Lack of fireworks is a great opportunity

In the COVID-19 era, “scarcity” is becoming a common word. But, unlike a lack of toilet paper, cleaning products, and flour, a lack of fireworks can be beneficial.

In its latest annual report on Fireworks, the Consumer Product Safety Commission estimated that emergency departments of U.S. hospitals treated 10,000 patients with fireworks-related injuries in 2019. The agency has received reports of at least 12 fireworks-related deaths, but points out that the actual number is likely higher.

In addition, the National Fire Protection Association found that pyrotechnics cause an average of nearly 20,000 fires each year, resulting in over $ 100 million in property damage. And insurance often doesn’t pay the bills. Unfortunately, these explosives also cause thousands of wildfires every year, with devastating consequences for forests and their animals. And given the current dry conditions in many parts of the country, wildfires this year could be particularly devastating.

Fires are not the only threat to wildlife from pyrotechnics. In areas where fireworks have been launched, surfaces and groundwater are often contaminated with perchlorate, a carcinogen common to explosives. Animals can also be swallowed or injured by unexploded ordnance, pieces of plastic, and other debris.

And during noisy performances, frightened deer and other animals often run out onto the roadway, and birds run away from their nests. After one fireworks display in Arkansas, the bodies of about 5,000 red-winged thrushes fell from the sky. The birds panicked and fled, but due to poor night vision, they crashed into houses, signs and other obstacles, resulting in blunt force injuries and death.

On New Years Eve last year, people put on fireworks in Rome, Italy, despite a city ban, causing hundreds of dead birds to cover the city’s streets. Animal Welfare International has suggested that, in addition to death from collisions, fear-induced heart attacks were another cause of death. Other birds died after suffocating from thick plumes of smoke containing chemicals.

Bombs exploding in the air can upset veterans, young children, and anyone who is sensitive to loud sounds, but they are often fatal to dogs and cats whose hearing is more sensitive than ours.

Animal shelters found that after New Years Eve and July 4th, they received a record number of messages from guardians whose animals jumped over fences, broke through barred doors, or jumped through windows trying to hide from the noise. Many will never return home. The problem became so widespread that last July, animal rescue organizations in Los Angeles opened microchip scanning stations around the city where residents could take wandering animals in the hopes of reuniting them with their families.

But there is is an a simple solution. And we don’t need to give up the celebration or even change it drastically. The shortage of fireworks this year and skyrocketing prices provide cities with a great opportunity to experience cool laser light shows that are safer, greener and more humane. They are also more economical as municipalities can use the same lights year after year to create different, bright displays. Lasers can simulate traditional fireworks as well as any image imaginable, and can even be combined with fountains and music.

And there is no shortage of options for safely celebrating at home. Parenting offers confetti, glow-in-the-dark bubbles, exploding foam, glow sticks, fancy sparklers from shiny ribbons and firecrackers from pop rock.

We don’t need real rockets to celebrate Independence Day, no more than real ghosts to enjoy Halloween. When one simple change can protect the environment and save countless lives, isn’t it worth trying?