The Fourth of July—also known as Independence Day or July 4th—has been a federal holiday in the United States since 1941. Festivities ranging from fireworks, parades and concerts to more casual family gatherings and barbecues.
The Fourth Of July. History
The tradition of Independence Day celebrations goes back to the 18th century and the American Revolution. On July 2nd, 1776, the Continental Congress voted in favor of independence, and two days later delegates from the 13 colonies adopted the Declaration of Independence, a historic document drafted by Thomas Jefferson. From 1776 to the present day, July 4th has been celebrated as the birth of American independence.
Fireworks: Is It Still Ok?
Fireworks are mesmerizing, dreamy, and very romantic. But at the same time, they are not exactly great for the environment. Whether you opt for looking out from behind the relative safety of your window, gawking at the professional show amidst thousands of others in a crowded square.
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Fireworks, Made in China
And while it will not be a thing most of us are wanting to hear about fireworks, because 'it is tradition and a symbolic way of celebrating the fourth of July' Well, just hear me out if you want to optimize the number of future celebrations will get to enjoy it as well.
Where did fireworks originally come from?
Some think that fireworks first originated in China around 2,000 years ago. The most popular legend has it that fireworks were discovered by accident when a Chinese cook working in a field kitchen happened to mix charcoal, sulphur and saltpeter (which were all common kitchen items at the time).
The fireworks colorful, artistic lights flickering in the sky, accompanied by rhythmic booms reverberating in our hearts, will fill us with joy. With happy and perhaps not so happy memories. It will fill us with love and with good intentions. And with harmful particulates and elements.
Fourth of July Fireworks NYC 2019 from Brooklyn Bridge Park
Unfortunately, all the things that make fireworks so pretty and attractive are exactly those things that make them so bad for us. Gunpowder will help it lift off and reach the sky. Metallic compounds give it its gorgeous colors. All of these elements are made up of carcinogenic and hormone-disrupting substances, that can make its way into our soil, air, and water.
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Fireworks and it's 'dirty' chemistry
How are fireworks produced?
When a firework explodes mid-air thanks to the bursting charge and the black powder, the gas and the heat that are produced ignite the stars. The atoms of the metal powders in the stars absorb that heat energy and their electrons rearrange from their lower-energy ground state to a higher-energy 'excited' state
Some of those really bad guys that are present in commonly used fireworks include perchlorates. These are responsible for the explosion, as they feed oxygen in the charcoal-sulfur fuel that powers up the explosive, serving as the so-called oxidizers. The pyrotechnics industry is particularly looking at two types of perchlorates for this: potassium perchlorate and ammonium perchlorate. Fancy names for something so inherently bad, as they can cause all kind of health problems, most significantly hypothyroidism: an illness that limits the thyroid’s ability to ingest iodine, which will lead to a lack of hormones in the human body - hindering all kind of bodily functions and potentially giving rise to all kind of disorders, especially in children.
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Fireworks have bad effects on children's health
Then there are particulates in fireworks. These can be found in the smoke resulting from the burned charcoal and sulfur and will make their way to our lungs. This could pose an instant danger for those suffering from asthma-related diseases. Merely looking at an air-quality monitor spiking out in the hours after a fireworks show should get you concerned about the air that you are breathing.
Do fireworks make it rain?
Nonetheless, fireworks are not found to be an actual cause for rain. The concentration of chemicals during even the busiest of firework nights alone are not enough to open the floodgates of the sky. The problem with the argument is that fireworks won't go high enough to introduce the particles into the clouds
Fireworks which have been exploded
There are even more rather ominous-sounding elements that can be found in your firecrackers, flares, and Roman candles. Strontium, aluminum, copper, barium, rubidium, cadmium: terms that you might remember from your chem class as being rather delicate and dangerous substances, yet that are freely used to color our fireworks. All of them carry nasty side-effects when ingested in high doses, including impairment of bone growth, mental disorders, Alzheimer’s, cancer, skin diseases, paralysis, heart problems, and - in the worst case - death.
Is the smoke from fireworks toxic?
Depending on the effect sought, fireworks produce smoke and dust that contain various heavy metals, sulfur-coal compounds, and other noxious chemicals. Barium, for instance, is used to produce brilliant green colors in fireworks displays, despite
Fireworks: You Will Be Breathing Highly Toxic Particles
Some will object at this point, claiming that it cannot be that bad. Fireworks are, after all, not an everyday event (that is unless you work in Disney World). And are those one or two days per year that we shoot all kinds of garbage up in the atmosphere really something worth worrying over? Especially as the industrial sector keeps on regurgitating substances that are seemingly identical on a daily basis?
Admittedly, the chances of attracting any of the diseases given above for the volumes going up in the air on the fourth of July are so small that they could be considered insignificant. Yet we should not just think about ourselves but consider the impact on our environment as well. Some cities will experience more smog and air pollution on the fourth of July alone than in the previous year as a whole. That is a fact.
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Fireworks, distribution case
These toxins will get in the atmosphere, in the soil, in the water. Aquatic life will suffer, cows eating polluted grass will pass it on to us through our hamburgers. With every piece of firework launched, toxic rain will fall down on our lands that will impact all living beings. And the worst part? The majority of these chemicals are persistent, which means that they will not break down in nature, but stay in our ecosystems indefinitely.
Are fireworks bad for animals?
Research studies show that the loud sounds of fireworks do have an adverse effect on wild animals as well as domestic animals. ... This fear often causes them to flee into roadways which results in more vehicle damage (from large animals such as deer) and an increase in dead animals.
And no, there has not been enough research performed yet to be able to state with certainty that fireworks do actually pose an instant, immediate danger to us and the world around us. But the evidence as given above will, if anything, make it perfectly clear that it cannot possibly be any good.
Only clinging onto it for the sake of tradition, would be silly - and hugely negligent.
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