Every half-year, thunderous fireworks illuminate our skies with burning colors as millions of Americans gather together to celebrate either Independence Day or New Year’s Eve. It seems like almost everyone has a fear of these artistic explosions at some point during their upbringing, and the reasons for this should be obvious: loud, sometimes ear-splitting booms enter our ears, the smell of sulfur, along with countless other pungent odors, enters our nostrils, and bright lights flash in the sky like lightning, providing our irises with heavy-duty exercises as we helplessly try to readjust to the darkness.
In the long run, it would be naïve to say that humans naturally enjoy fireworks. If it weren’t for the wondrous capacities of our frontal lobes, we would likely perceive them as lightning, and appropriately respond with fear, confusion, and a burning will to survive. Animals, on the other hand, lifeforms that don’t have the same reasoning capabilities as humans, likely think that the skies are lashing out and truly threatening their chances of survival. Wild animals like rabbits and birds have been observed abandoning their young in order to flee an area with concentrated fireworks, and larger animals, like deer and foxes, have been observed attempting to cross major roads in order to flee fireworks, creating a highly unsafe environment for both the animals and the drivers.
Domestic animals, like dogs, cats, and horses, react similarly to fireworks, but with the added luxury of having their owners to help calm them down. While they’re usually far more intelligent than wild animals, most domestic animals will still react with fear, stress, and nervousness when they experience fireworks, and many pets have fled their homes in the past and have sadly never returned. In fact, it might be a good idea to stay home with pets that are especially prone to firework anxiety, so they are in good care and out of harm’s way.
So, are there any benefits to our lavish semi-annual firework displays? I would argue not, besides the joy and memories we get from the celebrations. Between the release of poisonous chemicals into our atmosphere, the detrimental auditory and visual effects on animals and humans, and the pollution created by the lights and sounds of these monstrosities, there’s not much room to say that we’re doing the earth a favor.
While fireworks genuinely do provide joy, happiness, and fun for millions of people in the United States, it might be beneficial if more people were aware of their effects on all aspects of our environment.