DENVER — Colorado’s air quality is getting worse, according to a report from the American Lung Association.
In the new report, Denver went from the 14th worst city for air quality to the 12th worst due to ozone pollution, that’s the”brown cloud” that we frequently see sitting over the skyline.
It also finds that the largest cause of the pollution is Colorado’s population increase – that increases the quantity of vehicles on our roads.
The American Lung Association puts together this report and Ellen Penrod, the executive director for the American Lung Association in Colorado, says ozone has an effect on our lungs.
Penrod explained it like getting a sunburn – or breathing sandpaper out and in, every day with each breath.
And it may be damaging especially for people.
“Overall this was one of our worst years for air. It was a wake up call,” Penrod said. “We have been congratulating ourselves on how well we have done in cleaning up our air and we took a step back and we need to make sure we take a step forward to make sure we continue to make progress in cleaning our air.”
The American Lung Association says the things Colorado can do to change that is support clean air laws and take alternative transport to reduce cars on the roads as well as becoming more aware of our energy consumption.
The report breaks air pollution by counties and cities and you may view the full report on its site .
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