300 million lbs of fireworks and 2.7 billion dollars gone in a cloud of smoke.
I absolutely hate them. Birds die because of them, and they terrify my dog.
Does anyone else feel like fireworks are a complete waste of money and a ridiculous amount of unnecessary Pollution?
Submitted 4 months ago by Grayox@lemmy.ml to nostupidquestions@lemmy.world
Comments
BonesOfTheMoon@lemmy.world 4 months ago
zarkanian@sh.itjust.works 4 months ago
They also keep people awake and can trigger PTSD in combat veterans.
ColonelThirtyTwo@pawb.social 4 months ago
Fireworks are art. Art isn’t inherently wasteful.
gearheart@lemm.ee 4 months ago
It’s like asking a texan to get rid of their monster truck. Sure they live with their parents and never use the truck for work. But it’s just not gonna happen buddy.
PersnickityPenguin@lemm.ee 4 months ago
I live in a city that has criminalized all fireworks, including pop-its. We’re talking arrest and jail time are on the table just for transporting them in your car through city limits (I’m sure this violates the Commerce Clause).
However, drugs are legal. I love their priorities.
gearheart@lemm.ee 4 months ago
Talk about taking it to an extreme. It’s almost like the whole city is managed by an HOA.
funkless_eck@sh.itjust.works 4 months ago
we got rid of smoking and arguably that was sexy and cool
LadyAutumn@lemmy.blahaj.zone 4 months ago
I definitely think they can and are often overdone. Where I’m from civilian fireworks use is very uncommon unless you’re out in the sticks. So we get at most 2 municipal fireworks display per year, New year’s eve and Canada day. New year’s eve fireworks happen some years and don’t others.
I personally love fireworks. The awe of the display is never lost upon me. I can see it becoming old if it’s something you deal with all the time. That isn’t an issue here though and I always step outside to watch them when a display is done locally.
NecroParagon@lemm.ee 4 months ago
People launch large mortars in my area of 75,000 residents on a regular basis. It can scare the shit out of you if you’re not expecting it. Sometimes people get shot over here as well. I wonder how the gunshot listening stations differentiate those noises.
fuckwit_mcbumcrumble@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 months ago
They don’t. Those gunshot detectors are notorious for their false positives.
PeterLossGeorgeWall@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 months ago
I’m in a city of 4 million and New years Eve is absolute chaos. It also accounts for about 1/4 of the emissions for the year!
ssj2marx@lemmy.ml 4 months ago
I like fireworks, but I gotta say I like drone swarms making 3d pictures better.
RoyalEngineering@lemmy.world 4 months ago
Yea! So cool!! Do you think drone shows will eventually replace fireworks?
Boozilla@lemmy.world 4 months ago
They seem very backwards when there are drone displays and other forms of entertainment. Humans cling on to things way too long.
ChexMax@lemmy.world 4 months ago
I think a big part of it is that they’re dangerous. It’s fun to experience just a tinge of fear from how big they sound, or even just from being near the little street versions. It’s a (relatively) safe way for us to experience something that would otherwise be terror inducing explosives.
Lightor@lemmy.world 4 months ago
I mean, safe aside from all the accidents that happen every year. Like kids blowing off fingers or what have you. I mean I get it, but having any random Joe be able to buy a ton of explosives then go home, drink, and play with them seems needlessly risky. Especially in dry areas where fires can start or around large groups of people.
intensely_human@lemm.ee 4 months ago
And you’re in your 60s or something, wise with age and experience? You’ve at least got half a century under your belt I hope, to criticize the concept of traditions generally?
JackGreenEarth@lemm.ee 4 months ago
In many fireworks displays such as the London new year ones there are drone displays incorporated.
jimmy90@lemmy.world 4 months ago
no i think they are beautiful
gerryflap@feddit.nl 4 months ago
I mean, yes and no. The festivals I visit and my gaming PC are also a complete waste of energy when you view it like that. I hate the dangerous situations we have every year in the Netherlands with fireworks. The heavy fireworks and loud bangs, the vandalism. But I’m okay with the people who send a lot of nice colourful fireworks into the sky around new year’s eve, and the farmers with their loud “carbid” launchers.
Shimitar@feddit.it 4 months ago
Personally I hate them and I think they are more harm than good.
Let’s do some clarification: I can appreciate the high in the sky fireworks, while I simply hate those you fire by hand in between the legs of other bystanders.
Overall I think they are dangerous and should not be freely sold, while keep doing the big ones in the sky.
But, honestly, a form of art that harms so many people and animals maybe should be banned after all.
fuckwit_mcbumcrumble@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 months ago
BruceTwarzen@lemm.ee 4 months ago
I mean there is no good or use in fireworks, so that much is obvious
Shimitar@feddit.it 4 months ago
It’s still a form of art, specially the “big” ones. The hand-handled one are totally useless and can disappear from the world for what I care.
