My Organic Market’s ER

Last night I was sitting up on my rooftop watching the fireworks show from DC, and in between the “oooohhhhhs” and “aaaahhhhhhhs”, I thought about the smoke that was filling the air and the debris that will ultimately be left behind. I know… it does take some of the fun out of the watching experience, but really, how can I ignore it? And then I thought about the fact that a similar show is happening in every city throughout the states, with people setting off their own show from their back yard. This happens year after year, and year after year I think the same thing.

Fireworks and their effect on the environment isn’t a widely discussed topic, and I think partially because it is normally a once or twice a year thing. The fact of the matter is that fireworks are typically propelled by the ignition of gunpowder and can produce smoke and dust that contains various heavy metals, sulfur-coal compounds and other noxious chemicals. Different elements are used to produce the magnificent colors that we see bursting before us. Barium = Green. Copper = Blue. etc. All this stuff in the air basically causes a fall out of toxic pollution into the environment, waterways and even our lungs, and is probably in violation of the Clean Air Act.

SO, I suppose the question is: at what point do we change the American way and find a friendlier way to celebrate? Why aren’t fireworks discussed more?

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 5th, 2007 at 10:29 am and is filed under Anecdotes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.