A Health Crisis - Colorado's Air Quality

August 16, 2021

We’ve got a problem, Colorado: our air is downright dirty.

You’ve seen and felt that over the last couple summer months. Gray skies, itchy and scratchy throats, difficulty breathing. A couple weeks ago Denver held the disreputable title of worst air quality in the world, beating out other hazy metropolises like Kabul, Delhi, and Beijing. Last week, we surpassed our 10 year high ozone action alert watermark - marking 53 days of excessive pollution this summer, with more than 2 weeks left to count. 


How did we get here? Is this the new normal? Why is the air quality so bad? What does it mean for our health? 


Air pollution can come from all different types of sources: burning of wood and fossil fuels, drifting wildfire smoke, out of the tailpipes of our cars and out of the chimney of our homes, from industrial plants and manufacturers. Pollutants can include heavy metals like lead, dangerous cancer-causing chemicals like benzene from industrial sources, nitrogen dioxide largely from our transportation sector, and many more. 


But in Colorado, much of our air pollution is driven by ground-level ozone and particulate matter, two pollutants that we monitor rigidly for. Ground level ozone forms when chemicals like nitrogen oxide and organic compounds bake in the heat. You can’t see ground level ozone, but it definitely contributes to shortness of breath and exacerbation of existing breathing disorders. The biggest culprits are the oil and gas industry, which leak organic compounds at well sites, and transportation, particularly single occupancy vehicles, which spew nitrogen dioxide as we bumble to trailheads or out for groceries.  Particulate matter, on the other hand, is the mixture of inhalable particles like dust, dirt, or smoke, that hang in the air and can make its way deep into your lungs, causing a host of negative health effects. In the summer, wildfires across the West drift into Colorado and mix with ozone, driving poor air quality days that choke our cities and inhibit our breathing. This is what clouds our view of the mountains and makes Denver look more like Los Angeles in Blade Runner. 


The Federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sets standards for ozone pollution in ambient air. In 2008, the standard was 75 parts per billion (ppb) and in 2012 the standard was lowered to 70 ppb. The North Front Range metro area has been in nonattainment with those standards consecutively since 2012: going on 10 years. In 2020 we were downgraded from ‘moderate’ nonattainment to ‘serious’ nonattainment. Nonattainment brings along worse health, especially for vulnerable populations like kids, the elderly, and people with existing respiratory problems: aggravating lung diseases, increasing asthma attacks, inflaming airways, making lungs more prone to infection. Adding particulate matter from wildfires, which are becoming worse due to climate change, adds a cherry on top of a pollution sundae that nobody wants to eat. And those are just some of the physical health effects of our soupy air quality. Mental health issues like anxiety and depression can set in as well: sporting events being cancelled due to toxic air, the elderly needing to stay inside during summers due to worsening respiratory function, the malaise of hazy skies blocking our mountain vistas.


Can we fix this? Should we drive less when we can? Should we be more conscious of our day to day activities that pollute our air? Yes, yes, and of course. But the biggest issue we need to solve is not changing our personal habits, but putting pressure on our political leaders to step up to the scope of the moment and fight for climate action. Sure, eating less meat will help to a certain extent by reducing the footprint of factory farms. But enforcing strict emissions reductions immediately from the oil & gas industry will help more; and quicker. Yes, carpooling reduces nitrogen oxide emissions, but strong state rules that mandate more electric vehicles and reduce total vehicle miles traveled is better. Studies estimate that 30-40% of all ozone on a given day are produced by the oil & gas and transportation industries: it’s time to start playing nice with polluters and begin enforcing strong, and quickly implementable, rules that drastically reduce their reckless pollution. 


We shouldn’t have to wait for our political leaders to decide when the right time for action is. Too moderate of an approach to curbing air pollution emissions is hollowing out the Colorado way of life. We shouldn’t need to live in a state in which we grab air quality reports before heading out to walk the dog. Colordans have the right to breathe clean, fresh Rocky Mountain air, not a hazardous cocktail of toxic air. 


We’ve known for a long time that we have an environmental and climate crisis. We no longer can, or should, allow our political leaders to shift the burden of blame for the climate and air pollution crises onto the backs of regular people. If our air is going to get better, if the climate crisis is going to be addressed, every elected official needs to propose and support bold measures to protect Coloradans health starting immediately.

