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Adventure Environment
Climate Neutral-ish


FIREWORKS ARE NOT PATRIOTIC—THEY’RE HARMFUL. HERE’S WHY.

Fifteen minutes of ooh-ing and ah-ing isn’t worth the wildfire risk, pollution,
and trauma to wildlife

(Illustration: Malte Mueller/Getty; Animation: Erin Douglas)
Kristin Hostetter

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Originally Published Jul 2, 2024 Updated Jul 9, 2024
Kristin Hostetter
Kristin Hostetter is the Head of Sustainability at Outside Interactive, Inc. and
the resident sustainability columnist on Outside Online. Hostetter has worked as
a journalist in the outdoor industry for 25+ years and has written four books on
outdoor gear.



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Call me Buzzkill Jill, because I’m about to say something that’s certain to bum
out—even tick off—plenty of people, including my mom. Fireworks, that perennial
symbol of wholesome family fun, are really bad for the environment and our
health.

I can already hear the whining: What’s so bad about a 15-minute pyrotechnics
show that brings people joy? To that I’d say two things. First, fireworks do not
bring joy to everyone. In fact, they can cause real harm to veterans and others
who suffer from PTSD. (Chances are your dog hates them, too.) Second, all that
razzle-dazzle takes a serious toll in the form of wildfires, poor air quality,
pollution, and wildlife trauma. Not to mention the fact that in 2022 fireworks
sent 10,200 people to the emergency room and caused 11 deaths.


FIREWORKS CAUSE WILDFIRES—LOTS OF THEM

Fireworks sparked an estimated 31,302 fires in 2022 that caused an estimated
$109 million in direct property damage, according to Michele Steinberg from the
National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). More than 85 percent of those were
wildfires. In 2017, a 15-year old boy chucked a smoke bomb into a dry riverbed
on the Oregon side of the Columbia River Gorge during a fire ban. It sparked the
Eagle Creek fire, which ignited 50,000 acres, impacted air quality all the way
to Canada, trapped 147 hikers amid the blaze, and took more than three months
and $40 million to snuff. The boy who started the blaze was sentenced to 1,920
hours of community service and fined $37 million.

Many fire professionals believe that consumer fireworks should be banned due to
safety, pollution, and wildfire concerns. (Photo: Jamie Aranoff)

SIMILAR READS

What to Know About the Deadly July 4 Shooting at Yellowstone National Park
No Teen Should Have to Pay a $36 Million Wildfire Fine
Can You Be a Beef-Loving Environmentalist?
How to Make Camping Fun

Still, fireworks are legal in all states except Massachusetts, where they were
outlawed in 2020. The proliferation of consumer fireworks makes many who work in
the fire fighting industry hot under the collar. “The NFPA does not support the
use of any consumer fireworks,” says Steinberg. “Professional fireworks shows
are safer because the providers have to be licensed and permitted. There’s a lot
more control over the usage and first responders and emergency personnel can be
at the ready. Consumer fireworks are never safe.”

Safety precautions for professional shows need to be rigorous, too. The late
Bill Gabbert, founder of the website Wildfire Today and a fire management
officer for the park service, developed a rigorous checklist to determine
whether fireworks shows could go on safely at various NPS sites. Organizers had
to obtain a Spot Weather Forecast from the National Weather Service, examine
wind speed, and confirm the availability of qualified firefighters, and evaluate
the likelihood that a stray ember could ignite a potential fuel source, like a
ponderosa pine.


FIREWORKS CAUSE AIR, LAND, AND WATER POLLUTION

What goes up must come down. When fireworks explode, they rain down plastic, gun
power, heavy metals like lead, copper, cadmium, titanium, and aluminum, and
toxic chemicals like perchlorates. These impact air quality, human
health,waterways, and soil.

In a 2015 paper on the impact of fireworks on air quality, climate scientist
Dian Seidel found that the 4th of July brings with it a pronounced spike in
pollution across the nation. The study, which was co-authored with her student,
Abigail Birnbaum, focused on the presence of fine particulate matter (PM 2.5) in
the days surrounding Independence Day.

“PM 2.5 is the type of particulate matter that’s most damaging to our health,”
says Seidel. “When you breathe dirty air, blow your nose, and see all that nasty
dirt, those are larger particles of pollution. But the finer particles that
lodge deep in your lungs, the ones that carry heavy metals and other carcinogens
that damage cardiovascular and respiratory systems, those are the PM 2.5
particles.”

Seidel’s study, which captured air quality metrics from stations all over the
country over multiple years, found an average 42 percent spike in PM 2.5 in the
hours following fireworks. The amount of pollution varies depending on the
proximity to the fireworks, weather conditions, and the size of the display:
Seidel found an increase of several hundred percent at one station close to the
launch zone.

