Wishing a happy, safe, and peaceful Canada Day to Canadians, and a happy, safe, and peaceful Independence Day to Americans!
BUT can we please find safe ways to celebrate life instead of using dangerous substances which make noises that scare the daylights out of our children, pets and wildlife?
It’s the time of year again when some people like to blow up toxic, coloured, gunpowder…
Please read my post from last year for details:
Let’s find safer ways to celebrate
Seriously "Sensitive" to Pollution 
I can tell you it hurts when you get hit with the casing all that toxic stuff is enclosed in. Luckily I wasn’t hurt when the wind blew a piece of the casing right at me. :D
AACK!
The air smells similar to asphalt here today after someone had a fireworks show in the field on the other side of the hedge here… I’ve had a headache and foggy brain all day today :-(
I offer empathy. Someone in my neighborhood had a “campfire” last night. I awoke at midnight with my bedroom filled with the smell of smoke so strong I thought my house was on fire. My throat was closed off and is still very sore. I’m just grateful I awoke when I did or I don’t think there would have been a blog post today. All this certainly does make me appreciate each day. Hope you feel better soon. :D
So good you caught it when you did, but sorry it happened… I wish the right to breathe clean air was more important than the right to pollute…
We have a neighbor who has started doing burn barrel BBQs 10-15 feet away from our bldg (5 feet away from the no smoking sign) and smokes us all out every evening – I had to shower and wash my dress after a 3 minute walk around the building the other day to see if I should call 911… I wish I would have just called 911…
I realized also that the Canada Day noise every year is not from someone across the street, but from a park almost 2 km away… Boom boom boom all day long…
My head really hurts today… Hard to appreciate the day when it hurts… I wish people could celebrate and have fun without hurting others… I don’t enjoy being a party pooper any more than I enjoy being hurt by excessive noise, vibrations or toxic fumes…
Why are these expensive and toxic displays still happening?
Because the right to pollute our air, water, and bodies is more important to some people than finding safe ways to celebrate life!
GOP to EPA: Don’t douse Fourth of July fireworks
“”If finalized, EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers’ proposal to expand the Clean Water Act’s definition of the ‘waters of the United States’ may enable litigious environmental groups to jeopardize fireworks displays throughout the country,” the letter, spearheaded by Sen. David Vitter (R-La.), adds.
Republicans in Congress have called the rules a “power grab,” but the EPA has stressed the proposal does not expand protections.
The rules require that the EPA and Army Corps approve any project that might pollute the protected waterways already under their jurisdiction, keeping in place exemptions for farming, ranching and forestry practices.
But the 10 signatories claim the proposal would encourage environmental groups to challenge firework displays at lakes and recreational water areas legally.”
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/211106-senate-gop-to-epa-dont-take-away-our-fireworks
Which is why we need the legal and constitutional right to a healthy environment instead of the right to pollute!
Here’s another article with a similar message to mine
The case for banning fireworks
They’re a threat to the environment and dangerous as hell. There’s got to be a better way to celebrate
http://www.salon.com/2014/07/04/the_case_for_banning_fireworks/
It’s hard to say ban fireworks, it’s such a treat and source of joy during holidays when people want to loosen up and celebrate. But there must be safer alternatives. I live in a moderately sized southern city and our fireworks display this year was MASSIVE. I live near downtown and the putrid clouds of residual smoke and toxins lingered for a while.
Some people can deal with that toxic cloud (once or a few times before getting really sick) but more and more people and wildlife have already passed tipping point re what pollutants are doing in our bodies (asthma, autism, cancers, chemical injuries, learning disabilities, MS, Parkinson’s, etc etc).
We should have a right to a healthy environment and body instead of the right to pollute…
Maybe a 10 year ban while we clean up the environment and our bodies and develop safe sources of “joy during holidays”… There is no reason we have to be subjected (by marketing) to harmful “treats”. Habits and traditions change all the time. :-)
“More seriously, lovers of fireworks have also had to grapple with the reality that the detritus, smoke, and chemical vapors that rain down during a fireworks show pollute the environment.”
http://cen.acs.org/articles/95/i27/s-fireworks-produces-those-colorful.html
“The UGC had last year directed all the universities in the country, including DAVV, to include a module on ill-effects of fireworks in the paper on environment studies for undergraduate courses. Last year we could not prepare the module but this year we are not only going to prepare it but also implement the same,” said incharge registrar Ajay Verma. He stated that the university will take help of Madhya Pradesh Pollution Control Board for preparing the module.
In order to create awareness about environment issues, the UGC wants students to study about the ill-effects of fireworks also. In a letter addressed to the VCs of universities, UGC says: “At a time when issues of climate change and global warming have captured international attention, we need to do maximum to educate students about the severity of toxicity of fireworks so as to discourage their usage.”
http://www.freepressjournal.in/indore/indore-ill-effects-of-fireworks-to-be-taught-at-davv/1156093
Highlights
•We report early-July hourly particulate (PM2.5) levels at 315 US monitoring sites.
•PM2.5 concentrations are elevated on July 4 evening and July 5 morning.
•Increases are largest at 9–10 pm on July 4 and diminish by noon on July 5.
•On national average, holiday 24-hr PM2.5 levels are elevated by 5 μg/m3 (42%).
•A site adjacent to fireworks shows 48 μg/m3 (370%) increases in 24-hr PM2.5.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1352231015301369
Health Department issues advisory due to fireworks smoke
“In recent years, LLCHD has found high levels of particulate air pollution from the night of July 3 through the morning of July 5, resulting in the Air Quality Index (AQI) level of “Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups.”
http://www.wahoo-ashland-waverly.com/waverly/news/health-department-issues-advisory-due-to-fireworks-smoke/article_20a42fc8-5da7-11e7-b543-4b710af17336.html
All that effort should go into creating something non-toxic that doesn’t pollute, doesn’t terrorize wildlife and pets, or refugees and war veterans.
It’s ridiculous to keep doing this knowing what we know about them.
“Today’s shells typically include some sort of fuel, often gunpowder. They also contain a chemical called an oxidizer. This helps the fuel burn more quickly. The shells also contain chemicals whose recipes include metals. Those metal-based compounds play a big part in determining the color of fireworks, explains Phil Grucci. He’s the owner of Fireworks by Grucci in Bellwood, N.Y. His family business has been operating for almost 170 years.
As a shell’s fuel explodes, it releases a sudden burst of heat. That energy, in turn, excites electrons orbiting metal atoms packed along with the fuel, Grucci explains. Excited electrons jump to a higher orbital. Soon, they’ll drop back to their original orbits again. At this point, the metal atoms emit a characteristic color of light.
Different chemicals produce different hues. For example, chemicals that contain barium give off a greenish light. Copper yields a blue light. This can be easily seen in an experiment that’s often a staple of high-school chemistry classes, says Grucci. A small wire is dipped into a powder and then thrust into a small flame. The color of the flame changes with the elements contained in the powder.”
…
https://www.sciencenewsforstudents.org/article/how-fireworks-shower-skies-science