STORY: For some it is a great experience, for others a nuisance. Firecrackers and rockets for New Year’s Eve. For the first time since the beginning of the corona pandemic, firecrackers and rockets can be sold again. The federal director of the German Environmental Aid (DUH), Jürgen Resch, doesn’t think that’s a good thing: “And that means for the environment and also for many people the highest air pollution values of the year for hours, sometimes even for days, depending on what kind of air pollution We have weather conditions, and when I think of the six million asthmatics in Germany alone, they have very serious health problems.” According to Resch, many people would handle explosives when they were drunk. There will be many injuries again. The already heavily burdened clinics and emergency services are threatened with a tense night. The demand of the German environmental aid: A complete ban on firecrackers for all future years. “Therefore our appeal to the Federal Minister of the Interior, Faeser, that she puts an end to this, yes, archaic New Year’s fireworks once and for all. And the emergencies in the hospitals will probably be needed again to trigger a political discussion at the beginning of the year. I hope that this government will have the strength to make the right decision then.” According to the DUH, the majority of the population supports a ban on firecrackers. So does the police union. And: the DUH is also for lavish parties at the turn of the year. But for those where nobody gets hurt and the environment isn’t harmed.