It’s the Fourth of July again, and after watching our neighborhood look like a war zone I’m compelled to do the unpatriotic thing by pointing out how bad fireworks are for the environment.

As Salon’s resident eco-expert Pablo Päster points out, all the fireworks purchased in the United States in 2006, would, if detonated, emit 60,340 tons of C02, the equivalent of what is produced by 12,000 cars running for a year. He also notes that the compounds used to create fireworks’ bright colors contain heavy metals that contaminate soil and water.

What’s more, most fireworks contain potassium perchlorate, a chemical thought to pose health risks to humans and wildlife. Last year the Environmental Protection Agency discovered a definitive link between fireworks and surface water perchlorate contamination. But perchlorate levels returned to normal after a month or two.

One way to solve this problem is to invent a greener pyrotechnic. That’s what the Walt Disney Company did in 2004, replacing black powder with compressed air.

In addition to the noise pollution and copious amounts of litter strewn from one end of the block to the other, fireworks do pose another significant environmental hazard in wildfires. As MSNBC reports, a number of cities and towns in California and other states have banned fireworks displays out of fear that they may spark brush fires. Polluting the environment is one thing, burning it to the ground is another matter altogether.

I don’t mind celebrating our fabulous nations birthday, I just wonder if shooting bombs into the air and hollering drunken cheers after the explosion is the best way to do that. But I’m just sayin’.

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Much of the content contributed to Christian Science Monitor

Tags: co2 emissions, Environment, fireworks