HAWC Update - Greetings from our new ED Alex Boian

By HAWC Colorado • March 3, 2025
Hello HAWC Advocates and Friends! As I begin my third week as the new executive director of Healthy Air and Water Colorado, I wanted to send this brief note to introduce myself and express my gratitude to all of you in HAWC’s network of climate advocates and health professionals. My first few days have been filled with listening, learning, and getting to know many of you, your interests, and the incredible work you do to address climate change in order to protect public health. I join HAWC after more than 20 years in federal and state public policy working on natural resource issues, land use, sustainability, and in collaboration with local communities to ensure equitable access to clean and healthy air and water in Colorado, and across the country. Throughout my work, one thing has always been true, and that is the tremendous power of passionate individuals who come together, a coalition united by a common cause seeking real and lasting change. The HAWC network and our partners in climate advocacy are the coalition that is needed now more than ever to take action and advocate for policies that address the health impacts of worsening air quality, extreme temperatures, and threats to water availability and quality. I am thankful to each of you for the work you do every day at the crossroads of public health and climate policy, and for the time, energy, and enthusiasm you contribute. We are planning some in-person events and advocacy trainings so we have an opportunity to connect with you all and energize our work going forward. Stay tuned for more. I look forward to joining you in the work ahead! With gratitude, Alex Boian Executive Director Healthy Air and Water Colorado

Press Release: Colorado Takes Important Step in Cutting Methane Pollution, But More Action is Needed

By HAWC Colorado • February 26, 2025
Colorado air quality leaders vote in favor of cutting oil & gas emissions

The Harrowing Health Impacts of Transportation Pollution

By Megan Kemp - HAWC Advocacy Manager • November 17, 2022
Health professionals across Colorado see it daily: our poor air quality is having debilitating and sometimes deadly impacts on our communities. While they understand it in the aggregate, they are experiencing it one patient at a time. Kids with higher rates of asthma. Adults who are forced to stay indoors during the summer heat or wildfire season because underlying conditions make it impossible for them to breathe. People who can no longer effectively manage their diabetes due to rising temperatures. More babies born prematurely or at low birth weights. The reality is that the impacts of climate change aren’t just showing up in large scale changes in the frequency and severity of storms and the creeping changes to our seasonal weather patterns, the impacts of climate change are literally written on our bodies. For historically red-lined communities that have ended up along neighborhood destroying highways, these impacts increase exponentially. A major driver of this climate change and the concentric circles of public health distress is transportation, the cars we drive and the trucks that transport our goods and services. If we can bend the curve on transportation, we can make a significant difference in the quality of our air and the ground level ozone that debilitates so many and adds to the real challenges to our public health. Pollution from transportation typically comes in two forms and impacts public health in different ways. Particulate pollution from vehicle tailpipes can result in premature death in people with heart or lung disease, heart attacks and irregular heartbeat, aggravated asthma and other respiratory symptoms, such as irritation of the airways, coughing or difficulty breathing. These challenges can be particularly pronounced in the very young and the very old.

Press Release: Health Experts Press for Federal Action on Climate Change

October 27, 2022
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Oct. 27, 2022 Contact: Michele Ames 303-817-5510 Healthy Air & Water Colorado advocates press for federal action on climate change Listening session with Congressman Jason Crow focuses on high-impact policy change (DENVER, Oct. 27, 2022) – Health expert advocates on the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus discussed their concerns about the worsening public health crisis driven by climate change with U.S. Congressman Jason Crow on Wednesday. The event was hosted by Healthy Air & Water Colorado and the University of Colorado School of Medicine and University of Colorado Climate & Health Program. Healthy Air & Water Colorado, a sister organization of Healthier Colorado, the state’s leading health advocacy organization with over 100,000 members, helps health professionals from across the state speak out on policies that will help to curb the acceleration of climate change and reduce its current impacts on human health. Advocates working with the organization addressed policy they would like the federal government to pursue to help bend the curve on the worst health impacts of climate change. "When I think about what climate change is, it’s a child health issue. It’s not just about the polar bears, it’s about the health of our children,” said Dr. Bhargavi Chekuri, Assistant Professor of Family Medicine and Director of Continuing Medical Education at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. Chekuri and other health experts shared their experience in dealing with climate related health impacts with the congressman. The clinical and scientific data has confirmed increases in various climate-related diseases including increases in childhood asthma rates, increases in chronic lung ailments, growing difficulty managing chronic issues like diabetes, increasing rates of preterm births and decreasing birth weights, to name a few. In addition, medical professionals are also dealing with the immediate, catastrophic impacts of the increasing severity of storms and the growing frequency and veracity of wild fires across western states. Among other policy priorities at the federal level aimed at combatting these health impacts, Healthy Air & Water Colorado advocates have been pressing for ongoing investments in the country’s green energy infrastructure, transportation alternatives to help reduce fossil fuel emissions from cars and trucks, a leading cause of greenhouse gas and federal adoption of Colorado’s methane emission standards, which are the toughest in the nation. “When individuals have access to affordable and quality health care, it creates healthy and resilient communities. It’s going to take healthy resilient communities to address climate change and the health impacts,” said Dr. Kyle Leggott, assistant Professor of Family Medicine and policy scholar at the Farley Health Policy Center on the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. ### About Healthy Air & Water Colorado Healthy Air & Water Colorado is the only statewide advocate for public policy that focuses exclusively on the growing public health threats posed by climate change. The effort is a sister organization of Healthier Colorado, which is dedicated to policy solutions that give all Coloradans the chance to live healthier lives. By engaging frontline health care workers who see and treat the real health issues caused by our warming environment, we are combining fact-based research with clinical expertise to raise awareness and encourage action to advance policies that will help to avert our growing public health emergency.
Trucks