In general, they are dangerous and should be banned overall. But won’t happen any time soon.
fmstrat@lemmy.nowsci.com 4 months ago
The art of it has use. However I think drone shows would be an interesting replacement.
oce@jlai.lu 4 months ago
Are drones really less pollution than fireworks?
intensely_human@lemm.ee 4 months ago
They’re not a replacement for fireworks.
JovialMicrobial@lemm.ee 4 months ago
Drones wouldn’t scare the shit out of local wildlife and people’s pets at the very least.
fmstrat@lemmy.nowsci.com 4 months ago
I’m no expert, but this article covered what I expected: en.reset.org/drone-light-shows-could-provide-a-gr…
explodicle@sh.itjust.works 4 months ago
I was surprised and heartbroken to discover my neighborhood did that last night. It’s not as good at all. Now I know to check, and go someplace with real fireworks.
aidan@lemmy.world 4 months ago
A community of ultra redditors must of course be the fun police :(
OsrsNeedsF2P@lemmy.ml 4 months ago
I love how much the term “Redditor” became an insult. Before it was like “Hah, I use Reddit instead of Facebook!”, now it’s “Hah, you can’t think for yourself and stuck in an abusive relationship”
duderium2@lemmy.world 4 months ago
Same goes for all american flags.
corsicanguppy@lemmy.ca 4 months ago
Bread and circus, boys, bread and circus.
penguinsAreRapists@lemmy.world 4 months ago
My city had a drone show this year and it kinda sucked. I probably won’t go again
souperk@reddthat.com 4 months ago
They also scare the crap out of my dog, and cause a lot of accidents. Though, they can be beautiful…
BigBenis@lemmy.world 4 months ago
They also cause fires, severely injure and kill people, trigger people with PTSD, frighten animals and disrupt local wildlife.
jjjalljs@ttrpg.network 4 months ago
I don’t like the loud noises, the smoke, or the debris leftover.
Maybe 200 years ago they were impressive. All the color and whatnot up in the sky. But we live in a modern age. We have things way more entertaining than colorful explosions that don’t have such immediate drawbacks.
It’s also supremely annoying and like a microcosm of everything wrong with humanity that some folks will be like “I don’t like them for a set of valid reasons” and a bunch of people will be like “but I like them so I don’t see the problem and won’t stop”
intensely_human@lemm.ee 4 months ago
So you consider it to be “everything wrong with humanity” that people can’t just snap their fingers and stop other people from doing things? That one person’s concerns don’t equal another person’s lifestyle change, and that’s the dark side of humanity?
It actually kinda sounds like you’re saying freedom, as a phenomenon, is what’s wrong with humanity.
If you look at it one way, “freedom” is a word for the concept that “A person’s reasons are always legitimate”.
So really, some people claimed legitimate reasons for stopping others from using fireworks, and other people claimed legitimate reasons for saying no thank you and continuing.
jjjalljs@ttrpg.network 4 months ago
No, the thing that’s wrong with humanity is having someone say “hey this thing that’s not a big deal for you (fireworks) really sucks for me (PTSD, pollution, it frightens my dog, etc). Can you refrain?” and people go “nah. I don’t care about you. I wanna see some pretty lights”
What are these legitimate reasons for fireworks?
aidan@lemmy.world 4 months ago
“but I like them so I don’t see the problem and won’t stop”
Well yeah, when it’s 2-3 days a year it just makes me want to say “Womp Womp” about the complaints. Not everything has to be something you like
jjjalljs@ttrpg.network 4 months ago
So you’re lacking in empathy. Acknowledging something is an important first step.
I imagine that if you had a dog you wouldn’t be “womp womp” about torturing it two or three times a year.
Or if you had a friend with PTSD, you wouldn’t go out of your way to aggravate that a couple times a year.
Certainly not for an extremely mild form of entertainment.
JohnDClay@sh.itjust.works 4 months ago
For pollution, at least CO2, 300M lb is 136k metric tons. I didn’t know the water to CO2 ratio for solid rocket motors, but I’d guess maybe half is CO2. Cars produce 1.5B tons of CO2 per year in the US, so the CO2 would be about equivalent to about 24 min of driving cars. That doesn’t seem too unreasonable.
But maybe you were taking about the metals? I don’t know how much of an issue those are.
someguy3@lemmy.world 4 months ago
Unfortunately this isn’t complete combustion. There’s a shit ton of PM and everything else. Ever go to a big show? They have to take pauses for the smoke to clear so that you can see the next batch.
JohnDClay@sh.itjust.works 4 months ago
You’re concerned about the smoke rather than the CO2?
MindTraveller@lemmy.ca 4 months ago
The metals are a big thing. Breathing heavy metals is bad for people and animals.
Bertuccio@lemmy.world 4 months ago
The particulate matter, and specifically heavy metals, go through the roof.
There’s also a bunch of paperwork involved in removing those measurements from the pollution data sets with a rule that gives a pass for fireworks.
