Banning Fireworks on Chinese New Year

In light of the still-continuing smog problem in China, Beijing is contemplating on banning fireworks on the eve of the Chinese New Year (Year of the Wooden Horse) which falls on January 31.  Good luck with that. 

A man in China narrowly evades fireworks on the street. (Image from http://graphics8.nytimes.com)

The Chinese authority, no matter how well-meaning, are up against a centuries-old tradition that dates as far back as 12^th century A.D.  Fireworks were used to drive bad spirits away, specifically the evil beast Nian who attacks little kids.  So in effect authorities are asking everyone to welcome the Lunar New Year without a bang, and just let evil step in.  Again, good luck with that.

On one hand, we understand the need for a fireworks ban.  China hasn’t looked well on the ecological map these days.  The nation—home to tens of thousands of manufacturing plants and factories which provide the world almost every commodity possible—is a glaring red on the map, signifying a mind-blowing carbon emission that surpassed the U.S. back in 2006 and up to now.  Last year, China was burning coal as much as rest of the world combined, all for the sake of rapid growth and unstoppable progress.

On the other hand, banning fireworks isn’t such a committed solution.  At best it is just a shallow and temporary solution.  Why chalk up all that pollution on a single night of partying and merry-making? 

(We prefer pyrotechnics over firecrackers by the way—they look dazzling on the sky without being loud and deafening.  Dogs, for instance, with their keen sense of hearing, are most affected by the riot of firecrackers on Chinese New Year.) 

It’s true, fireworks pose environmental and health risks, and for a country already smothered in smog, the firework-intensive celebration of Chinese New Year is bound to add to all that pollution, just like last year.  Banning fireworks however would just be a killjoy.  If you must ban fireworks to curb pollution, then be consistent about it.  Go after the root of it all—the big plants and factories that mindlessly burn coal and pollute the skies.  Let the people enjoy the fireworks, and then do something about the factories the next day, and for the rest of the year.

Now that China’s solar industry is on the upturn again, let’s have more of that clean, renewable energy.  Or how ‘bout an entire day in which all factories and manufacturing plants cease all operations?  We pat ourselves on the back every year for turning the lights off for one full hour, so why not take it to the next level?  We’re serious: cease factory operations for one entire day.  The world surely won’t end if China doesn’t manufacture a day’s worth of laptop components or smartphone case or children’s toy.   

While at it, toughen policies for these industrial companies.  Require them to modernize and opt for renewable energy and low-impact manufacturing processes.  Give incentives to those companies who have a clear commitment to the environment, and penalize those who rampantly foul up our world.  Just don’t take the fireworks away.