Latest / Healthier Together: Larimer County's Public Health Podcast / Ground-Level Ozone 101

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Ground-Level Ozone 101 · Healthier Together: Larimer County's Public Health Podcast

0:02
Welcome to Healthier Together, Larimer County's
0:04
public health podcast, where we come together
0:06
for healthier lives, connect communities, and
0:08
real conversations. From your local public health
0:11
team, I'm your host, Tom. And I'm Joanna. Ground
0:14
-level ozone is Larimer County's most pressing
0:16
air quality issue. In the summer months, we frequently
0:20
experience unhealthy levels of ground -level
0:22
ozone. Today, we're joined by Mike Silverstein
0:25
and Kelsey Simpkins. Mike is the executive director
0:28
of the Regional Air Quality Council, which serves
0:31
as the lead air quality planning organization
0:33
for the North Front Range Ozone Non -Attainment
0:37
Area. Kelsey is the council's communications
0:39
and program manager and oversees their Simple
0:42
Steps Better Air program. They're here to tell
0:44
us a bit more about ground -level ozone in our
0:47
region and the work being done to improve our
0:49
air quality. Kelsey and Mike, thank you so much
0:52
for joining us. Thank you. Thanks for having
0:54
us. To start, can you just explain what the Regional
0:57
Air Quality Council is and the work that you
1:00
do? The Regional Air Quality Council was established
1:02
in 1989, as mentioned, we're the lead planning
1:06
organization for our Front Range Ozone Nonattainment
1:10
Area. The nonattainment area stretches from the
1:13
Wyoming border with Weld County all the way through
1:16
most of Larimer County and our Denver Metro communities.
1:20
to the El Paso County line through Douglas County.
1:23
So it's a very large non -attainment area. We
1:25
have serious air pollution issues in our region,
1:28
and it's our job at the RAC to develop strategies
1:33
and approaches to make a difference. Our board
1:36
is appointed by the governor. We have a 30 -member
1:39
diverse board that represents all aspects of
1:42
our economy and of our region. We also have one
1:47
elected official from Larimer County. And right
1:50
now, it's the town attorney from Estes Park.
1:54
His name is Dan Kramer. He's also our chair.
1:57
The governor appoints the chair. So we have official
2:00
representation from Larimer County. The RAC is
2:04
an advisory body. We're not a regulatory group,
2:07
and we don't have the authority to adopt rules
2:10
or regulations. So we're advisory. We make recommendations
2:14
to decision makers. The role of the RAC is to
2:19
work with state agencies, local government, and
2:23
all of our community members, industry groups,
2:26
and stakeholders to develop air quality programs
2:30
and implement measures that improve our air quality
2:34
over time. We have contracts and grants from
2:38
the state of Colorado, from the metropolitan
2:41
planning organizations and transportation communities.
2:45
that help fund us so that we're hearing from
2:49
all voices in the region so that we can then
2:53
develop strategies that people can embrace and
2:57
that can really make a difference in our lives
3:01
from a public health perspective. What does non
3:04
-attainment mean? Non -attainment is a term that
3:07
is in the Federal Clean Air Act. When an area
3:11
does not... achieve federal health standards,
3:15
it falls into a non -attainment classification.
3:18
We're not attaining the levels or the thresholds
3:22
of air pollution that are deemed to be acceptable.
3:25
And so as a non -attainment area, our pollutant
3:29
is ozone, and that's really a summertime issue
3:31
for us. So our governor... provides us an executive
3:36
order that gives us our charge to go do good
3:39
things and make a real difference to help the
3:43
region come into compliance with the ozone standards.
3:46
There's always going to be air pollution, no
3:48
doubt. We can sustain certain amounts of air
3:51
pollution and remain healthy. When we exceed
3:54
the... federal health -based standards that the
3:57
EPA sets, we fall into this non -attainment classification.
4:01
And then we are required to develop plans and
4:04
programs as a state and as local communities
4:07
to bring us into compliance. Can you explain
4:10
for our listeners what ozone is exactly? Yes.
