On the same day environmental groups called out Colorado officials for missing a key EPA deadline to clean up ozone pollution violations widely attributed to driving, business groups declared victory in weakening the state’s new set of rules to reduce air pollution caused by employee car commutes. The double whammy was not lost on conservationists, […]
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Posted inOpinion, Opinion Columns
Opinion: Electric vehicles can help clean Colorado’s air — by preventing wildfires
As a pulmonologist, I’m disheartened during hot, polluted summer days when my patients tell me the air is making it harder for them to breathe — and even worse, when it sends someone to the hospital. Much of the time, the dangerous pollution levels result from a combination of wildfire smoke that can travel hundreds […]
Posted inClimate, Energy, Environment, News
About 30% of Denver’s homes lack air conditioning. Here’s the city’s environmentally friendly solution.
As temperatures rose to triple digits in Denver Tuesday, the city’s Office of Climate Action, Sustainability, and Resiliency released a plan outlining steps in which city residents can stay comfortable and safe through future heat waves — which are likely to get worse — without causing further damage to the environment. About 30% of Denver […]
Posted inClimate, Environment, Health, News
Some of the worst ozone pollution in the U.S. settles along the Front Range. New rules to fix it are ahead.
When it comes to oxygen, the Front Range sometimes has too much of a good thing. On many sunny, summer days the region has not only O2 in the air but also O3 – oxygen with an extra atom that transforms it into a corrosive gas — ozone. “The extra atom of oxygen turns it […]
Posted inClimate, Environment, News
Colorado air quality regulators update plan to lower ozone levels and align with EPA standards
Colorado’s air quality regulators on Friday adopted a new plan to combat Front Range ozone pollution that will tighten emissions from oil wells, boilers and automobiles, and may even change the way paint dries. The new plan is necessary as the federal Environmental Protection Agency is set next year to drop the region’s ozone status […]
Posted inOpinion, Opinion Columns
Opinion: For our children’s future, we must vote for our climate
Our decisions to enter public service were predicated on a desire to have a say in shaping our community and even our world for the next generation. As parents, we were worried about what kind of world our children would be left with, and recent events across Colorado have only increased our concerns. Climate change, […]
Posted inBusiness, Energy, Environment, Health, News, Politics and Government
Oil and gas companies must monitor fracking emissions as Colorado adopts first-in-the-nation rules to reduce air pollution
Oil and gas companies will have to control and monitor emissions from fracking and meet tighter emission-performance standards on the electric motors used at drill sites, under some first-in-the-nation rules passed Wednesday night by Colorado air quality regulators. The new rules for the so-called pre-production phase are in addition to regulations the state’s Air Quality […]
Posted inBusiness, Energy, Environment, Health, News, Politics and Government
Colorado oil and gas emissions rules begin to tighten, but gaps open over what is monitored, by whom and where
Colorado is moving to tighten air emissions from a range of oil and gas activities – including hydrofracturing or fracking – with a general consensus among industry, environmental and community groups. In two days of testimony before the state’s Air Quality Control Commission there was general support for proposed rules covering fracking and drilling, internal […]
Posted inOpinion, Opinion Columns
Opinion: It’s time to talk about Colorado’s unwanted houseguest – air pollution
Like many Coloradans, I spent much of August inside a home. Climate change is fueling extreme heat and destructive wildfires, both of which exacerbate our air pollution woes. This meant we had to reevaluate all our plans for fun-filled outdoor activities, especially with the newest family member, my baby nephew. We were stuck inside and, […]
Posted inOpinion, Opinion Columns
Opinion: Colorado needs statewide rules to reduce oil and gas emissions
My county, and several others on Colorado’s Front Range, have a distinguishing characteristic that is a continual thorn in our side, especially to me as a local elected official responsible for the well-being of my constituents. Our community in the Denver Metro/North Front Range area is known for its high ozone levels, which the Environmental […]