სხვანაირი ახალი წელი / Different kind of New Year
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| ნახატის ავტორი: კიოში იამაშიტა - „ნაგაოკას ფეიერვერკი“, 1950 |
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Painting
by Kiyoshi Yamashita – “Nagaoka Fireworks”, 1950 |
Blog by:
Maka Maglakelidze – Head of Institutional Culture Department
Post-Corona times
Another
year is coming to an end. Time to contemplate over the past year, introspect,
self-reflect, and (re)-assess. In other words, go inwards. And when the final
minutes tick on the clock before midnight, it is time to celebrate! The most
notable sign of this celebration is the fireworks.
Let’s
not forget that since 2020, this is the first New Year the world is stepping
into without corona-related restrictions. What a relief! Finally, everything is
open, museums, theaters, restaurants, clubs, and cafes; we can hug each other,
visit each other’s homes, attend concerts and events, we are full of joy. In a
parallel mode, it is with fear that I anticipate what will happen on the 31st
of December in the Tbilisi sky.
All
manifestations of post-corona, New Year-related joy are “valid” of course, but
let’s rewind a little and focus on the then-freshly imposed quarantine in 2020.
Remember, how the world halted, and how we all were discussing loudly, or
murmuring silently to ourselves “what it all meant”? What is Corona teaching
us? Is the planet caging us, humans, in our homes while it really is starting
to “breathe”? Remember calculations, assessments, and research done on the
quality of air, which drastically improved after we, humans, ceased our carbon
footprint on the earth. How we were concluding that consumerism is “extra”; in
an epiphany, we silently agreed with each other that “less is (really) more”.
We promised ourselves to be more considerate towards our surroundings and
humbler, consume less, and celebrate with less impact on our planet.
Fireworks, health and environment
Fireworks
generate air pollutants and damage the environment. Their colors come from the
chemicals which after burning turn into particles and gaseous pollutants. The
fact that air pollution is a “silent killer”, as the United Nations framed it,
is no news anymore. Air pollution affects 100% of the population, from unborn
babies to the elderly, and causes more deaths than HIV/AIDS and malaria
together. Even in cities with relatively low air pollution levels, people’s
health gets affected. That was the main finding of my study, which examined the
association of air pollutants with exacerbations and hospitalizations due to
Asthma and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). Study results have
demonstrated that an increase even with a 10 microgram per cubic meter in
pollution levels, specifically in Nitrogen Dioxide, was associated with an 11%
of increase in hospitalizations due to these two diseases in Berlin, a city
where air pollution levels were well below European regulatory limit values.
Fireworks
also cause traumas, only in the U.S. in 2021, there were an estimated 1,500
emergency department-treated injuries associated with firecrackers, and 1,100
cases were the result of the sparklers. But that’s not only it, animals are
especially affected-fireworks damage their hearing abilities and cause fear,
which eventually leads to death. In addition, it is well known that polluted
air with gases and particles, similarly affects the health endpoints of animals
and birds as of humans.
Mindful way forward
We
need to be more cautious. In Tbilisi, there are fewer monitoring stations for
air pollution than in “western cities”. We are bothered by crazy traffic jams
and excess cars in the streets. On many days, pollutant levels surpass the
limit values.
We
complain and worry about our health and the health of our children. Yet, when
it comes to celebrations, weddings, and New Year, we forget that each of us can
contribute to and preserve our environment. Maybe this time we can be
different?
გამოყენებული წყაროები/References:
- https://news.un.org/en/story/2019/03/1034031
- https://www.ersnet.org/advocacy/environment-and-health/
- https://europeanlung.org/en/news-and-blog/outdoor-air-pollution-kills-more-people-each-year-than-malaria-and-hiv-aids-combined/
- https://brightly.eco/blog/fireworks-environmental-impact
- https://www.researchgate.net/publication/359367352_Asthma_and_COPD_exacerbation_in_relation_to_outdoor_air_pollution_in_the_metropolitan_area_of_Berlin_Germany/link/6237e41fd1e27a083bc09f55/download
- https://www.cpsc.gov/s3fs-public/2021-Fireworks-Annual-Report.pdf
- https://www.worldanimalprotection.org.in/blogs/fireworks-distressful-celebration
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