Should we ban fireworks during the Spring Festival? It is said that there has been some relaxation in some places. What do you think about this?

Recently, the question of whether fireworks should be banned during festivals has become a hot topic again. Many people are dissatisfied with the ban, believing that the strict ban policy over the years has made Chinese people lose the traditional festival joy and the "flavor of the New Year". Some people even link the ban on fireworks with the spread of the new coronavirus, believing that setting off fireworks is to drive away the Nian monster and pray for peace. Therefore, setting off fireworks has the effect of "exorcising evil spirits and avoiding plague". If it is banned, the "plague god" will take advantage of the opportunity to enter.

Now, after more than three years of fighting the epidemic, the plague god has become weaker and weaker and is about to be driven away. At this time, if fireworks and firecrackers are set off, it can not only pray for blessings and ward off disasters, but also unite people's hearts and release people's suppressed mood for many years. Therefore, there is a strong call for lifting the ban on fireworks and firecrackers to make the New Year more "flavorful", and some places seem to have loosened up.

So should fireworks be banned? To clarify this question, we must first understand why the country bans fireworks. Simply put, fireworks are banned because setting off fireworks has at least four major hazards, namely safety hazards, environmental pollution, noise nuisance, and waste of resources.

In terms of safety hazards, people die and fires occur every year due to the setting off of fireworks and firecrackers, which seems to run counter to celebration and prayers for peace; in terms of environmental pollution, the setting off of fireworks and firecrackers will produce a large amount of harmful gases such as sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, as well as irritating and highly corrosive acidic oxides, which harm the human respiratory tract and cause disease and poisoning; in terms of noise pollution, everyone's act of setting off fireworks and firecrackers will inevitably disturb and frighten others, especially during the Spring Festival, when the fireworks are set off day and night, making it difficult for many people to fall asleep; in terms of waste of resources, fireworks and firecrackers consume a large amount of paper and chemical raw materials. The increase in papermaking raw materials has damaged forest environmental resources, and the waste residue and debris produced by the setting off of fireworks and firecrackers are scattered all over the ground, increasing the workload of sanitation.

It’s a long story to talk about these four major hazards, but in fact everyone can feel them, so I won’t elaborate on them. Since setting off fireworks and firecrackers causes such a big disadvantage, after weighing the pros and cons, a ban on setting off fireworks and firecrackers has gradually been formed throughout the country.

Now let me talk about my personal feelings:

In the early years, fireworks and firecrackers were allowed in third- and fourth-tier cities, and the New Year was indeed a festive occasion at that time.

There are several important times to set off firecrackers during the Chinese New Year in my hometown: one before the New Year's Eve dinner, one to close the door to wealth at midnight, and one to open the door at dawn. Therefore, three firecrackers are a must at least during the Chinese New Year. Apart from these, there is no unified rule for setting off firecrackers on other days of the first lunar month, such as welcoming and seeing off guests. Especially on the Lantern Festival, there will be a new climax of fireworks and firecrackers.

The louder and longer the firecrackers are, the better. Everyone wants their firecrackers to be louder and longer than others. The time for the New Year's Eve dinner varies from family to family. Some prefer to have it earlier, while others prefer to have it later. In this way, the sound of firecrackers starts almost in the morning of New Year's Eve, and the sound can be heard one after another in a small town without interruption.

As for closing the door to wealth and opening the door to good luck, some prefer to do it earlier while others prefer to do it later. The sound of firecrackers almost continues with the firecrackers during the New Year's Eve dinner and will not stop all night until early in the morning, when almost every house has opened its door, and then the firecrackers will gradually stop.

At that time, the family gathered around the big table, waiting for the firecrackers to be set off before the meal began. Each family wanted their firecrackers to be louder and longer than others. After setting off their own firecrackers, they started to eat the reunion dinner. After finally getting together, they would chat while eating, but the firecrackers from the neighbor's house would explode, followed by explosions one after another, making it impossible for everyone to communicate.

At this time, everyone's brows will frown, and they are really annoyed by these firecrackers. Whether setting off firecrackers is a celebration or a way to release your mood, it only makes the people who set them off feel happy and relieved. Others may not necessarily buy in, and may even find it annoying. Therefore, I think setting off firecrackers is really a matter of harming others and not benefiting yourself. The person who sets them off harms others, and although he feels happy and relieved, he is actually still polluted and harmed.

Let's talk about why fireworks should be banned from a broader perspective:

Since industrialization, human beings have been destroying and polluting the environment and resources more and more. Now the greenhouse effect of global warming is becoming more and more obvious, which has endangered human survival. Scientists around the world have called for a mass extinction disaster to occur by the end of this century if humans do not restrain themselves and change. It will be difficult for humans to escape.

This is by no means alarmist. Various signs have already emerged, the most important of which is the rise in global average temperature, which has increased by 1°C compared to 100 years ago, and this trend is accelerating. Scientific research modeling believes that a 3°C increase in average temperature is a threshold. At this critical point, the Earth's own climate regulation system will collapse, and extreme climate will lead to mass extinction of organisms.

The Paris Climate Agreement signed by the United Nations is aimed at solving this problem. Almost all countries in the world have signed this agreement, and China is no exception. The main goal of this agreement is to control the temperature rise within 2°C by the end of this century, and strive to keep it within 1.5°C. This is why the whole world is striving to save energy and reduce emissions. China has promised to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060.

What is carbon neutrality? It is to offset the carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions generated by production and life through measures such as afforestation, energy conservation and emission reduction, and achieve zero emissions. Therefore, in the implementation of strict energy conservation and emission reduction measures, it is of course necessary to ban the use of fireworks and firecrackers.

Some people always like to talk about tradition, believing that setting off fireworks is something that our ancestors left behind thousands of years ago, and that banning them is against tradition. But humans have gone through tens of thousands of years from primitive times to agricultural times, and then to modern times. How many things did our ancestors abandon along the way as they migrated from Africa?

If nothing can be thrown away, then we are still slashing and burning crops or even eating raw meat and drinking blood. Therefore, don't think that all traditional things are treasures. Due to the limitations of the ancient people's knowledge, the things handed down are very few treasures. Most of them are marks of the times and are only suitable for that era.

Only by constantly discarding the old and innovating can human beings continue to progress and move towards a higher civilization. Therefore, for the sake of future generations, it is inevitable that fireworks and firecrackers, which have far more disadvantages than advantages, will gradually withdraw from the stage of history.

What do you think about this? Welcome to discuss and criticize, thank you.

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