Ozone Monitors Making Their Way to Western Colorado

It's another sign of the changing west.

Ground-level ozone, the key ingredient of urban smog, is rising in rural western Colorado. Now the state is moving to install ozone monitors in western Colorado, including several in Montezuma County.

What's the reason for this rise in ozone? The culprits seem to be booming oil and gas drilling, coal burning power plants in the four corners region, and more industrial development than ever before in the region.

Western Colorado is, in many ways, getting its first dose of a serious air pollution crisis because of ozone. Getting monitors on the ground is a good first start, but there's enough information to know there's a serious problem. In fact, an ozone monitor in Mesa Verde National Park, located in Montezuma County, has been operating for years and shows an upward trend in ozone pollution.

Couple all this to the fact that health experts report federal standards for ozone in our air need to be strengthened, and you start to see that we've got a slow motion train wreck unfolding in front of us. We may not be violating current health standards, but all the signs say that western Colorado is choking on unhealthy air.

While monitors are making their way to western Colorado, let's start getting on the ball now to figure out ways to keep air pollution in check. We know our health is at risk now, there's no reason to delay.