It’s bonfire night! You look up to the sky and all you can see is dazzling displays of colour whizzing around, banging, crashing and mesmerising your town. It stops you thinking about the clocks that have just been turned back….. (not ANOTHER winter of dark nights and dreary coldness here in Newcastle?) It gives you a break from thinking about those uni deadlines that have been giving you anxiety for weeks. But most of all, it can bring you and your friends together to go and buy a toffee apple and sit on the grass together watching a firework display.
But is it worth it? Is the impact that it has on the environment really worth this second of satisfaction? Let’s face it, they only last a few minutes at most anyway?!
In a world where a climate emergency has been called, is our fascination with fireworks actually just an extremely selfish way of harming our environment even more? Here are the top three ways that fireworks our harming our environment.
The plastic that is left behind from the burnt out remains of fireworks can harm animals in the surrounding habit.
Firstly, the debris that is given off from firework displays largely impacts animals. The plastic that is left behind from the burnt out remains of fireworks can harm animals in the surrounding habit. If an animal eats the plastic remain, they can potentially die from it getting stuck in their throat. Also, the toxic chemicals left in the plastic debris can harm the animals if ingested.
Secondly, water supplies can be infiltrated with the chemicals that fireworks contain. Fireworks contain chemicals which include gunpowder, metal salts and oxidisers. Long after the firework has been lit do these substances linger in the atmosphere. Eventually, they will find their way into the local water supplies!
Fireworks introduce 42% more pollutants into the air than are on a normal day
Finally, the air pollution that they cause is staggering. With America doing a test on how much air pollution is cause in their country on Independence Day, they found that as a national average, fireworks introduce 42% more pollutants into the air than are on a normal day. This is a global crisis caused by fireworks!
So, if fireworks are bad for our animals, our water and the air then are they really worth it? Is it time we found a cleaner way to celebrate Bonfire Night?