4:13
I'm Kelsey, and I'm running our Simple Supps
4:16
Better Air program here, which is a lot of science
4:17
education, which I love doing. So happy to chime
4:21
in and explain that. We have heard about ozone
4:23
for many decades. Anywhere you live in the world,
4:26
we all know about the ozone layer. And the cool
4:28
fact about that is that it's the same stuff down
4:31
here at ground level, but they serve very different
4:33
purposes or have very different impacts at different
4:36
levels of the atmosphere. So when we think about
4:38
ozone up in the ozone layer, up in the stratosphere,
4:41
it protects us. It's like a sunscreen from the
4:44
sun, and we want that. So we're trying to save
4:47
the ozone layer. But down here at ground level,
4:50
ozone is a pollutant. And it's also kind of a
4:53
sneaky pollutant because it is invisible and
4:55
you also can't smell it. And so while it does
4:58
combine sometimes with other pollutants to form
5:01
photochemical smog or sometimes haze, we'll see
5:04
here in the front range as its own molecule,
5:08
ozone is invisible and it's formed when other
5:11
pollutants combine. So it's something that we
5:15
do. rate here in the Front Range. What does air
5:18
quality data look like over time for our region?
5:21
Has this issue been getting better or has it
5:23
been getting worse? We have better air quality
5:26
today than we've had in the past. And that's
5:28
excellent news. And that's a tribute to the numerous
5:32
programs that have been put in place that are
5:35
designed to drive emissions down. And so if you've
5:39
lived in Colorado for a long time, you're familiar
5:42
with the brown cloud. Infamous. air quality problems
5:45
in the 80s and 90s for the Denver area and other
5:49
regions across the nation too. And we were out
5:53
of compliance with the particulate standards
5:55
that EPA set, the carbon monoxide standards,
5:58
that visible pollution was just so much more
6:00
dramatic than it is today. But guess what? We
6:03
solved those problems. And how did we solve them?
6:06
Through emission control programs and public
6:08
outreach and education and all the things that...
6:12
We do it RAC with our partners throughout our
6:14
community. So we've done it before, and it's
6:18
our goal to do it again with ozone. But as I
6:20
mentioned, we've hit a plateau where we know
6:23
we have progress that we can make, and we just
6:27
have to do more. We still see 20, 30, 40 days
6:32
a summer where this region somewhere is in excess
6:37
of that ozone standard that EPA sets. And so
6:40
that's the bad news, is that we have numerous
6:43
days of noncompliance. And so we need to develop
6:46
plans and programs continuing to explore options
6:49
that can help us reduce emissions further to...
6:53
reach attainment. And that's the goal of the
6:55
Regional Air Quality Council, to come up with
6:58
the recommendations and approaches and programs
7:00
to get us into compliance with the ozone standards
7:04
by the early 2030s. So how do we measure ground
7:07
-level ozone then? Well, there is a series of
7:11
monitors that the state of Colorado operates.
7:14
The Regional Air Quality Council, we're a private
7:17
nonprofit that's been given the charge to come
7:20
up with approaches to make improvement. But the
7:22
state of Colorado has the larger program to implement
7:27
regulatory efforts, issue permits to industrial
7:30
facilities, and operate monitors that measure
7:35
our air quality continuously. So there's monitors
7:38
up and down the front range that are placed to
7:43
detect those more maximum concentrations of ozone.
7:48
But the strategically placed monitors, and there's
7:51
about 15 of them, maybe a few more now, a lot
7:54
of them are close to the foothills. And so the
7:57
state of Colorado operates these monitors. under
8:01
very tight specifications that are set by the
8:04
EPA. And those ozone monitors measure ozone 24
8:10
hours a day, seven days a week, and those data
8:13
are reported. And so we take that data and we
8:18
process the information along with our partners
8:21
at the state agencies, and that gives us the
8:24
foundations for our work. Out of curiosity, what
8:26
do these monitors look like? Boy, they're not
8:30
very sexy. They're housed in a small shed or
8:35
in a building. There is simply a probe that comes
8:40
out of the rooftop that is attached, of course,
8:44
to equipment inside that building under very
8:47
tight operating conditions that pull in those
8:51
samples of air and do the analysis of what pollutants
8:55
are detected in that sample of air. And it's
8:58
a continuous process where there's a pump that
9:02
is sucking in the air through the tube, and then
9:06
it goes into the analytical equipment, and then
9:08
ozone numbers are reported. Where exactly does
9:12
this ground -level ozone come from? Is there
9:14
a primary contributor to it, or is it a combination
9:16
of different sources? The ground -level ozone
9:18
is formed when other things combine, like I mentioned.