“If you watch fireworks close to the launch point, you’ll be exposed to high
rates of PM 2.5, especially if you’re downwind,” Seidel says. “This can be quite
serious for susceptible people: the young, the old, and anyone with respiratory
conditions.”

The health perils are not limited to big professional fireworks shows. Consumer
fireworks also emit dangerous toxins, including lead, at even closer ranges.

The chemicals and plastic that fireworks leave behind impact more than just
human health. 5 Gyres, a nonprofit focused on reducing plastics pollution,
almost always finds bits of fireworks in their regular trash cleanups, says
Marcus Erikson, a researcher for the organization. “Collectively, fireworks add
up to a tsunami of pollution in the environment–little plastic cones and stems,
half-melted plastic cords, cellophane wrappers. It’s a tragedy of commons,” he
says. All those microplastics are toxic on a cellular, genetic, and neurological
level for animals, according to a 2022 paper published in Science of the Total
Environment.

A 2022 study of The River of Thames in England showed an enormous increase in
microplastic pollution following the New Year’s Eve firework show. And a U.S.
Geological Survey report in 2016 found elevated levels of perchlorate in
groundwater and soil samples in the area where Mount Rushmore’s annual fireworks
show takes place. Perchlorate interferes with the function of the human thyroid
gland and also remains in the environment for long periods of time, impacting
soil, flora, and fauna.


FIREWORKS FREAK OUT WILDLIFE

If you own a pet, you know how scared they can get when fireworks start popping.
The same goes for wildlife. In a 2023 paper, Professor Bill Bateman of Curtin
University studied fireworks’ impact on animals and found both immediate and
long-lasting effects. Noise and lights caused short-term fear responses, “like
animals leaving an area and then coming back,” he says. There were significant
long-term  consequences as well. “Disturbances to roosting or nesting animals
caused harmful expenditure of energy and in some cases reduced breeding
success,” he says. The toxic haze of heavy metals and pollutants also influenced
animal health.

“The effects of fireworks were multifarious and profound,” Bateman says. “We
were pretty much blown away by the extent of them. Fireworks are not a minor
problem. My feeling is that the time of fireworks is over. We need to consider
other options, such as drone displays.”



Three hundred drones, operated by Sky Elements, provided a spectacular fireworks
show in Tahoe City, California, last 4th of July.(Photo: Tahoe City Downtown
Association)


THE CASE FOR DRONE FIREWORKS—A BETTER WAY TO CELEBRATE

Heat domes and droughts are the new normal these days, so it might indeed be
time to move toward a gentler and just-as-cool way to celebrate. That’s why many
cities, like Salt Lake City, Utah; Napa, California; and Nashville, Tennessee
have switched from combustible fireworks to drone shows.

Tahoe City, California, dropped fireworks in favor of drones in 2022, following
the Caldor fire (started by a bullet strike) which torched over 220,000 acres,
took more than two months to contain, wreaked havoc on air quality, and forced
the evacuation of more than 50,000 people. “It was a terrifying experience,”
recalls Katie Biggers, executive director of Tahoe City Downtown Association.
“Fire safety, as well as environmental pollution, was the primary driver behind
our move away from a combustible 4th of July celebration.”

Tahoe’s 2023 drone fireworks show was a big success with 2,500 people watching
from the lakefront and another 100 on boats. The 15-minute show used 300 drones,
synched to music which was broadcast on local radio stations.

Tahoe City fans were enraptured by the 2023 4th of July celebration which
combined a drone fireworks show with lasers and LED fire dancers. (Photo: Tahoe
City Downtown Association)

Biggers says the community loves the new eco-friendly drone fireworks show. “Our
lake, our surrounding mountains, our wildlife—these are the reasons people live
and visit here, so sustainability and stewardship are core values in Tahoe
City,” she says. “When you look at the fire danger we’ve lived through here, 4th
of July fireworks just don’t make sense.”

“Change can be hard and we had a few people complain that not doing traditional
fireworks was unpatriotic,” says Biggers. “But more importantly, we also heard
from veterans and members of their families who were thrilled to be able to
celebrate together without navigating the fear of getting triggered by the loud
explosions.”

Doing right by the planet can make you happier, healthier, and—yes—wealthier.
Outside’s head of sustainability, Kristin Hostetter, explores small lifestyle
tweaks that can make a big impact. Sign up for her twice monthly newsletter or
write to her at climateneutral-ish@outsideinc.com.

Filed to:
 * 4th of July
 * Climate Neutral-ish
 * Environment
 * Fire
 * Holiday
 * Sustainability
 * Wildfire
 * Wildlife

Lead Illustration: Malte Mueller/Getty; Animation: Erin Douglas


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