Backyard fireworks, yes. Professionally done fireworks at a planned place and time, no.

Professionally done fireworks are usually pretty amazing and fun to watch. They usually happen right around 9pm and last 15-30 minutes.

Backyard fireworks in dense neighborhoods are pretty fucking lame. One mortar every 30 seconds is not the spectacle you think it is. And it typically goes on for hours in my neighborhood. It terrifies dogs and is completely unpredictable. Maybe if everyone agreed to light everything they had between 9 and 9:30 it would be more impressive and less annoying, but that’ll never happen because “muh freedom” or something lol

I am not worried about their environmental impact, but I hate seeing my dog spending the evening shaking because of the explosions. Even sedatives aren’t enough. If you could have fireworks without the big booms, I wouldn’t care, but the big booms scare the shit out of a lot of animals.

Nah friend, I spend time, bandwidth, electricity, etc., talking to strangers and morons on the internet, fireworks give me much more bang for my buck.

Fireworks are like. 000000000000001% of a concern for GHG.

You shut down a coal plant for 1 days because you switched to solar temporarily and you probably offset the output.

Love them. There are tons on unnecessary things we do.

I like them. The big shows are a rare form of artistic expression. And even the stuff you can buy, is a form of fun you cannot get anywhere else.

Drone shows are boring. You can watch them on a screen and lose none of the experience. I mean, the first time you see it it’s interesting, but then you remember it’s just a bunch of drones, and your going to be stuck in traffic just so you can see a pixilated coke can or something. There’s nothing unique or special about the experience I feel. Unlike fireworks, while they can look fine on a screen (if recorded properly) but you can see the difference on someone’s face when you’re there. You see it, feel it, and smell it. It makes sense why humans have been doing this for hundreds of years.

Fireworks are art. Art isn’t inherently wasteful.

It’s only a waste if you don’t enjoy it. Just like some people think painting a bunch of nonsensical images is a waste of time and money but you might thoroughly enjoy it

Fire, explosions and bang sounds are fun. It gets old quick (I’m not a fan of firework shows), but I do enjoy lighting a small bunch of fireworks with some friends once a year or two.

Edit: I hear the argument for poor puppers, and I’m not saying I don’t care about them, but I’m pointing out the argument that they’re not just a complete waste of money/pollution

If it weren’t for fireworks, we wouldn’t have funny stories about dumb people shoving them in their ass cracks, setting them on fire and cauterizing their buttocks.

But… muh freedum

It’s like asking a texan to get rid of their monster truck. Sure they live with their parents and never use the truck for work. But it’s just not gonna happen buddy.

Does anyone else feel like adding salt to food is a complete waste of money?

It hurts so many animals too.

It’s not really pollution since the materials at the end are trace minerals necessary for biological processes. But the fire hazard is going to get them banned some day soon. Maybe they should move the 4th of July to February or March. You know, one of those wet months.