The question is whether the 9-county nonattainment area will one day meet EPA air quality thresholds, as Atlanta did this year, or become a perennial offender like Sheboygan, Wisconsin
National Jewish Health
Posted inHealth
Colorado lawmakers are targeting hospital facility fees. Here’s why that’s a big deal.
House Bill 1215 would ban hospitals from charging facility fees for most outpatient visits, ending what proponents say is an unnecessary add-on that boosts hospitals’ bottom line
Posted inBusiness, Climate, Energy, Environment, Equity, Health, News
Colorado’s legislative efforts are not enough to solve its Front Range ozone problem
By Jim Robbins, KHN A year after health officials issued a record number of alerts for high ozone levels on Colorado’s Front Range, federal and state officials are trying to rein in the gas that can make outdoor activities a health risk. But new Colorado laws aimed at improving air quality along that urban corridor east […]
Posted inClimate, Environment, Equity, Health, News
How Colorado’s changing climate is putting children’s health at risk
This March, Colorado State Sen. Faith Winter stood at a podium in the State Capitol and spoke to a gathered crowd about reducing the state’s air pollution. After introductions, Winter, Gov. Jared Polis and others unveiled a package of environmental bills that aim to increase access to public transit, build more energy efficient buildings, and construct safe […]
Posted inCOVID, Health, News
COVID vaccines don’t work for some people. For them, the pandemic remains terrifying.
Two weeks after her first shot of the Moderna COVID vaccine, Lori Welker went in for a blood test. Then she held her breath. The Denver mother of two suffers from EGPA — eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis, a rare inflammatory condition. It’s well controlled now, she says, but for years she received twice-a-year infusions of […]
Posted inCOVID, Health, News
Treatment with monoclonal antibodies can prevent COVID hospitalizations — if you hurry
When radio host Dennis Prager came to Colorado earlier this month, he was a man on a mission. A few days after returning home, he had achieved his goal: He was sick with COVID-19. Mission accomplished? “That is what I hoped for the entire time,” Prager, who is based in Los Angeles, said on his […]
Posted inEnvironment, Health, News, Transportation
WHO says air pollution caps should be much tougher in Colorado, U.S.
The World Health Organization says areas like Colorado’s Front Range counties need stringent new air pollution limits, firing a daunting challenge at Colorado leaders already scrambling to catch up to less-onerous restrictions imposed by the EPA. The new WHO guidelines released Wednesday, developed by hundreds of scientists around the world, including Colorado State University environmental […]
Posted inClimate, Environment, Health, News, Wildfire
Smoke from faraway wildfires may be worse for Coloradans than if it came from blazes in their own backyards
For long stretches of the summer the Front Range has been bathed in smoke traveling hundreds of miles from California and Oregon wildfires and it turns out that long-range smoke could be more dangerous than the fumes from homegrown forest fires. Some initial studies have shown that long-range smoke may be more toxic and since […]
Posted inClimate, Environment, Health
Should I let my kids outside? and other Colorado air pollution questions
Most of the scorching days this summer on Colorado’s Front Range have come with an air pollution “action alert” from the state government, warning people with sensitive respiratory issues to take extra caution in the presence of elevated ozone or PM2.5 particulate matter drifting in on wildfire smoke. What does that mean, exactly, if you’re […]
Posted inClimate, Environment, News
Here’s what you need to know about Colorado air pollution — and what you can do about it
The state has issued an ozone health warning for Coloradans every day since July 5. We’ve already accumulated 37 state Ozone Action Alert Days for 2021 by the last week of July, with plenty of scorching August and September weeks left to go, after tallying 43 all of last year. State officials are all but […]