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Today on Colorado Edition, we learn why one species of fish native to the Colorado River is no longer on the endangered list. We also learn about a new set of policy recommendations aimed at protecting Colorado’ big game populations, and hear why many Western cities are recording some of the worst air quality levels on the planet.
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Multiple cities across the United States are seeing lower levels of ozone in the atmosphere – but Denver isn’t one of them.
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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 – headquartered in Texas, but operating exclusively on Colorado’s Western Slope - was the fourth largest source of methane emissions from the oil and gas industry in the entire United States in 2019.
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On today’s episode of Colorado Edition, we revisit some of our favorite stories. We hear how wildfire smoke is impacting air quality and learn about recently unearthed documents at a former tuberculosis treatment center in Colorado Springs. We also check in with activist Buck Adams to learn about his artistic approach in calling for prison reform.
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Concerns about sending kids back to school have revolved around the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. But as the wildfire season has become longer, smoke finding its way into the classroom is also a problem. The Mountain West News Bureau's Maggie Mullen reports on the battle to keep children safe.
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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.
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Western wildfires pose a much broader threat to human health than to just those forced to evacuate the path of the blazes. Smoke from these fires, which have burned millions of acres in California alone, is choking vast swaths of the country, an analysis of federal satellite imagery by NPR’s California Newsroom and Stanford University’s Environmental Change and Human Outcomes Lab found.
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New research indicates newer homes and those constructed with central air conditioning may be better at keeping wildfire smoke out.
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It found that average occupancy rates at campgrounds in the West dropped by 1.3 percentage points when smoke was bad — driving concerns about public health.
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In recent weeks, Colorado’s air quality has rapidly deteriorated. Smog, a portion of which is composed of smoke from wildfires within and outside the state, has obscured our view of the mountains from the Front Range. And this week the state failed to meet an Environmental Protection Agency deadline for reducing ozone pollution.