4th of July – Politics Plus

It’s that time of year when we literally have a reprise of “the rockets’ red glare, the bombs bursting in air” with our traditional annual fireworks displays.

But a number of factors have joined forces to make it become less a tradition, supplanted by colorful and brightly-lit drones.

Firework critics, who have voiced their disfavor due to noise, pollution, injuries, and environmental harm, are celebrating the pandemic’s supply chain shortage of fireworks. They even find a silver-lining in the megadroughts plaguing the West that are forcing municipalities to forgo fireworks in favor of drone light shows.

Drone light shows have become so popular that they’re booked up months in advance for July 4^th. And it’s easy to understand why>

Typical drone shows last 10-12 minutes, comparable to and average firework display. And they will use from 100 drones (felt to be an “entry-level” production) up to 500.

A drone July 4^th generally starts at around $25,000 – which can be about twice as much as a municipal fireworks display. But they are much more technically cumbersome to design, setup and run. (To add some perspective, the American Pyrotechnics Association reports that firework displays are a $375 million industry.)

While the cost of drone light show might cause concern, they do have a number of advantages when compared to traditional fireworks. They are much quieter, cause significantly less pollution, result in far fewer injuries (including deaths) and dramatically less environmental harm.

It’s no surprise that the drought conditions in most of the West have really sparked communities to move to drone shows. Even before conditions became dire, there were approximately 19,500 fires caused by fireworks back in 2018, with the peak occurring on July 4^th.

Also disturbing is the fact that the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) reported that there were over 9,000 fireworks-related injuries seen in emergency departments in 2018.

I was a bit surprised to learn that one of the strongest supporters of drone light shows is from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). “Drone shows are quiet, safe, practically pollution-free,” says PETA President Ingrid Newkirk.

As many pet owners can attest, fireworks are pretty much loathed by our cats and dogs. PETA also points out that besides frightening for small children, they can also be a trigger for veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

I’ve yet to enjoy a 4^th of July drone show, but I certainly can see they offer a variety of pluses.

It all began when Gov. Kristi Gnome (R-SD) posted a pouting 4^th of July Tweet whining that “Sparklers Suck” because fireworks were not allowed at Mount Rushmore this year because of the high risk of wildfires from the drought

(OK – I’ll note that she seems to prefer spelling her surname N-o-e-m.)

If you scroll through the wonderful Comments responding to her whiny Tweet, she was deservedly and repeatedly torn a new one! In fact, on Daily Kos where I learned about her bitchy Tweet, I, too, responded:

Hey, Kristi —

You know what really sucks? Forest fires really suck!

These are all photos from fires — Black Hills, Custer, Hill City, Mount Rushmore, Schroeder, Storm Hill, Vineyard, Wanblee and White Draw — in YOUR state!

Then I got to thinking, I bet there are some pretty cool alternatives to fireworks. So I started looking, and found a few examples of drones being used for light shows.

I’ll start with the best one I found from the USA: It was created by Intel, so it has a little commercial flavor to it.

(If you want to decrease the viewing time and really not lose much effect, on YouTube, click the cogwheel down at the lower right – and then select “Playback Speed” to select different options if you want it faster or slower. I tried all the videos at double speed, and I don’t think it lost a thing.)

Greenpeace created a well-done display with a message for world leaders when they arrived in Cornwall, UK on June 11, 2021:

The world’s record for the longest drone light show tells the story of Vincent Van Gogh’s life, and lasted for 26 minutes. (And yes, they included a little bit about cutting his ear off.)

BUT the YouTube presentation was sped up to almost 4 times normal speed – and I increased the playback speed on YouTube to twice that. And it did not suffer one bit.

There was a clever drone light show introduction of an online game that ended with the drones forming a scannable QR code enabling folks to download the game.

But for a true “WOW!” factor, it seems China is the hands-down winner:

This year there were a number of cities that opted for a drone light show instead of fireworks – including Cincinnati, Rochester NY, Richland Hills area in Texas, Tusayan AZ, Texas A&M University, and even Macy’s included a drone light show as part of its NYC spectacular display. (St. Petersburg FL was going to, but hurricane Elsa forced a cancellation.)

But unfortunately, drone light shows are NOT cheap. And it requires 2-3 months lead time to create and will last about 5 to 10 minutes. Here’s the pricing guidelines for an Intel produced show:

For reference, a small-town 4^th of July fireworks display will run $2k to $7k just for the fireworks (not counting setup, fencing, insurance, etc.). Disneyworld’s nightly firework display runs $33k.

Still, they offer a safe program with lots more options than a fireworks display.

Politics Plus

Drought-Resistant Fireworks: “BOOM” Time for Drone July 4th Shows

Friday Fun: Fireworks Alternatives?