9:22
So to get into a little bit of a science lesson
9:24
here, we have things called volatile organic
9:26
compounds or VOCs and things called nitrogen
9:29
oxides. And together, these are called ozone
9:32
precursors because they kind of together, you
9:35
know, are the ingredients for the soup that bakes
9:39
in the air on these really hot, sunny summer
9:41
days. And so the sunshine and the heat are the
9:44
catalyst where these two pollutants that we a
9:46
lot of times pump out here at ground level. do
9:48
combine and then get stuck here in the front
9:51
range and build up to those unhealthy levels.
9:54
And so I'll turn it over to Mike maybe to point
9:56
out some of the top places that these volatile
9:59
organic compounds and nitrogen oxides come from.
10:03
The chemical mix is pretty complex. Sources of
10:09
the emissions are really everything we do. So
10:13
whether we're combusting Coal in a power plant,
10:17
or we're burning gasoline in our vehicles, or
10:20
in our trucks and buses, or we're using products
10:24
in our home, consumer products. It's the paints
10:28
and solvents and cleaners and perfumes, anything
10:34
that smells nice. Ooh, that's a nice, fresh fragrance
10:37
in our home. Guess what? That's a volatile compound
10:40
that, in the right conditions, can become ozone.
10:44
There's so many sources that are around us. The
10:48
dominant sources are vehicle exhaust. And so
10:51
when you have the millions of vehicles, you know,
10:55
operating in our non -attainment area every day,
10:59
I think the number is close to 90 million miles
11:03
that we drive every day. in our region. 90 million
11:07
miles every single day. That's a lot of fuel
11:10
that's combusted. Thankfully, our pollution control
11:13
equipment on our vehicles is dramatically improved
11:16
compared to 20, 30 years ago. But still, there's
11:20
lots of leftovers. So we have vehicle exhaust.
11:23
We have oil and gas. It's a very important industry
11:26
for our state, but it's a heavy emitter. It is
11:29
our largest emitter of pollutants of ozone. We
11:34
look at the emission sources and we try to decide
11:37
where can we find opportunities for controlling
11:41
those emissions. So power generation, the nitrogen
11:45
oxides that will come out of burning natural
11:47
gas or coal in our power plants are important
11:51
sources. Mowing our grass, that's one we talk
11:54
about a lot. Using the lawn and garden equipment
11:57
that uses gasoline. It's a heavy emitter of volatile
12:02
organic compounds. We also get a lot of ozone
12:05
that's given to us from our upwind neighbors.
12:08
Ozone is a pollutant that really gets transported
12:11
across our country and around the globe. So we
12:15
get ozone that those emissions originated in
12:19
Asia. We get wildfires that occur just on a regular
12:24
basis in our summer months in the West and throughout
12:27
North America that contribute to ozone. So it's
12:31
a very complex mix of sources that it all adds
12:35
up with the right conditions when our meteorology
12:39
is conducive to the ozone building up throughout
12:42
the day with that bright sunshine, the warm temperatures,
12:50
build up through the afternoon and peak in the
12:52
late afternoon, evening hours. And then when
12:55
that sun goes down, hey, there goes the driver
12:57
of the chemical reaction and ozone levels drop.
13:01
But guess what? Starts all over again the next
13:03
morning. So it's a complicated process. The only
13:07
way we know how to improve air quality is to
13:10
control emissions and reduce emissions. And so
13:13
that's why we operate the programs and we make
13:16
recommendations in the manner that we do. we
13:20
could achieve those goals over time. How does
13:22
ground -level ozone impact health? So this is
13:26
a really important question because it's the
13:28
reason we have our system in place currently
13:32
and why the REC exists. We are trying to get
13:34
the levels down because of health reasons, because
13:36
ozone is bad for our health. So at higher concentrations,
13:40
breathing in ground -level ozone can do everything
13:42
from irritate your lungs and your throat. It
13:45
can make you a bit more susceptible to respiratory
13:47
infections. And some of the harsher impacts in
13:50
the short term, it can exacerbate ailments such
13:53
as asthma or COPD. So you do have some sort of
13:57
respiratory, like chronic respiratory issue.
13:59
Ozone can really have a strong impact on health
14:03
in the short term. And then in the long term,
14:05
it's really not good to have higher exposure
14:07
over time. It can really stress the body. So
14:10
it can also have cardiovascular impacts over
14:12
time or raise risk of stroke. And so in general,
14:16
you know, for the average person, if you're out
14:18
on a day primed for high ozone, we do recommend
14:22
people, you know, just pay attention to their
14:24
body because it's going to affect everyone a
14:26
little bit differently. It may show up a little
14:28
bit different for you than someone else. And
14:31
it can make it a little bit harder to breathe.
