The list of those who want to cancel the noisy New Year’s celebration is getting longer and longer. Everything from influencers to farmers, dog owners, animal rights activists and war victims are among those who want to ban fireworks. According to Animal Protection, there are now over 20 organizations and professionals who are urging the government to introduce a ban on fireworks for private individuals. Several influencers have started calls against fireworks on social media. Photo: Instagram Because fireworks also have negative sides. In addition to local air pollution, littering, serious injuries to people and fires, it can frighten people and animals. But in line with emerging concerns for both the environment, people and animals, proposals for alternative ways to light up the night sky are also increasing. Biodegradable bubbles Dutch artist Daan Roosegaarde was inspired by fireflies when he created what he calls a “sustainable celebration”: an installation of biodegradable bubbles floating through the air, illuminated by spotlights. The performance neither makes noise nor pollutes. The artist has called the project SPARK and it was first shown in Bilbao in the summer of 2022. In August, London also got such a show. Daan Roosegarde’s sustainable celebration “SPARK” lit up London in August 2022. Photo: Studio Roosegaarde Droneshow The drone organization UAS Norway believes the time is ripe to retire fireworks. According to the general manager of the organisation, Anders Martinsen, commitment in Norway has increased to get digital fireworks in place. He believes the public should start asking for alternatives to traditional fireworks. – MDG, also in Oslo, wants to look at the possibility of giving people good municipal drone or laser shows. But this is weather-dependent and expensive fun, so I understand that it is not easy to prioritize in this year’s tight budgets, says Deputy Chair of MDG, Ingrid Liland. The FareWell drone show for Edinburgh’s Hogmanay 2020. Video: Underbelly In Oslo, private fireworks have been banned in the city center for several years. MDG councilor Sirin Hellvin Stav wants to ban it in the entire municipality. But today they can only ban it in parts of the city for fire reasons. But despite the ban in the city centre, the residents get no municipal fireworks to comfort them. – In an expensive time when everyone has to save money, the majority of the city council has also decided that taxpayers’ money will not be spent on public fireworks for a few minutes this year either, writes MDG in an e-mail to news. Lasers and light shows Several cities have started with laser light shows instead of fireworks. Among them is Salt Lake City in the United States. A lot of drought and water shortages have recently meant that the city did not take the chance with fireworks on the national day, 4 July. Also in Newcastle in the UK, they are ditching the fireworks this year, and are planning a laser show on New Year’s Eve. The reason is that it is safer and more environmentally friendly, writes ChronicleLive. The possibilities are becoming many, also for private individuals, when it comes to lighting effects. Both for Halloween and Christmas celebrations, there are simple and cheap spotlights and projectors with light shows that can be displayed on house walls and other surfaces. Or if you are properly equipped with lighting designers and fountains, you can do like Tivoli in Copenhagen and have light shows in lakes, water and ponds. Video from the light show in Tivoli Gardens, Copenhagen, filmed by Mogens Hallas. According to spokesperson for the Norwegian Fireworks Association, Rikard Spets, around 80 percent of families with children celebrate the new year with fireworks. He does not think there will be less use of private fireworks by organizing public light or drone shows. – For many families with children, it is not appropriate to travel into a city center to see a light show. In addition, there are restrictions with regard to the weather, it must be light and little wind, says Spets. He also points to geography as an important aspect. – Norway is not Oslo. There are a thousand towns. I can’t imagine that there will be such light and drone shows in all these places. In the big cities, there can be a supplement, if the weather permits. Rikard Spets, spokesperson for the Norwegian Fireworks Association. Photo: Norwegian Fireworks Association Environmentally friendly fireworks Traditional fireworks usually contain coal and sulphur, binders, dyes and propellants. When lit, large amounts of smoke are emitted, and heavy metals and environmental toxins from the dyes are released, writes BBC Science Focus. Environmentally friendly fireworks have more clean-burning, nitrogen-based fuel, and smaller amounts of metal salts. Spets emphasizes that everyone should follow the rules for setting off fireworks, because predictability is important for animals and people who may be afraid. – If fireworks had been toxic, it would not have been legal, he says. Several countries, such as India, China and the USA are looking for more environmentally friendly alternatives to fireworks. In India, air pollution is so bad that the government has banned fireworks. It has accelerated the development of more environmentally friendly rockets. Indian children demonstrate against the use of fireworks during the Hindu festival of Diwali. Photo: NARINDER NANU / AFP Recently, the country’s health minister announced that the newly developed fireworks will pollute and make less noise, cut emissions by 30 percent and cost the same, or even less, than the old types, writes the New York Times. Whether the claims are true is currently unknown. And before India ramps up production of the new firework, thousands of Indian firework manufacturers have become unemployed.
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This can replace the fireworks – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
