漏 2025
NPR 暗黑爆料, Colorado Stories
Donate
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Environment
KUNC's Colorado Edition

Air quality is improving across most of the US, but the Mountain West is falling behind

By Rae Solomon,
Erin O'Toole
Published November 17, 2021 at 2:40 PM MST
Rick Kimpel
/
CC BY-SA 2.0

Many cities across the U.S. have had success lowering harmful ground-level ozone in recent years, but the exception to that trend is in the American West. Just last summer, the Front Range 鈥� and Denver in particular 鈥� recorded some of the worst air quality levels on the entire planet.

READ MORE:

Colorado Edition spoke to Kaiser Health 暗黑爆料 environment reporter , who helped explain this trend.

Tags
KUNC's Colorado Edition Air QualityAir Pollution
Rae Solomon
I am the Rural and Small Communities Reporter at KUNC. That means my focus is building relationships and telling stories from under-covered pockets of Colorado.
See stories by Rae Solomon
Erin O'Toole
As the host of KUNC鈥檚 new program and podcast In the NoCo, I work closely with our producers and reporters to bring context and diverse perspectives to the important issues of the day. Northern Colorado is such a diverse and growing region, brimming with history, culture, music, education, civic engagement, and amazing outdoor recreation. I love finding the stories and voices that reflect what makes NoCo such an extraordinary place to live.
See stories by Erin O'Toole
Related Content
  • In this March 29, 2013 file photo, a worker helps monitor water pumping pressure and temperature at an oil and natural gas extraction site in in the Piceance Basin 鈥� a natural gas production basin that spans several counties on the Western Slope, including Garfield, Rio Blanco and Mesa counties.
    Environment
    Small gas producers are a big methane problem in Colorado. What are air quality regulators missing?
    Rae Solomon
    Environmentalists say that some of the largest methane polluters in the state are benefiting from a sleight of hand built into a deeply flawed emissions reporting system. They say those large-scale polluters might not be who you expect, pointing to a little-known natural gas producer called Terra Energy Partners. According to federal greenhouse gas emissions data, this small, privately owned company 鈥� headquartered in Texas, but operating exclusively on Colorado鈥檚 Western Slope - was the fourth largest source of methane emissions from the oil and gas industry in the entire United States in 2019.
  • The sun sets through haze from the Cameron Peak Fire on Aug. 13, 2020, as seen from northwest Greeley.
    Health
    Dangerous air due to wildfires has risen across Colorado in the last five years
    Michael de Yoanna
    Massive wildfires across the West have worsened the air in Colorado, contributing to roughly double the number of days residents are exposed to dangerous fine particulate matter known as PM 2.5 versus a decade ago. Researchers say the air can be hazardous even if you don't see or smell smoke.
Load More