JadenSmith@sh.itjust.works 4 months ago
Personally I think it’s important to understand Co2 emissions aren’t the only factors in the pollution of air quality. Like you mentioned, heavy metals are a big factor in climate (for example how private jets still use leaded fuel).
Tarquinn2049@lemmy.world 4 months ago
Sorry, completely off-topic, but your name keeps reminding me of rock-a-doodle. I know his name is completely different, but it has the same flow and a really similar sound. Chanticleer. Prounounced Chant Eclair, a french pun for “sing loud and clear”.
Resonosity@lemmy.world 4 months ago
Yes, I wholeheartedly think this
Marthirial@lemmy.world 4 months ago
As someone who grew up in a country where fireworks are legal and used on every festivity, they suck unless you are a baby, a dog or not the one lighting the up.
watersnipje@lemmy.blahaj.zone 4 months ago
So many injuries and fires every year, aside from all the noise and pollution. My friend’s house (old farm) burned down because a firework landed on the roof :(
NutWrench@lemmy.world 4 months ago
If it weren’t for fireworks, we wouldn’t have funny stories about dumb people shoving them in their ass cracks, setting them on fire and cauterizing their buttocks.
EnderMB@lemmy.world 4 months ago
They’re worth it when it’s a sanctioned display, and they’ve spent enough money to make it worthwhile.
I’ll never understand why people set them off in their own garden. Fireworks aren’t cheap, and unless you spend some proper money you’re basically just setting off fireworks for a dick-swinging contest with your neighbourhood.
frigidaphelion@lemmy.world 4 months ago
hey! this person hates freedom! /s
Yearly1845@reddthat.com 4 months ago
No
ILikeBoobies@lemmy.ca 4 months ago
They’re just used by people that hate birds and/or war vets
Ragnarok314159@sopuli.xyz 4 months ago
Yeah no. We all joke at the VFW about this argument and I have yet to meet someone who actually experiences some shit that does the “fireworks scary!” stuff.
I am certain they are out, but most of us don’t care. What we do care about is being used as a whole to justify some anti firework agenda. Most of us like them.
ILikeBoobies@lemmy.ca 4 months ago
Complain to VA
AngryCommieKender@lemmy.world 4 months ago
And dogs, horses, and other domesticated pets/ animals.
Sweetpeaches69@lemmy.world 4 months ago
And coyotes!
I lost all love for the 4th of July when the sun was going down and I saw a beautiful coyote across my fence like 5 feet from me. He locked eyes with me and looked so terrified, it took a little bit of my soul. He was panting so hard. He was even looking at me like he was pleading me to help him, but I couldn’t because he’s, well, a coyote. He stayed looking at me for almost 2 whole minutes before he went back into the brush.
I still think about that every 4th.
OsrsNeedsF2P@lemmy.ml 4 months ago
or war vets
Elaborate on why that’s a bad idea for Canadians and Americans in 2024
SuddenDownpour@sh.itjust.works 4 months ago
If you join the army because you’re fucking stupid in your 20s, and by your 50s you’ve become a wise, anti-war person who still has PTSD, you don’t deserve to get your PTSD triggered.
ILikeBoobies@lemmy.ca 4 months ago
Without the God Wars there would be no Asgarnia
flying_sheep@lemmy.ml 4 months ago
Try spending a new year’s eve in e.g. Germany.
everybody above the age of 15 can and will start fireworks in close vicinity to everyone else doing it. You do not feel safe.
UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world 4 months ago
Drone displays are increasingly popular.
He’s one: youtube.com/watch?v=LLhkrj1HDNo
The average number of drones for a Sky Elements performance is 300 typically costing $45,000 all included. Though costs have been dropping, they’re still usually higher than for a large fireworks production, which averages about $1,000 a minute and usually lasts about 20 minutes.
Ragnarok314159@sopuli.xyz 4 months ago
Those are really boring. It’s the same experience wether watching on TV or in person.
PersnickityPenguin@lemm.ee 4 months ago
They need drones that shoot fireworks!
UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world 4 months ago
That’s because fireworks are a pain to film
pelletbucket@lemm.ee 4 months ago
I agree that they’ve moved into the territory of mostly annoying, but getting rid of the fireworks is unlikely to reduce the cost of celebrations. they’ll just be replaced with equally expensive drone shows and the like
kaffiene@lemmy.world 4 months ago
less environmentally damaging and less harmful to wildlife. Sounds like a great idea
intensely_human@lemm.ee 4 months ago
Jesus fucking christ when will you babies get over this concept the world has to be perfect.
Yeah, humans pollute. It sucks, but not as much as not existing sucks, so maybe our stinky parts are just part of the deal.
Fireworks are fun. Fireworks are pretty.
Grayox@lemmy.ml 4 months ago
You are aware that pollution could easily lead to a futute where humans are not able to exist on this planet right?
bloodfart@lemmy.ml 4 months ago
No, fireworks are cool and fun and people enjoy them.