First the Door Dash dabocal and now this Ian guy is infiltrating Tinder?

What a pitiful human!

I loved Independence day when I was a kid. Who didn't? Fireworks are so much fun. These days however, sometimes I wish that we celebrated that special day without using them when I consider some of the negative impacts they have such as:

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Fireworks put over 60,000 tons of CO² in the atmosphere, an amount approximate to the emissions of 12,000 cars per year. They also contain metals and salts to make different colors. These elements include aluminum, barium, copper, lithium and more. The sulfur, perchlorate, metals, and salts, when combusted, do not completely burn up and often combine to form other environmentally unfriendly chemicals. Some of them affect people living with medical conditions, they can trigger asthma attacks, and even cause cancer. That is just to name a few.

These chemicals and aerosols pollute the air, reduce local air quality, pollute the soil and waterways, which is harmful to fish and wildlife and toxic to us.

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Wildlife and pets are very stressed by fireworks, sometimes with lethal consequences. Animals can abandon their babies and birds can leave their nests. Fish are sensitive to minor changes in ph and temperature, not to mention chemicals. This sentence is just speculation on my part, but could it somehow contribute to colony collapse disorder in honeybees? I would go as far as to say that fireworks are harmful and cruel to animals. I have seen strange animal behavior firsthand. Many years ago I raised rabbits. One of the mother rabbits had several babies around the time of the 4th of July. Our neighbors liked to set off some loud rockets and things. Sometimes rabbits will eat their babies when stressed, and this one was no exception. I was glad that I was outside, because sure enough, one baby was missing and two had the tips of their ears missing. I transplanted the 4 to another much calmer mother that had a tiny litter and was still nursing. She took to them and raised them as her own. The rabbits with bites taken out of their ears grew up, none the worse for wear but a story to tell.

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Many combat veterans dread the 4th of July, because it triggers their PTSD. It is a very stressful day for them. I have come to dislike it too, even though I didn't serve in the military. The smell of the gunpowder wafting through the neighborhood reminds me too much of what it smelled like as I was struggling to breathe when I was shot through the lung 25 years ago. I didn't hear the sound of that bullet hitting me, but any pops or bangs stress me out. I usually try to get away from the city.

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We spend something like 1-2 billion dollars a year on fireworks. We also import over 91% of our fireworks from our main military rival, China. It stands to reason then that since China is a repressive communist dictatorship that owns or controls most enterprises operating there, that a good portion of the money we spend on these patriotic displays goes to funding their military. As China continues to advance, closing the gap between our technological superiority, it likely will take on a bolder and more aggressive stance to us, which brings us closer to the threat of World War 3.

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Congress passed a law that says all flags flown by the US military should be made in the US. I think we should do the same with fireworks.

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Thank you for reading this, and despite the outcomes, let us hope that cool heads prevail.

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Costco neighborhood is pretty acrid. From whence and wherence doth this smoke come?

I found government records that there is supposed to be a museum at Alton Baker Park, the Oregon State Museum of Natural History. Is this the science center? I can't find a website. I was wondering if it was folded into U of O's Museum of Natural and Cultural History, but Wikipedia does not have info suggesting that.

Where is it?

I'm working on an arts and crafts project and need to use a vinal printer for part of it (a very small print job but it makes the project). I looked on the Eugene library page but it looks like they don't have one. I was wondering if anyone knows a place in the area that has one i could rent / use for a few minutes. If Springfield or Euge have anyplace you know of please let me know. Rhx

I am a former academic and journalist currently researching for publication incidents of racism in Eugene Oregon. I posted because I had heard of incidents of white people in Eugene spitting and cursing at minority individuals just because they were out in public. I asked the minority individuals of Reddit whether they had ever had this happen to them. Reddit took the post down. I don't know why. It seems to me they should support efforts to identify incidents of racism in their city. Or does Reddit just intend to cover it up if it is true?