Seminal research conducted by the National Park Service shows that air pollution is creating acid rain and damaging the park ecosystem.
Research shows that air pollution levels are 60% higher than the ecosystem can sustain. This means that the park is already becoming uninhabitable for wild plants and aquatic species. Twenty years of air and water samples are showing:
- Species are less diverse in mountain lakes and streams because of increasing nitrogen levels in rain that falls to the ground, acidifying streams and soils
- A shift from wildflowers to grasses
- High concentrations of ground-level ozone
- Poor visibility caused by air pollution
Causes
- Exhaust from cars and trucks
- Emissions from manufacturing operations that produce the goods and services we use
- Emissions from coal-fired power plants that produce electricity
- Dust containing nitrogen from farm activities like fertilizing and livestock operations
What You Can Do
Drive less and reduce car exhaust
- Ride your bike
- Take the bus
- Combine trips so you drive less
- Maintain tire pressure, reduce idling, and drive fuel efficiently
Use less electricity at home and at work
- Get help and rebates from EnergySmart
- Change lighting to make it more efficient
- Use proper insulation to control temperatures
- Turn off televisions and power computers off completely when not in use
Get involved
Follow the Air Quality Control Commission proceedings and make your voice heard.
What We’re Doing
Boulder County Public Health is:
- Reducing reliance on coal for producing electricity and advocating the use of natural gas as a bridge fuel by supporting and strengthening the adoption of the Regional Haze Rule
- Encouraging greater use of clean renewable energy
- Supporting emission controls on oil and gas operations
- Creating and supporting the EnergySmart program to help businesses and residents save energy (and money)
