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Annual fireworks display at the end of the year

Author: Tom Wannenmacher

Annual fireworks display at the end of the year
Annual fireworks display at the end of the year

The year 2019 and the current decade are slowly coming to an end.

Annual fireworks at the end of the year - a topic that sparks more discussions than New Year's Eve rockets! The Christmas season has passed more or less peacefully and the numerous New Year's Eve celebrations are just around the corner. A tradition that many people cannot miss are the annual New Year's Eve fireworks displays, which are put on on a large scale by cities themselves, but also by private individuals.

At the end of this decade, however, many people are left with a bitter aftertaste, especially in view of the numerous natural disasters, such as droughts, melting ice, extinction of species and air pollution, right up to the uninhabitability of entire areas of land, namely the enormous environmental impact on nature and animals that comes with the firing of the Fireworks accompany.

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4000 tons of fine dust

The German Federal Environment Agency has calculated that during the annual New Year's Eve celebrations alone, we are talking about the few hours at the turn of the year, 4,000 tons of fine dust are released into the air, which is 15% of the annual fine dust from road traffic.
In addition, there are another 2,300 tons of CO2, i.e. around 25 grams per inhabitant in the Federal Republic.

This enormous amount of pollution does not include the packaging and plastic or metal residues left in nature by rockets fired. At the turn of the year, the population of the Federal Republic of Germany alone spends 100 to 200 million euros on firecrackers and rockets that are pulverized within hours.

Many German cities have already banned fireworks in their city centers due to the high level of noise and pollution, following a general trend: almost 60% of all Germans are skeptical about fireworks and are calling for a ban on fireworks in city centers.

But what alternatives would there be to the annual New Year's Eve fireworks display?

In addition to the most obvious variant, namely completely refraining from burning firecrackers and rockets and instead giving the money to charitable or sustainable purposes, there are already some models in circulation that could be a good alternative.

Some cities rely on elaborate laser shows, including Stuttgart. Half a million euros were invested to stage a light show with musical accompaniment and comedy in the city center. Entry is free and the air remains free of dark smoke and fine dust.

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Another even more complex but also spectacular option is the use of light drones. The Chinese city of Haikou sent light snakes and animals into the night sky with drones in an elaborately produced and choreographed show.

A first step towards reducing pollution as a whole could also be to shift the many small fireworks displays to one large fireworks display, which is organized by the community or city and would thus keep pollution within limits.

The topic of New Year's Eve and fireworks is polarizing because many see the impending restrictions as an attempt to abolish a long-standing tradition.

This is a Greenkama content. Greenkama is a Mimikama project, because conscious environmental and climate protection must be a question of responsibility and encouragement!
 

Nevertheless, it should be considered whether fun that only lasts a few seconds or minutes, causes massive noise pollution for many animals and demonstrably pollutes nature, really represents a fitting welcome for the new decade or not, as is being demanded in many places, the new one The decade could also be ushered in with more environmentally friendly methods.

We at Greenkama & Mimikama wish you a happy new year and a successful 2020!

Sources:

Author: Alexander Herberstein
Article image: Shutterstock / By Stefan Dinse

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Notes:

1) This content reflects the current state of affairs at the time of publication
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were carefully checked by the Mimikama editorial team before publication. ( Reason )


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