14:33
So if you're out on what seems to be a really
14:35
beautiful sunny summer day, doesn't look like
14:37
there's any wildfire smoke and air quality should
14:39
be wonderful. That's why we really do want to
14:41
raise awareness of ozone, because again, that
14:44
invisible aspect can be kind of hard to pinpoint,
14:47
oh, that's what's making it harder to breathe,
14:49
you know, out on my jog or my bike ride that
14:52
day. Who is most at risk for those more serious
14:56
health impacts? Yeah, so like I mentioned, folks
15:00
who have some sort of chronic respiratory condition
15:02
are kind of that number one group. So anyone
15:04
with asthma or something in that realm. But the
15:07
other group we do like to highlight are children.
15:10
They are usually outside a lot in the summer,
15:12
running around, breathing heavily, having the
15:14
time of their lives. They're also still developing
15:17
and their lungs are also smaller. So there's
15:19
multiple variables why they are going to kind
15:22
of be processing more of that air and they're
15:24
potentially getting more exposure to ozone through
15:27
that. So we want, you know, the health of our
15:29
children to be good. And so that's something
15:31
to also pay attention to. Children may not know
15:35
how to put it into words that they're not feeling
15:37
well on a high ozone day in the afternoon. Folks
15:40
who are older as well, senior citizens and folks
15:42
who are elderly are also potentially more affected.
15:45
And then folks who are active outdoors, whether
15:47
that's for work or for play. So if you love to
15:50
go ride your bike, go on runs, do our wonderful
15:53
outdoor things here in the Front Range, that
15:55
is something where you might see more exposure
15:57
and you could end up being more impacted by that
16:00
for your health. Outdoor workers, folks in construction,
16:03
and anybody who just kind of doesn't have that
16:05
option, of course, is going to be outdoors. potentially
16:08
all day in those peak hours, like Mike mentioned,
16:11
in the afternoons. And so then again, it's maybe
16:13
not that that person is going to be more susceptible,
16:17
but they're just going to get more exposure over
16:19
time. And those things do really add up. The
16:22
last note I want to make, especially relevant
16:24
to Larimer County, is that, like Mike's mentioned,
16:27
it's a pretty large non -attainment area. And
16:30
we do kind of see this group project aspect in
16:33
terms of the way the air moves and spreads throughout
16:36
the region. And it's not quite as straightforward
16:39
as you might think. So we think about the air
16:42
moving over the mountains and coming down and
16:44
blowing out towards the plains. That's not always
16:47
the case given our meteorology and our topography
16:50
here in this non -attainment region. And so sometimes
16:53
the air actually moves. backwards or counterclockwise
16:56
and can get kind of pulled against the foothills.
16:59
And so some of those pollutants and therefore
17:02
the ozone that forms can actually be higher in
17:05
the cities who kind of line the foothills. So
17:07
if you think about Chatfield, Golden, Boulder,
17:10
and unfortunately Fort Collins and these beautiful
17:12
kind of foothill communities, that's actually
17:14
where the air can get trapped and you can see
17:16
somewhat higher levels than other places in the
17:20
region. I wanted to point out for your listeners
17:23
that in Larimer County, there may be higher days
17:25
than some of the other parts of the region. As
17:28
people plan activities throughout the summer,
17:31
what steps can they take to protect their health
17:33
on those high ozone days? This is a great question
17:36
because there are a lot of options for people
17:39
to take when it's a higher ozone day or an ozone
17:41
action day, as they're often called. So again,
17:44
depends on your health and your tolerance and
17:47
your goals. And so it's not necessarily that
17:49
we need or want everyone to stay home all the
17:51
time on these days, but that might be the best
17:54
choice for you. So if it's a really high ozone
17:56
day and you have asthma or some other higher
17:59
risk condition and you really want to minimize
18:02
or eliminate that exposure, if you stay indoors,
18:04
run the AC, close the windows, ozone typically
18:08
cannot build up indoors the same way it can build
18:10
up outside because the UV will react with the
18:14
building and the windows and things, and that
18:16
chemical reaction just isn't strong indoors.
18:19
So it's really an outdoor phenomenon as long
18:22
as your windows are closed. So that's kind of
18:24
option number one. The rest are a bit more strategic.
