Colorado Should Act Now To Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions (Opinion)

From the Colorado Newsline:

By Sheela Mahnke (Newsline guest commentary)
August 12, 2020

How do you know it’s summer in Colorado? Sadly, it’s not just because of the beauty of the hikes you might be taking or the wonderful camping experiences you might be having.

Often, it’s because our highways, news outlets, and social media feeds are filled with ozone warnings asking us to limit our outdoor activity.

Despite the presence of COVID-19 in our communities, climate change still remains one of the most critical public health issues we face. We see its impact in our local air quality, in the intensity of wildfire seasons and, nationally, in the increase in extreme weather events. Ozone alerts are visible and constant warning signals that we must do more to limit climate change. Our health depends on it.

As a pediatrician, on my drive to work, I come over the crest of a hill where there is a view of downtown Denver. On many days the view is obscured by smog. On those days, I know that I will see more kids come into my clinic with asthma and difficulties breathing.

Over 100,000 children in Colorado suffer from asthma, making it the most common chronic illness of childhood. Worsening air quality places these children at risk for both chronic disability and acute life-threatening illness. And now, based on a recent study from Harvard, we know that people who live in areas with more pollution are more at risk to fall ill from COVID-19. These most vulnerable populations will also be those most impacted by climate change.

Each time an ozone alert is issued, Coloradans’ health is put at risk by going outdoors. It is your friends, family, and neighbors who have underlying health conditions like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or asthma who are most at risk. Ozone exposure also increases the risk of contracting respiratory infections. The Denver metro area ranked No. 10 in the nation last year for poor air quality due to ozone. The Environmental Protection Agency recently hung a badge of dishonor around our region’s neck by penalizing us for our inability to make real progress in cleaning up our air.

Right now there is a real opportunity for improvement on the horizon. But state regulators must act soon. And they must act with strong initiatives. Timely and strong action can make a meaningful change in the quality of our air and help to combat climate change.

Colorado lawmakers set aggressive goals for limiting greenhouse gas during their 2019 legislative session. Under their direction and with support from Gov. Jared Polis, Colorado must reduce greenhouse gas emissions 26% by 2025 and 50% by 2050. The body charged with creating regulations to help Colorado meet these meaningful goals is the Colorado Air Quality Control Commission. The commission, housed within the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, has only recently begun to make progress in establishing the process they will use to develop regulations. No real progress on the regulations themselves has happened.

As a health care provider, I urge the commission to take action. The research is clear. Polluted air is bad for us all, and particularly bad for those with other chronic health conditions. A warming planet will impact the health of our communities and this burden will fall disproportionately on children and other vulnerable populations. Communities of color as well as communities dealing with the impacts of poverty are more susceptible to the worst effects of climate.

As we struggle to contain COVID-19 and to understand the long-term effects the virus may have on our heart and our lungs, the way that air pollution worsens disease from COVID-19, and the ways that air pollution, climate change and COVID-19 hit our most vulnerable populations the hardest, it is crucial that we address air pollution and take climate action now.

In the face of all of this, Colorado regulators have a chance to make progress. This progress requires their urgent and meaningful action. It is my hope, and that of health care professionals across the state, that they will act. My patients and their families, as well as millions of other Coloradans, need action now.

Dr. Sheela Mahnke is a pediatrician in Thornton. She works with Healthy Air and Water Colorado on the intersection of public health and climate change and is the Colorado Chapter American Academy of Pediatrics Climate Advocate.

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