That thick layer of smog over the city, recently. (Phoenix: homes, air quality)

[Prickly Pear]

Fireworks aren't so much the issue as the millions of snowbirds who come here and bring their cars with them. Cars are the #1 contributor for personal pollution, overall including ag and industry mobile vehicles count around #3 or #4 in the rankings to what contributes to the PPM of pollutants in the air.

[ElleTea]

Originally Posted by exit2lef

Under Arizona state law, cities, towns, and counties cannot ban fireworks usage on private property -- only on public land. That means that Maricopa County, which declares and enforces no burn days, cannot restrict the use of fireworks in backyards. It's a limitation similar to what exists with leaf blowers. The county can ban their use on public land but has no jurisdiction over their use on private property.

Okay, but what about the people in the middle of my street last night?

Fireworks are stupid, anyway, in pollution and wildfire prone part of the country.

[exit2lef]

Originally Posted by ElleTea

Okay, but what about the people in the middle of my street last night?

Fireworks are stupid, anyway, in pollution and wildfire prone part of the country.

It probably depends on which city or town. And, yes, I agree about fireworks -- especially when launched by amateurs.

[BIG CATS]

I wonder if the CA wildfires are reeking havoc on our air quality. I hiked Toms Thumb 2 weeks ago and it wasn't a brown cloud over PHX, but rather gray and nasty. You could hardly make out the buildings in downtown and even uptown, it was disgusting. I had labored breathing all that weekend, and it never got better. Ive been wheezing a lot lately, too. Driving home on New Years Day, the streetlights all had a nasty haze around them, no doubt from the fireworks and fireplaces, its getting bad!!!

[BIG CATS]

Originally Posted by ElleTea

Fireworks are stupid, anyway, in pollution and wildfire prone part of the country.

Fireworks in the city and burbs wont be a fire hazard. There are too many firefighters here, with direct and easy access to hydrants to quickly quell any fire caused by fireworks. The pollution they generate would be minimal, too.

[KurtAZ]

Originally Posted by Prickly Pear

Fireworks aren't so much the issue as the millions of snowbirds who come here and bring their cars with them. Cars are the #1 contributor for personal pollution, overall including ag and industry mobile vehicles count around #3 or #4 in the rankings to what contributes to the PPM of pollutants in the air.

I would be curious to see a study on how out of state vehicles (cars, motorcycles, motor homes), i.e. don't have to meet smog standards in Maricopa County, contribute to the emissions problems. Probably not that much of a difference except for the influx of vehicles, most newer cars would probably pass smog standards, but I think it would be an interesting study.

[new2colo]

Originally Posted by Prickly Pear

Fireworks aren't so much the issue as the millions of snowbirds who come here and bring their cars with them. Cars are the #1 contributor for personal pollution, overall including ag and industry mobile vehicles count around #3 or #4 in the rankings to what contributes to the PPM of pollutants in the air.

It’s past time to stop blaming snowbirds for everything. The Maricopa County Air Quality Department has said that the issue is mostly residual smoke from fireplaces. The reason that the highest pollution levels tend to be in south and west Phoenix is because of the prevalence of wood burning fireplaces in those areas. I could be wrong, but people who are financially stable enough to snowbird probably don’t end up settling in old houses in south or west Phoenix.

[Valley Native]

We can easily blame vehicles, fireplaces, fireworks, snowbirds, or just about anything else for the poor air quality. The fact of the matter is: in a large metro area like this which is situated in a valley, you are going to have some kind of pollution just from day to day living, which largely consists of vehicle exhaust, industry, and dust.

I'm sorry for those who are having breathing problems, or for anybody who is just tired of seeing the seemingly endless haze, but you can blame nobody else besides Mother Nature for this. Why? Because of the lack of precipitation and stagnant air thanks to these stubborn high pressure systems that are keeping the storm systems far north of us. Normally this time of year, we would have rain on a semi regular basis ... however, it's not happening as of now, and the sun lovers seem to prefer it that way, so they'll just have to take the bitter with the sweet.

[BIG CATS]

Originally Posted by new2colo

It’s past time to stop blaming snowbirds for everything.

I think his claim is fairly accurate. We're basically adding on another Mesa (population wise) in winter with the snowbird arrivals. Even if they had one car per 2 people, you can add another 250K cars on the road. That's insane!

[JGMotorsport64]

Originally Posted by BIG CATS

I think his claim is fairly accurate. We're basically adding on another Mesa (population wise) in winter with the snowbirds arrivals. Even if they had one car per 2 people, you can add another 250K cars on the road. That's insane!

If you factor in their travel times it doubles again.