too dangerous to be sold to absolutely anyone and will require further licensing or permitting to purchase, such as many medications and many unsafe chemicals. By regulating the ability to purchase it communicates that a level of care is needed.
I for one would much prefer to live in a society where things are regulated in this way so that I can assume most items I might purchase on a whim are relatively safe
Personal Fireworks are already regulated. There is a maximum amount of powder that a specific firework can legally contain. In addition there are already licenses required for the “professional” shows and the types of explosives those use. So you already live in the society you so desire.
Yeah, maybe we should stop restricting who can buy nuclear weapons too! Everyone should be able to buy whatever they want, safety and ecological considerations be damned! /s
Spotted the American
i’m so glad my (current) dogs are not afraid of fireworks or thunderstorms. it’s never fun trying to train them to be calm for something you have zero control over.
on that note, if you have a dog that is sensitive, you can try playing videos of fireworks at very low levels and giving them treats, slowly raising the volume over several weeks to desensitize them to the sounds. it doesn’t always work, but it may be worth a shot, especially with puppies and younger dogs who haven’t yet been traumatized.
for the record: i’m not a fan of fireworks, but i did teach dog classes for several years and had lots of clients ask about it.
Can I borrow some of this if I need to make a comment on in a city meeting?
Agreed on all points. It’s ironic that (at least in the US) fireworks are seen as patriotic. Putting aside for the moment how patriotism has led more than one country down the wrong path, what’s more patriotic than protecting your country and its inhabitants from pollution and danger? Fireworks are just the opposite. In reality they’re harmful.
And it can be traumatizing for people who came from war situations; the sounds makes them remember guns and bombs. Also, wild birds have been shown to flee for many dozens of miles.
There are talks in my country to forbid individuals to use fireworks and instead do a laser show for a entire city. But there is plenty of resistance
Great write up, I completely agree. I might add two more reasons to the list: accidental property damage and accidental injuries are both really common.
Thank you!
When dogs dislike something it is wrong. Full stop.
Well, except for the mail carriers…
I totally did not get the motivation to write this because my dog was freaking out all night…
Pitbulls + children makes an interesting moral conflict in that framework
I guess I implicitly meant “good dogs,” though that’s not what I said.
My partner and I have a saying, “There are no bad dogs, only bad owners.” I figure pitbulls don’t actually dislike children in general, but they are just too dangerous to be allowed around children uncontrolled.
Definitely stay far away from Germany and the Netherlands on New Years Eve. It’s absolute chaos, but actually rather fun in my opinion. We don’t have a dog, but my cat didn’t mind at all.
Also Bundesliga soccer matches, those events dont look safe at all. German hooligans are another breed.
As an animal lover, I fucking loathe fireworks. Fortunately, we’ve managed to condition 3 of our pets to largely ignore them, and the 4th is deaf. I can’t help worrying about the wildlife they scare to death though.
To paraphrase the Simpsons “what kentucky fried rube is still impressed by that?”. Answer: Plenty. I’ve seen dirt poor folks in poor neighborhoods spend $300 on fireworks on the 4th.
I think the bigger problem in our society is entitled pet owners. The social cost of your dog shitting all over our public spaces multiple times a day and 365 days a year doesn’t need to exist in a modern society.
I have a cat. It stays indoors at all times. It makes no sounds and doesn’t bother anyone. Yet it still gets scared half to death every new year’s due to fireworks.
Is getting scared once in a while actually bad for the animal? Or is that just an inconvenience?
I think comparing fireworks to thunderstorms is okay. I would even go as far as to say that thunderstorms are where this behavior comes from. But in either case, we can not stop those and they have been around since the planet exists. So I have my doubts.
Unnecessary noise pollution still sucks, no questions asked, mostly from cars and motorcycles for me. But these once or twice per year things affecting pets? I don’t think so.
Instead of spending money on a cat you could fund the education of a child.
Instead you’re here whining about fireworks.
Pets are social burdens that should be outlawed.
Edit: All the people mad about this care more about their pets than starving children.
You’re super duper offended that we’re discussing banning fireworks, because freedom obviously, yet in the exact same breath you say that pets should banned. Interesting.
I’m just throwing the example back at the commenter?
If you want to use state sponsored violence to curb one behaviour, why not another that can have an equally good effect?
Or are you saying that starving children is less of a concern than fireworks and definitely less important than cats?
I’m not that offended, tone doesn’t carry well over text. It’s just a tired excuse of my pets get scared so fireworks should be banned.
Your pets are not the centre of the world!
Or are you saying that starving children is less of a concern than fireworks and definitely less important than cats?
Stop putting words in other people’s mouths if you want to have a civil discussion about something. People are talking about fireworks and you going “BUT WHAT ABOUT THE CHILDREN?!?!” is a logical fallacy and a thought stopping strategy. No one here said they don’t care about children.
Also, I literally mentioned how fireworks are also harmful to babies and young children.
I’m not that offended, tone doesn’t carry well over text. It’s just a tired excuse of my pets get scared so fireworks should be banned.
Your pets are not the centre of the world!
I made two passing remarks about pets and then spent the rest of the post talking about the ecological impacts of fireworks.
The environment, if you hadn’t noticed, is indeed the centre of the world.
I know, I know, of course your cat is perfectly fine, but it’s all those other pet owners who are causing the problem. However consider the massive ecological cost of the house cat to the bird and mammel population. https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms2380
I’d agree with all points but (As a Brit if that makes a difference) still like fireworks. Bonfire night and the new year fireworks are both big events in the UK, but largely took the form of fewer, larger displays that community centres or councils run. As such most people can get to a celebration but the damage is localised.
I have unfortunately noticed that recently more people have been setting them off in their backyards so would support more restrictions on who can buy them.
Some of my favourite times are well organised, huge, and very loud displays.
I think general access to fireworks is a bad things - beyond a few sparklers maybe.
Still, this post is about USA - land of the free where everything that might offend anyone should be banned.
I got to see a really well done firework show a few years ago and I suddenly understood why people generally like firework shows. The tight timings and careful choreography make it worth watching. But most firework shows are kinda boring…
