Came across this flyer(?), not exactly a Nature-inspired memes, but still relevant for any holidays/celebrations which are prominently celebrated with loud fireworks:
Note: I still enjoy the quieter volcano-type and sparkler-type fireworks.
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Iām quite comfortable with organised displays in towns and cities, but as I live rurally with many horses and livestock in the surrounding paddocks, fireworks can be a menace when used irresponsibly. Thankfully most rural dwellers get that.
Also, I think these flyers would do better if they steered clear of such unnecessarily melodramatic phrasing. Still, I suppose it is 2022 after allā¦
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Can you elaborate on the link between 2022 and melodramatic language? Not sure Iām familiar with the reference.
Admittedly itās not just a current year issue, but a relatively recent phenomenon.
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Itās not just ptsd eitherā¦iām ND and cannot stand loud noises.
They posted on our cityās autism page about how āyay we live in the city so fireworks are illegalā and iām like, what friggin neighborhood are you in? beacuse every night this weekend and today there have been fireworks, no one cares about the āruleā. Heck I grew up in michigan where fireworks are illegal (for personal use or sale to public), but people would drive down to ohio to buy them and bring them back.
I try to encourage people to use the āsilent fireworksā at home to be kind to all. Often people are more willing to substitute things than forgo all together; so I have more luck explaining that the ones that are on the ground donāt have such loud pops and are much friendlier. And go to the big displays if they want to see large fireworks. Not that as I type this at almost 1 am it matters to the folks on street behind mine apparently sigh
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There is such a thing as silent fireworks? Well, blow me down, they āsoundā like fun.
After years of battling, we have finally banned fireworks in Cape Town. SPCA is left with rescuing terrified pets. And the injured wild animals (if they can be found)?
We ācelebrateā Guy Fawkes blowing up British Parliament. Why?! Gunpowder, treason and plot.
(And there are those Bright Sparks who shoot marine rescue flares ā¦ oops ā¦ set the mountain on fire ā¦ so sorry)
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There is no shortage of evidence for the widespread negative impact of fireworks on wildlife, and likewise the deliberate release of helium balloons and Chinese lanterns.
Unfortunately, elected governments are eager not to be seen as killjoys by banning such things. Itās already difficult enough for political parties to stay in the favour of the voting public while raising taxes etc without them imposing even more restrictions that people find annoying and freedom-denying. So the only real route to ending these practices is to raise public awareness to the point that the majority of the people want an end to it.
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We celebrate Guy Fawkes blowing up British Parliament
Or rather him being prevented from doing so in the nick of time. If he really had succeeded, that really would be something to celebrate! 
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I know itās not in Cape Town, but do they still fire the cannon on Signal Hill?
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Fireworks are a daily occurrence here in the southern sierra, particularly in the beautiful city of Cuenca and the outlying communitiesā¦
itās extremely annoying, but thereās no shortage of unnecessary noise pollution in the city, so itās a fact of life, at least theyāre made locally, at least it makes a job for someone, thereās not exactly a surplus of jobs for most folks right now.
Itās so often my super protective, overly attentive little dog doesnāt even get bothered by them usuallyā¦ which is insane because the āboomsā here are very, very, loud.
Itās usually around 4-5:30 AM, nearly every day of the year, and often all day in the holiday season.
Thereās always someone here or elsewhere doing something completely asinine in the name of ātraditionā or as I call it āpeer pressure from dead peopleā
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Yes - at noon every day. Disconcerting if you are not used to being IN the City then.
https://eefalsebay.blogspot.com/2018/06/may-mountain-flowers-and-noon-gun.html
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Some communities have opted for drone displays instead of fireworks to cut down on wildfire risk.
https://www.theverge.com/2022/7/2/23191205/fire-prone-places-replace-fireworks-drone-shows
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Not 100% silent, but both traditional magnesium-based sparklers and their āsaferā alternatives donāt end in a bangā¦
I think thatās what silent fireworks mean. I think as long as thereās a fire-initiated oxidative reaction it counts?
Granted, that definition also includes Gopher Bombs which are a smoke based form of pest control.
Maybe to some degree, loud bang fireworks are like fart jokes? Really enjoyable if you grew up with them, even so as an adult? I still think the most appropriate use of loud fireworks is Tschaikovskyās 1812 Overture.
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what vreinkymov said; they are not 100% silent and it isnāt some new fancy tech. Its the new term to describe the ground based fireworks that do not need the higher powered setoffs, keeping them relatively silent and lacking the loud booms, this of course excludes the ones that explode up in the sky which are arguably the most problematic for wildlife as well. There are also some that have softer setoffs (lower height), and then fizzle or drip back without the explosion in air which are often considered āquietā - their noise wonāt carry very far. I donāt know a ton about firework/terms but a google will bring a lot of youtube videos of various silent options - some almost actually quiet and others just much nicer.
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We have ptsd, live in a big metro area, and suffer a lot this time of year. We wear noise canceling headphones in the house starting around dusk and switch to ear plugs once we try to sleep.
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Oddly enough, the drone displays are said to be cheaper than fireworks, too! Iāve heard firework insurance is heftyā¦
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Iām amazed by the modern fireworks that sound like mortar fire in my neighborhood. We had bottle rockets back when I was a dumb kid and enjoyed shooting them over the neighborhood, but nothing of the caliber of some of the modern ones. (Nowadays I donāt bother with any fireworks at all and spend the 4th keeping our dog from going nuts.) We seem to keep getting bigger, louder, and dumber as the years go by.
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Snoopy knew that back in 1960:
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I did not find scientific evidence for the first claim that bees get disoriented - is anyone aware of a paper?
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