Week Recap

This week brought a flurry of attention to Denver's ozone crisis, ending with a report back from yesterday's Regional Air Quality Council meeting in both the Denver Post and Rocky Mountain News.

The Council was meeting to discuss next steps after the latest violation of ozone health standards and the latest charge from Governor Bill Ritter to clean up ozone here in Denver, and fast.

So how did it go?

Well, while the Council is acutely aware of the need for action, they fell short of putting together a short-term game plan. Much of the discussion at the meeting revolved around budget issues, which is very much a concern and an issue that needs to be addressed. But in the near-term, it seems wise first to figure out what can be accomplished with existing budgets and go forth to meet the short-term goals at hand. The discussion unfortunately, did not even result in the setting any goals--near or long-term.

We are very encouraged by the new Regional Air Quality Council; the new members are well-versed on the issues, particularly on the health side of things, knowledgeable, and know how to rise to a challenge.

But it would have been comforting if the Council would have set some goals, maybe formed a committee willing to commit extra time to the issue of Denver's ozone, maybe committed to holding some public stakeholder meetings, or at least put together a list of tasks that need to be accomplished by the next meeting. This didn't happen, and it wasn't for a lack of ideas; Rocky Mountain Clean Air Action presented a list of suggestions for short and long-term steps.

Really, we're not sure we're any closer to solving Denver's ozone problem than we were before yesterday's meeting. But we also know this may not be an issue the Regional Air Quality Council--which has basically been reformed--can just hit the ground running on. It may take a month or two to gain its stride, but this Council seems more than up to the challenge.

In the meantime, consider this. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that the United States stands to gain $33 billion as a result of stronger ozone standards. That's because stronger ozone standards will prevent illness, premature death, lost work days, and lead to whole bunch of other benefits. The total costs will be around $3.9 billion, meaning we gain a payback of $8.50 for every $1 we put into reducing ozone. What a deal!

Clean air really is an investment worth making!