Posted on 06/30/2015 1:32:13 PM PDT by drewh
The most important lesson you learn on the environment beat is that nearly everything we humans do has consequences, oftentimes dangerous ones. And according to a new study from scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, that includes celebrating our nations independence with fireworks displays, which cause levels of harmful particle pollution to spike significantly each July 4th.
The researchers are pretty confident about this one: they used observations taken from 315 air quality monitoring sites around the U.S. between 1999 and 2013. Without fail, they found that from around 9 to 10 p.m. each Independence Day, concentrations of fine particulate matter, or PM2.5, surged, teetering on the edge of the upper limit of what the EPA considers to be safe (and in some locations, wildly surpassing it). Things got back to normal by around noon the following day, they found, but for 24 hours beginning around 8 p.m., PM2.5 levels were 42 percent higher than usual:
Rise in fine particulates from 8 p.m. on July 4 in red as compared to the days preceding and after July 4, averaged over the entire country for multiple years. Red represents the 24-hour period starting at 8 p.m. on July 4 and blue represents the days prior to and after this period (NOAA)
We chose the holiday, not to put a damper on celebrations of Americas independence, but because it is the best way to do a nationwide study of the effects of fireworks on air quality, said Dian Seidel, a senior scientist at NOAAs Air Resources Laboratory in College Park, Maryland and the studys lead author. These results will help improve air quality predictions, which currently dont account for fireworks as a source of air pollution.
Nice try, Seidel. I learned a very important lesson last year, which is just because there is a case to made for not setting off fireworks doesnt mean people are going to be receptive to the idea, and theyll probably send you angry emails that, just saying, are very much not in the holiday spirit. So to all those who say a little potential premature death and adverse cardiovascular [and respiratory] effects is a small price to pay for celebrating America, I say, power to you. For those who may be particularly sensitive to the effects of fine particulate matter, Seidel recommends remaining indoors.
The nanny state strikes again. Protecting Americans from being happy is a job that never ends, for the nanny state and its emissaries.
LOL, inside of your head must be a special place.
Who cares? The Fourth isn’t worth celebrating anymore, anyway.
This county has gone down the crapper.
The only flag I’ll put out is either an upside down US flag or the Gadsden flag.
I wonder if this bunch of morons considered doing a study on the effects of Canadian wildfires on US air quality?
We have had better than two days of gray skies, limited visibility, and definite smoke in the air from forest fires in British Columbia, hundreds of miles away.
Never mind. They'd probably blame fraccing.
What will they do about the Chinese parades and firewaorks?
Huge!
Spikes!
Dangerous!
What does the pope think of this!?
Right. Liberals breathing our air is a far greater problem than any fireworks display. All liberals should hold their breath for 10 minutes on the eve of the 4th, to offset the pollution we are causing with out celebrations.
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