After the Fourth of July this year, we discussed the impact fireworks had on the environment, and I thought it might be a good idea to revisit the topic in preparation for New Year’s Eve. Back in that post, we highlighted the fact that fireworks are pretty much awful for the environment, so now, why don’t we see what some people are doing to try and clean up this mess?

The San Francisco Chronicle wrote an article a few months back in which the issue of green (not literally) fireworks was discussed. The most important thing to note, I think, is that none other than the United States military is looking for cleaner fireworks, and their money should be able to drive some pretty good research.

However, no less patriotic an institution than the U.S. military is seeking more eco-friendly pyrotechnics. The same environmental concerns are common to both fireworks and military equipment such as signaling flares and airborne weapons. Defense agencies are financing research by scientists, including…explosives experts at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. Among the concerns is the cumulative contamination of military testing grounds and training sites.

As we noted in our original post, Disney has worked to make their fireworks shows much greener, some of that stemming from environmental concerns, and some from simply needing quieter and less smoky fireworks (Disneyland, after all, is in Anaheim, right there in Orange County). But it appears that an industry around more environmental fireworks won’t evolve unless regulations are tightened. That hasn’t happened yet, but it looks like somewhere out there on the horizon that’s a possibility.

The vast majority of fireworks used in the United States are imported from China. Many U.S. regulatory agencies oversee the fireworks industry, but they focus on making sure the products can be shipped without exploding and used without blowing off any fingers. In recent years, however, health and environmental concerns have surfaced in California where fireworks are intensively used or were manufactured.

Of course, the fireworks lobby (which there actually is) definitely does not want that to happen. But as places like Sea World in San Diego are being forced to monitor their environmental impact from their 150 fireworks shows a year, and some wells in San Bernadino County in Southern Calfornia had to be shut down due to contamination from perchlorate, the active ingredient in fireworks, maybe that will force change.

As it is, though, enjoy the fireworks this New Year’s Eve. And be safe.