18:27
So if you're, say, someone who's training for
18:29
some sort of athletic activity or just really
18:31
focused on getting in shape this summer, we recommend
18:35
you get outdoors in the morning. Because typically
18:37
ozone, again, builds up over the course of the
18:40
day and those levels will be lowest, you know,
18:42
before work or in those cooler morning hours.
18:45
And it's a great way to also beat the heat. So
18:47
we do recommend folks take advantage of our early
18:50
morning hours here in Colorado. You can also
18:53
switch that and maybe chase the sunset, as we
18:56
call it, where you get out after 7, 8 p .m. at
18:58
night and our beautiful evenings here where ozone
19:01
again goes down a little bit. because the sun
19:04
is not out here making that chemical reaction
19:06
happen quite as much. Another option is if you
19:10
were going to go for a really intense run, maybe
19:13
dial it down to a walk. You can take it easier
19:15
outside. Again, just paying attention to your
19:18
body and seeing what works for you. Are there
19:21
differences in how you should protect your health
19:24
on days where air quality is poor due to wildfire
19:27
smoke versus ground level ozone? Yes, there are
19:32
some important differences there. So like I mentioned,
19:34
ozone is a pollutant that kind of gets created
19:37
here locally and is affected by weather. And
19:41
we often recommend, especially if you're really
19:43
sensitive, to stay indoors because it cannot
19:46
form indoors. If we're having a big wildfire
19:49
smoke event locally, some of the same tips do
19:52
still apply because we don't necessarily want
19:54
you going out and breathing a ton of that, right?
19:56
So we do recommend taking it easier outside on
19:59
wildfire and ozone days. That's the same advice
20:02
there. Or staying inside is also mutually beneficial
20:05
for high smoke days. The trick is that if you're
20:08
going to stay inside for a day with wildfire
20:10
smoke, it can find its way inside. We do recommend...
20:14
running a good quality air filter or some sort
20:17
of standalone HEPA filter or that type of thing
20:20
for wildfire smoke. But air filtration is not
20:23
actually that useful for ozone. It's a gas. If
20:27
you think about bad smoke days, often people
20:29
will go outside and actually wear face masks
20:33
and 95s. Those are... literally created to filter
20:36
out the particles of smoke that are in the air,
20:39
but they don't filter for gases, which is why
20:41
they're safe to breathe through. So oxygen, carbon
20:44
dioxide, all that stuff flows freely through
20:46
the mask, but then ozone also equally can flow
20:50
through that mask. So the really important thing
20:52
is if it's a smoke day, there are certain things
20:55
you can do in addition outdoors that really don't
20:58
make sense or don't really seem to help that
21:01
much with ozone. So that kind of begs the question,
21:04
how can people find out if it is an ozone action
21:07
day? Where should they be looking? It's a great
21:11
question, and there's a couple different options.
21:12
And so the option, of course, we'd love to promote
21:15
is we will tell you. So we have an alerts system
21:19
that only sends alerts on the days where there's
21:22
high ozone. So we will try not to bother you
21:24
too much, but we'll send you a text or an email,
21:26
whichever you prefer. And if you go to our website
21:29
at simple steps, better air .org, you can find
21:32
the signup page and then see a little more information
21:35
about what that means, kind of what the information
21:37
is that we'll send you. And you can test that
21:41
out and sign up for emails or texts. That keyword
21:43
is 21 ,000 or two one with three zeros to better
21:48
air CEO. The other options include getting emails
21:52
from the Colorado department of public health
21:54
and environment. So if you're looking for an
21:56
email every single day, regardless if it's a
21:59
yay or nay day for ozone, they've got you covered
22:02
and you can head to their website to sign up
22:04
for those. You can also check for real -time
22:07
information at the state website, which is a
22:09
great resource. They have lists of kind of all
22:11
the different monitors and sort of where in the
22:13
area maybe ozone is peaking versus where it's
22:16
lower. And then there's also something called
22:19
the Air Quality Index. And so that is a color
22:23
-coded system that people may have seen on their
22:25
weather apps or in other places where they look
22:28
for, you know, what is the air quality right
22:30
now? And that's kind of a somewhat 24 -hour averaged
22:34
tool to help people understand the current air
22:38
quality, but with the context of kind of what's
22:40
recently been happening. the standard. So the
22:49
standard that EPA has set is 70 parts per billion
22:54
of Ozo. So how do you grasp that? That's a challenge.
