Is fireworks pollution really that harmful
when fireworks explode in the sky chemical reactions occur to produce these wonderful visual displays of different colors however a variety of things are released and you can think about the typical Gases such as sulfur dioxide noxes and similar to vehicular exhaust from a car these things can react in the atmosphere and cause pollution at the ground surface you can also have pollutants such as metals and so when a firework explodes and you see these beautiful colors those are individual metals that produce this
color copper will produce that bluish greenish color and something like barium will produce a green color strontium a kind of a red color and calcium and sodium will produce something that’s more into the oranger colors and in the fireworks the calcium and the sodium you know we liberally apply those as fertilizers but something like strontium and copper and even barium we don’t really want those in high concentrations those are the ones that have a higher toxicity to us you can even find that in some countries things like you know lead
and chromium have been banned for their use you can also get things like particulate matter so that really small material that’s left in the atmosphere and that can be really challenging because it’s small enough for us to be able to inhale it and cause damage to the lungs deeper down and that can be a challenge when we’re emitting things into the atmosphere the level can be maybe 100 500 times above what is considered guideline you can also have chemicals such as perchlorate which is the oxidizer in a firework and that is
released into the atmosphere and then we’ll get washed out into the rivers and water systems and that can be really dangerous for our ecosystems everything that goes up into the atmosphere generally speaking comes back down again some people might say that fireworks only produce a temporary condition in the environment and then it blows away and it’s it’s not a problem anymore doing that over repeated periods of times can have a big impact for those that are vulnerable to um for air quality and if you keep depositing it
over a series of years you’ll hit that critical point where you’ll start to have a prop with the concentration in the soils and in the Water Systems so what options do we have we can you know obviously continue to design better fireworks and we can kind of transition away from fireworks to using things like drones and my my feeling really is that we need to um regularly control and who’s who’s setting off fireworks and where they’re setting them off because people aren’t aware of the environmental damages.
Every Government Ask in people
Different Topics In Not Useding Polution
Fireworks can be beautiful and exciting, but they also leave a mess of gases and particulate matter in the air. Gwen O’Sullivan, a professor of environmental sciences at Mount Royal University in Calgary, explains how these chemicals could have lasting effects on your health and the environment.
How Noise Pollution Affects Marine Life
I bet you never realized how loud the ocean is in fact marine animals can produce so much sound they’ve influenced wars during World War II snapping shrimp reportedly helped the US Navy hide its submarines from Japanese sonar with their crackling claws the countless species rely on the natural ocean soundscapes for survival male toadfish for example hum to attract females lobsters make buzzing sounds to intimidate attackers groupers communicate in signals and vows during spawning season baby oysters follow the
sound of shrimp to find reefs in which to establish new colonies unfortunately the Industrial Revolution brought about man-made noise that altered the ocean soundscapes those impacts are only furthered by overfishing which endangers highly vocal sea mammals and plastic pollution which damages kelp forests and other natural noise filters the use of sonar devices has been linked to mass whale strandings vessel noises reportedly disrupt bluefin tuna Migration by breaking up school formations and some dolphins have had to
simplify calls to communicate effectively amid increasingly louder ambient noise fortunately scientists believe it’s easier to tackle noise pollution than other Marine stressors from reducing vessel speed to developing quieter propellers joint regulatory efforts to reduce man-made noise can help reverse avoidance behavior and potentially bring marine life back to its natural state.
From mass whale strandings to disrupting fish migrations, human-made noise is negatively affecting marine life in a variety of ways
Wildfires in West cause air pollution
Dozens of fires in the west now forcing authorities to issue new air quality alerts in six states tonight from washington state to wyoming to arizona the alerts all the way to boston this week this hazy sunset in chicago from all of this and we’re tracking severe storms moving into the east by tomorrow washington d.
philadelphia and new york abc’s will carr from california tonight tonight the governors of california and nevada getting a firsthand look at the aftermath of the tamarack fire that fire straddling both states the governor is thanking firefighters and pleading for more resources cal fire is the largest civilian aerial attack force in the world and it’s not enough the choking smoke from massive wildfires across the west forcing authorities to issue air quality alerts in washington idaho montana wyoming colorado and
arizona but even smaller blazes like this brush fire in san jose overnight causing big problems there is a lot of smoke from this fire and that’s why they’re asking homeowners to stay inside and keep their doors and windows shut the towering columns of smoke from the explosive fire is reaching all the way into the jet stream this week which as these satellite images show carries the smoke all the way to the east coast covering new england and hazy skies boston issuing warnings this week about air quality because of the smoke
david back here in the west these fires are being fueled by relentless heat waves we’re talking record-setting heat and today california has now issued another flex alert concerning that temperatures up to 110 degrees could threaten the power grid david no break in sight will thank you hi everyone george stephanopoulos.
The governors of California and Nevada pleaded for more resources to fight dangerous wildfires after six states were forced to send air quality alerts. Boston issued air quality warnings Monday.