The year 2013 is approaching its end. As the days are passing by, we can’t help but look back at the things that took place in this year. The past year hold a lot of good and bad things for all of us. Some of us found the true love of our lives after a long wait while some of us lost a dear one forever. Some of us secured an admission in the leading university while some of us managed to get our dream jobs. This year also saw grand, fun filled celebrations of our anticipated festivals. We welcomed this year 2013 with a lot of excitement and made a thousand resolutions and tried our best, or at least believe that we tried, to achieve these commitments we made to ourselves and to others. We always bid a goodbye to the New Year in the most lavish manner. It is the most memorable and most awaited part of the year.
So let me ask you now, what does your New Year celebration include? How are planning to spend your New Year eve? Yeah well, these questions don’t even need an answer. A grand New Year party needs your group of friends, some awesome food, loud music, liquor. Is something missing? Oh yes, firework, lots of crackers. No New Year bash is complete without these colorful notorious fellows. As these crackers light up the night sky, our hearts are filled with the hope of a bright year ahead.
But don’t you think an event as important as a New Year eve should be more thoughtful? Is welcoming New Year all about losing our sanities to alcoholic taste buds and a mind that intercepts noise for fun? We need a change of perception here. A sane mind that welcomes new year with the serenity of an individual who considers not just his family, friends as own but also the city, society and nature as his own.
Precisely over here, I am talking about the component without which no occasion is complete, not a single festival, event – marriages, inaugurations and even the New Year eve i.e. a grand show of fireworks. Earlier, celebrating was simply bursting a few crackers. But now, this has reached an all new level. Firework display has become an event that requires expert vigilance and one gets to see a grand example of this on the New Year’s Eve.
No doubt on this that there is nothing more brilliant that a glittering night sky but what needs our attention is its impact on nature and other beings. To understand this, let us see what does the crackers, that give such a breathtaking spectrum contains.
The most important component here is what actually explodes that is the gun powder. This is gun powder is coupled up with several other materials to form what you call a cracker. Ever wondered when every cracker contains the same gun powder how do they all have different colors. Well the answer is pretty simply – metallic compounds. Copper gives blue, aluminum gives white while strontium gives red color. When they explode in the atmosphere an array of toxic elements are released like sulfates, perchlorates, potassium salts, carbonates etc.
The air has been found to be highly polluted after a firework display and the concentration of these elements has been pretty high for the hours just after the display. These particulates soon migrate to the ground and pollute the soil and water (lakes or rivers etc). The smoke which arises due to explosions often combines with moisture in the air causing fogs which again is bothersome from transportation point of view. This highly polluted air often creates problematic situation for asthmatics, elderly and sick individuals.
Another allied friend here is “Noise” arising from the explosion of these fireworks. In our grand parties we often tend to forget that the place also has some hospitals, some very sick individuals, cardiac patients right in your vicinity who might get affected with this high pitched nerve breaking sound.
It might surprise you to know that not just human beings but also the birds are deeply affected by this chaotic form of happiness. The brightly lit night sky startles the birds and many of them set out off their nests in confusion. The nocturnal ones again become disoriented with all the unnatural brightness. These birds collide with each other, with trees, infrastructure, wires, cars etc and lose their lives. In some unfortunate events, birds have been directly hit by the rising and swooshing firework causing a lot of irreparable damage if not death.
Now it’s time to analyze, do you really think welcoming the New Year with all this chaos is such a good idea?
New Year eve is the time when every individual is oozing with positivity. The hearts are filled with aspirations and minds are determined to achieve all that is left undone. Amidst all this, calling on the next year with smoke, fire and explosion does not seem so civilized.
It is understandable that watching those colors spots spreading in the night sky is fun but we need to change this concept. For the coming New Year eve, let’s take an oath to be peaceful and friendly to the nature.
Welcome the New Year with positivity, gather up with your friends, have a lavish meal but also keep in mind to do dome charity and feed the hungry or donate your old clothes etc. Pray for the lost souls and for yourself. Say no to these crackers and let the celebration be an eco friendly one. The motto this time should be to welcome the coming year in a way that is acceptable, enjoyable and sensible not just for you but also for the beings around you. So are you ready to say no to crackers this New Year?
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