23:00
It's based on the monitoring data that EPA has
23:05
evaluated with their public health research community
23:09
that's determined what is the threshold for good
23:14
public health or poor public health. So 70 parts
23:18
per billion is the number that is the federal
23:21
ozone standard. So the number is 70. So when
23:25
we hit 70 or higher, that means that we begin
23:29
to fall into the non -compliant ozone levels.
23:33
Gotcha. And I did have another follow -up question
23:36
for you, Kelsey. You mentioned that there's these
23:38
ozone action days and these alerts. Is that something
23:40
that can be forecasted or is that something that's,
23:42
hey, this is what the... Threshold is it's been
23:45
tripped and not, hey, we're forecasting a really
23:48
sunny day with high traffic. It's in my experience,
23:52
it's a bit of. Both. So essentially, it is a
23:56
forecast. So the ozone action days are forecasted
24:00
by the state. And so they make that judgment
24:02
call based on a lot of data and forecasting.
24:04
Are we going to exceed today? Are we going to,
24:07
you know, kind of trip that wire and be in that
24:09
health territory we want to warn people about?
24:12
There are other days, unfortunately, where we
24:14
have those, like you said, those prime conditions
24:16
or what I call the perfect pool day where it's
24:18
like 80, 90 degrees, really hot out, really sunny.
24:21
not a lot of wind, then it would be an amazing
24:23
day, right, to spend it in the water. That unfortunately
24:26
is a typical high ozone day. And so what we often
24:30
see is that if we have multiple days in a row
24:32
of that type of weather, it's less a forecast
24:35
and more of a certainty where we've clearly exceeded
24:38
and they can very confidently say, hey, yes,
24:40
this is going to be another action day. But in
24:43
general, it is a forecast. It doesn't always
24:46
mean that on a day we send an alert that we are
24:49
going to exceed. It's just a very high likelihood.
24:52
And so that's one of the reasons we do also cross
24:55
promote. Don't just protect your health, you
24:57
know, reduce your emissions and, hey, try to
25:00
be part of the solution on these days, because
25:02
it's not inevitable on an action day that we
25:05
will exceed this health standard. It's just a
25:07
kind of a warning. Right. In the same way that
25:10
we also will put out warnings on a state level
25:14
about. Things like wildfire or other elements
25:17
that might just be important to take heed of.
25:21
Interesting. And Mike, you kind of hinted at
25:24
this, but are there steps that individuals can
25:26
take to help reduce ground level ozone in their
25:28
areas? We want folks to take action every day.
25:33
Of course, that's, you know, you get in the habit
25:35
of doing the right thing all the time. And that
25:39
really is beneficial, not only in our hot summer
25:42
months, but year round, because there's other
25:44
air pollution issues, the same sources contribute
25:46
to everything. So what we recommend at RAC is,
25:50
you know, first of all, Stay aware of what that
25:54
forecast is. So that afternoon forecast, that
25:57
afternoon alert messaging we're part of, is really
26:00
important for people then to decide what to do
26:03
to make the difference. Protect themselves, of
26:05
course, but also reduce their activities that
26:08
contribute to the problem. So it ranges from
26:11
keeping your car in good maintenance, driving
26:15
less, using transit more, carpooling, you know.
26:19
telecommuting, working from home, if possible,
26:22
or on a regular basis. Another really easy step
26:25
that we do promote through the program is to
26:28
simply not idle your car. So to avoid idling,
26:31
if you're, you know, you've driven to a trailhead,
26:33
you're waiting for your friends to arrive, or
26:35
you're picking up your kid from school, or there's
26:38
a situation where you're just parked and you're
26:39
sitting and you might think to idle, maybe for
26:42
the air conditioning on a hot day, that's just
26:44
burning your gas money right there. Fill up your
26:47
gas tank after five because those emissions that,
26:50
hey, you smell gas, you know, you fill up your
26:52
car, you get a whiff of gasoline. That's contributing
26:55
to our local neighborhood air pollution, but
26:58
also to ground level ozone. But if you fill up
27:02
your car, you mow the lawn, for example, in the
27:04
evening as well. Those emissions don't have the
27:07
opportunity to react with sunlight to then build
27:10
up. And typically that's good enough. We ask
27:14
people to, hey, forgo that altogether and go
27:16
electric. You know, get rid of that gas -powered
27:18
mower or trimmer or leaf blower. Those kinds
27:21
of motors are some of the dirtiest engines still
27:24
on the market today. They're kind of like driving
27:26
your car without a catalytic converter. They
27:28
burn also, I believe it's both gas and oil. And
27:31
so there's an immediate health impact when you
27:34
use gas -powered lawn equipment versus if you
27:36
were to... upgrade to electric. And so this year,
27:40
and actually now I believe extended for the next
27:43
couple of years, there is a 30 % discount at
27:46
a lot of retailers statewide to go electric with
27:49
your lawn and garden equipment. And so there's
27:51
more information and links to that on our website
27:53
at simple steps, better air .org. Are there other
27:56
discounts that people could look into? Yes. So
27:59
some of the tips that we recommend or simple
28:02
steps to help reduce emissions do come with discounts
28:06
or rebates. So there is that 30 % discount on
28:09
new electric lawn and garden equipment. There
28:11
are also still some e -bike rebates and other
28:15
EV type discounts, tax credits, that type of
28:17
thing. That's all I believe at the state website.
