Colorado Springs Has Better Air?

Colorado Springs has more breathable air than Denver, or so the Gazette reports. The reason? Their ozone levels aren't as high.

This is true on a technical level. In fact Denver's ozone levels are typically higher. It's not so true from a health standpoint, however. As the Gazette reports, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is proposing to strengthen health standards for ozone and if the agency follows through with its decision, it means Colorado Springs will have to do more to clean up its air. It may very well be that the air is more "breathable" in Colorado Springs, but healthy? Not based on the EPA's proposed standards.

It's like saying one burning house is "less on fire" than another burning house. It really doesn't mean anything to the fire department. And just like this fire scenario, the fact that Denver's ozone pollution is higher than Colorado Springs really shouldn't mean anything to public health officials. The fact of the matter is that ozone pollution in Colorado Springs is unhealthy and needs to be cleaned up.

Healthy air is healthy air and unhealthy air is unhealthy. Whether Colorado Springs has more breathable air than Denver really doesn't matter. The real issue is what are both areas going to do to make their air healthy?