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The 4th of July PollutionLast year, I celebrated Independence Day at a friend’s house. I remember it was a very clear and windless 4th of July; however in only a few hours, my friend’s entire neighborhood was filled with thick smoke from thousands of fireworks. The smoke made it difficult to see and breathe outside. It was nighttime, and the thick dark smoke made driving extremely difficult for the entire trip back home which was about 20 miles (32 kilometers). Keep in mind that my city’s streets are extremely well light under normal weather conditions, yet there was just too much pollution even using my headlights. If every city in the United States is filled with that much smoke once every year, then I think the 4th of July is by far the most polluting day of the year. The truth is that every 4th of July Americans celebrate Independence Day by setting off millions of fireworks that are very environmentally unfriendly. Call me a party pooper again, but polluting just for the sake of celebrating the birth of a nation seems a bit too careless to the environment. Independence Day could easily be celebrated with much less pollution without any loss in festivities. I don’t recommend completely canceling fireworks, but instead don’t use private or individual fireworks that you can buy in the stores. Instead, go to your city’s public fireworks display that is typically free or watch one on television. It would be much better for the environment if everyone did not set off small fireworks but instead shared a public showing. by Phil B.
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