How’d you ring in the New Year? Were you able to fall asleep after the festivities? Or were you kept up by incessant noise and the fear that your house would catch on fire? Don’t even get me started on the number of firework related ER visits that happen yearly. Every year we face the same problem: fireworks. And every year we begin the same conversations: let’s ban fireworks. But are these bursts of colour in the night sky really worth it?
To begin with, we must consider the impact of fireworks on human and animal life. We all know that animals, particularly dogs have a more acute sense of hearing making them more sensitive to loud noises. As a result, the constant and unpredictable pattern of explosions produced by the fireworks can trigger heightened anxiety in animals and even trigger their fight or flight response. How many times have you seen missing dog posters on New Year’s Day?
Likewise, people’s anxiety are equally affected by these loud booms. According to Penn Medicine, PTSD or post traumatic stress disorder is accompanied by heightened symptoms of other mental illnesses including anxiety. Thus anyone experiencing PTSD for any reason can be triggered by the frighteningly loud noises. They go on to mention war veterans and other victims of gun related crimes being triggered by these explosions. These bursts of light in celebration are forcing thousands of persons to relive their worst memories every year.
Are the colorful lights really worth the emotional toll of losing a pet or triggering an anxiety attack?
And if the social consequences weren’t bad enough, fireworks are terrible for the environment too. New Years morning is always marked by bits of wrappings and launch sticks from the explosives used the night before. Worse than this is the air quality during and after. Let’s stop for a second and look at how fireworks actually work. A fuse is set off to launch the explosive into the sky where gun powder, mostly made of potassium nitrates ignites. The colours are produced by iron filings and salts such as Lithium salt for pink or Copper and Barium for blue and green. The ignition of these heavy metals release copious amounts of carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and nitrogen gas which are...you guessed it, excess greenhouse gases. The metals then remain in the atmosphere as aerosols that can pollute the air, water and soil having lasting effects such as asthma attacks, all the way to cardio toxic effects. The effects of these pretty lights seem to last much longer than the two second explosion.
Is the detrimental impact on the environment and human health really worth 10 minutes of a light show?
Now I’m not saying light shows aren’t beautiful. We all love the appearance of fireworks. But I think it’s time we consider some more considerate alternatives. One modern alternative is a laser show using projectors and screens. This year, London’s New Year’s celebrations included a 10 minute laser show featuring text and images in “firework” form creating a beautiful yet silent and smoke-free display. Search light shows on a cloudy sky can also be an exciting alternative.
Bringing in the New Year should always be an exciting and hopeful experience. Yet the actions of some selfish few make it a nerve racking ordeal. Let’s let this tradition die in 2021 and finally put a ban on these nuisance fireworks.
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