28:20
If you want to go look up the Colorado Energy
28:22
Office, there's lots of great information there.
28:24
And there's also information available potentially
28:28
direct to your community. So there may be local
28:31
options available to residents in different parts
28:34
of the region. And then some of those discounts
28:36
might go up again next year. So if this is not
28:39
the year for you to upgrade or get a new vehicle,
28:42
you know, pay attention to maybe what might be
28:44
coming in 2027. Those are those simple steps
28:47
that we promote all the time. So we ask people
28:51
to do things, but it can't just be individuals
28:54
taking action and they carry all the burden for
28:57
improvement. So we've worked throughout our community
29:00
to implement programs to... help make that difference.
29:04
So for example, we help the state with the identification
29:08
and repair of high emitting vehicles. So many
29:12
of us go through an emission testing program
29:13
for our older vehicles. Those vehicles can fail
29:17
the emission test. You have to go get a repair,
29:20
come back, get a confirmatory test that now you're
29:23
clean and you can register your vehicle. That's
29:26
the standard process. There are instances where
29:30
some of those cars never get repaired properly
29:32
or they don't get repaired to an extent that
29:35
is compliant with standard for, you know, cleaner
29:40
vehicles. So we go out and we help. pay for that
29:44
repair that a low -income household can't afford
29:47
or someone who has some kind of exemption because
29:50
of income or they've already spent a lot of money
29:53
and they still can't pass. Well, we help them
29:55
make the difference and get those cars into a
29:57
lower emission state. That's called our Clean
29:59
Air Auto Repair Program. And that's coming to
30:02
Larimer County later this year. We're expanding
30:06
our Denver Metro program and beginning to touch
30:09
Larimer County, Weld County as well. We'll also
30:12
be implementing our, what we call our Engines
30:15
Off program in the Larimer County region, where
30:19
we help the operators of food trucks that operate
30:23
at our festivals in our neighborhoods. But that's
30:26
a... That's a noisy operation. That's a polluting
30:29
operation. And we provide incentive monies for
30:32
them to go battery electric or to plug in so
30:35
that they don't have those emissions and they
30:37
can still do their business. We can enjoy their
30:39
products and we all enjoy the better air quality.
30:42
And also looking at a very small pilot program
30:46
of providing e -bikes to low -income or subsidized
30:52
housing communities. so that they can skip a
30:55
trip and take a bike instead on that errand.
30:57
Or if they don't have a vehicle, they called
30:59
an Uber or some other rideshare program, they
31:02
can just hop on a bike and run that errand or
31:04
have a little fun. We're trying to make every
31:07
effort that we can to expand existing work that
31:10
we've done in the Denver metro counties up north.
31:14
So working to push money into the community to
31:17
help reduce emissions through these programs
31:21
that RAC operates. Awesome. Mike, Kelsey, thank
31:24
you both so much for joining us today. Well,
31:26
thank you. It's been a pleasure. Thank you for
31:28
having us. You can find links to learn more about
31:30
the topics we discussed today in the show notes.
31:35
If you have a question about public health in
31:37
Larimer County or a topic you'd like us to discuss,
31:40
let us know. Email us at HealthierTogether at
31:43
Larimer .org. Thanks for listening, Larimer County.
31:47
Until next week, stay well, stay connected, and
31:50
remember, we really are healthier together.