Each week, we talk with our colleagues at The Colorado Sun about some of the stories they're following. This time, Health and Environment Reporter Michael Booth joined us to discuss the Front Range’s struggle to control ozone and the Swift effect on Denver’s economy.
Before diving into the discussion about ozone, Booth offered a refresher on what ozone is and why it’s important to manage.
“Ozone is caused by cars spewing out chemicals,” he told KUNC. “Gasoline-powered cars, coal-fired power plants, wildfire smoke, industrial pollution of all sorts, Oil and gas drilling, chemicals that get spewed into the air and then baked under the Front Range’s hot sun.”
The gas is volatile and extremely harmful to human lungs in excessive quantities. Colorado has been in violation of Environmental Protection Agency ozone regulations for years.
Major metro areas have the most difficulty with keeping ozone levels down, but some have found methods that work for them.
“The basic answer is that you really have to throw anything and everything at this problem in order to get these numbers down below a level that's no longer harmful to human health,” Booth said.
As an example, Atlanta started asking railyards to switch their engines to cleaner fuels. The city has also replaced many vehicles in its fleet with more fuel-efficient ones.
Colorado air quality regulators are considering a ban on gas-powered lawn equipment in the Denver area as an ozone-reduction measure. The Regional Air Quality Council approved it earlier this month. The Colorado Air Quality Control Commission will take it to a vote in December.
On a lighter note, we shift to Swift. Taylor Swift, that is — TayTay’s "Eras" tour left Denver humming to the tune of about $140 million.
Economists conservatively estimate that Swift made $38 million in ticket sales from the two sold-out Denver shows.
But Booth said with the Taylor Swift economy comes an “economy of positivity” among fans. Taylor Swift culture, he told KUNC, is about confidence, community and connection.
“Taylor Swift has taken control of her own business arrangements and seems to have a very sharp business mind,” Booth said. “And people watch that and they feel empowered by that.”