Air Pollution is Harming Health and Cleaner Trucks will Drastically Reduce Pollution

By Katherine E. Goff & Dr. Sheela Mahnke • August 24, 2022
Katherine E. Goff & Dr. Sheela Mahnke urge the Air Quality Control Commission (AQCC) to adopt the Advanced Clean Trucks Rule

Effective Wildfire Mitigation Requires Long-term, Sustainable Investment

By Tamara Pogue • April 13, 2022
Summit County Commissioner Tamara Pogue explains how the success of Summit County's model for long-term wildfire mitigation funding can be a model for preventing wildfire danger across Colorado

Colorado Should Incentivize Long Term Mitigation Strategies to Protect Communities from Wildfires

March 23, 2022
Out of control wildfires are threatening the health of every Coloradan

Statewide Rules Needed to Protect Public Health From Air Toxics

March 15, 2022
The science is clear. Air toxics damage our health. So why doesn't Colorado do more to regulate the pollution in the first place?

2021 Legislative Session Victories | Climate & Health

June 15, 2021
The 2021 Colorado Legislative Session has officially come to an end. This past session, we made significant progress on mitigating the worst health impacts of climate change.

Colorado Roadmap to curb greenhouse gas falls short on equity for communities most impacted by pollution

March 12, 2021
As Colorado works to put in place robust measures to curb greenhouse gas, the largest contributor to warming around the globe, it must not leave behind the communities most impacted by pollution through negative health impacts. Colorado released its Greenhouse Gas Pollution Reduction Roadmap in September 2020 with a promise to return with a framework for ensuring equity for communities disproportionately impacted by the worst health effects of climate change due to financial inequity, structural racism and health inequities that have caused underlying health conditions as well as economic factors such as job loss and transition caused by shifts away from extraction. The equity framework was released in February 2021. It lays out the plan for state departments to communicate, engage, and partner with affected individuals and communities. While this is an important piece of protecting these communities, it falls short of capturing more tangible ways communities can reduce the impact of polluters and begin to address the health disparities pollution causes in their neighborhoods and homes. In May 2019, Governor Polis both signed into law the Colorado Action Plan to Reduce Pollution Act which set greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets and directed state agencies to develop a plan for how to meet these targets. The roadmap was designed to help the state meet its stated goal of reducing greenhouse gas by 50 percent by 2030 and 90 percent by 2050, an aggressive but attainable goal if strong action is taken soon. Some of the concrete steps taken in the draft equity framework include a data viewer model that will help the state prioritize disproportionately impacted communities, a new Climate Equity subcommittee that will oversee state strategies and rules that pertain to cutting emissions and a Climate and Equity data dashboard that will come online in 2021 to track equity and greenhouse gas emissions reduction progress. During the release of the roadmap, HAWC urged policymakers to return with a comprehensive equity framework. “We know that many communities across the state are subjected to disproportionate exposures to pollution,” HAWC said in a statement on the release. “The roadmap must make that reality clear and then address that reality with clear policy to specifically aid those communities and hold their polluters responsible. We also know that the needed transitions away from increased oil and gas development will have real impacts on local economies and Colorado workers. The roadmap should also address policies that will help those working families and individual communities make the transition to new industries and new jobs.“ HAWC appreciates some of the concepts and ideas contained in the framework, but doesn’t think it provides enough tangible benefits for the communities that have long been subject to environmental racism that has eroded local economies and generationally worsened health of affected communities. In addition, HAWC believes the original public comment timeframe to hear back from frontline communities -- just three weeks -- is not adequate to allow constructive feedback on the draft, and directly conflicts with the recommendations from the Equity Framework itself. HAWC joined a request with WildEarth Guardians calling on the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment to extend at least another month and applaud the department for granting that request to increase the feedback period to April 5. Please take a moment to urge CDPHE to include more tangible benefits and actionable steps to repair the harms of historial environmental racism in our frontline communities. You can read the equity framework . You can provide feedback to CDPHE on the equity framework. You can read the full Green House Gas Reduction Roadmap . You can read an executive summary of the roadmap .The body content of your post goes here. To edit this text, click on it and delete this default text and start typing your own or paste your own from a different source.
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