![A view of downtown Denver from the cockpit inside a plane.](https://www.cpr.org/cdn-cgi/image/width=3840,quality=75,format=auto/https://wp-cpr.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2024/07/240709-OZONE-FLIGHT-AIR-QUALITY-MONITORING-RESEARCH-SCIENCE-ENVIRONMENT-EMISSIONS-NOAA-SAMBRASCH-05.jpg)
The Front Range can’t shake its ozone problem. Scientists are taking to the skies to figure out why
A new study has federal and state researchers fanning out across the region to track down the sources of the region’s persistent smog problem.
![](https://www.cpr.org/cdn-cgi/image/width=3840,quality=75,format=auto/https://wp-cpr.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2019/05/2015.cpr-staff-fellow-sam-brasch-square-for-web.creditCPR.jpg)
By Sam Brasch
![Fire truck pulled off to the side of the road with a view of a smoke plume coming up in the distance.](https://www.cpr.org/cdn-cgi/image/width=3840,quality=75,format=auto/https://wp-cpr.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2024/07/GSTsN3oXUAAt4HE.jpg)
Crews working to extinguish wildfire southwest of Boulder
A blaze is burning at the foot of the Boulder Flatirons.
![](https://www.cpr.org/cdn-cgi/image/width=3840,quality=75,format=auto/https://wp-cpr.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2019/05/2015.cpr-staff-fellow-sam-brasch-square-for-web.creditCPR.jpg)
By Sam Brasch
![Restaurants Sue Berkeley](https://www.cpr.org/cdn-cgi/image/width=3840,quality=75,format=auto/https://wp-cpr.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2022/03/AP19325857451646-scaled.jpg)
Denver has a plan to push natural gas out of buildings. Restaurant, hotel, building and propane groups have sued to stop it
The lawsuit comes after a leaked document suggested the case is part of a broader plan to protect a key market for the fossil fuel industry.
![](https://www.cpr.org/cdn-cgi/image/width=3840,quality=75,format=auto/https://wp-cpr.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2019/05/2015.cpr-staff-fellow-sam-brasch-square-for-web.creditCPR.jpg)
By Sam Brasch
![The Suncor oil refinery in Commerce City with several large pipes and other heavy machinery pictured.](https://www.cpr.org/cdn-cgi/image/width=3840,quality=75,format=auto/https://wp-cpr.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2022/08/20220817-ENERGY-OIL-SUNCOR-REFINERY-HV-0002.jpg)
The EPA is considering a new air pollution crackdown against Suncor’s Commerce City refinery
Inspectors found cracked tanks and other problems. A federally led investigation could signal more scrutiny and steeper penalties.
![](https://www.cpr.org/cdn-cgi/image/width=3840,quality=75,format=auto/https://wp-cpr.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2019/05/2015.cpr-staff-fellow-sam-brasch-square-for-web.creditCPR.jpg)
By Sam Brasch
![](https://www.cpr.org/cdn-cgi/image/width=3840,quality=75,format=auto/https://wp-cpr.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2022/09/20220909-a1-organics005-scaled-e1663111379185.jpg)
Colorado’s new waste-labeling law deputizes YOU as a compost cop
The goal of the new law is to root out anything that looks compostable but isn’t certified to break down in an industrial compost heap.
![](https://www.cpr.org/cdn-cgi/image/width=3840,quality=75,format=auto/https://wp-cpr.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2019/05/2015.cpr-staff-fellow-sam-brasch-square-for-web.creditCPR.jpg)
By Sam Brasch
![A view of Denver's skyline on a hazy day.](https://www.cpr.org/cdn-cgi/image/width=3840,quality=75,format=auto/https://wp-cpr.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2024/07/220914-DENVER-SKYLINE-CITYSCAPE.png)
It’s officially a hot smog summer along Colorado’s Front Range
Colorado’s ozone season is off to a smoggy start. If the pace continues, it could rank among the worst summers for ozone pollution on record.
![](https://www.cpr.org/cdn-cgi/image/width=3840,quality=75,format=auto/https://wp-cpr.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2019/05/2015.cpr-staff-fellow-sam-brasch-square-for-web.creditCPR.jpg)
By Sam Brasch
![A bunch of downtown Denver skyscrapers on a sunny, blue-sky day.](https://www.cpr.org/cdn-cgi/image/width=3840,quality=75,format=auto/https://wp-cpr.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2024/06/240508-WEATHER-COWX-SUNNY-DOWNTOWN-DRONE-CITYSCAPE-SKYLINE-KEVINJBEATY-01.jpg)
A major fossil fuel group has a plan to sue Denver over its climate-minded building policies
The Mile High City is already facing one lawsuit against its standards to cut emissions from its largest buildings.
![](https://www.cpr.org/cdn-cgi/image/width=3840,quality=75,format=auto/https://wp-cpr.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2019/05/2015.cpr-staff-fellow-sam-brasch-square-for-web.creditCPR.jpg)
By Sam Brasch
![Suncor oil refinery](https://www.cpr.org/cdn-cgi/image/width=3840,quality=75,format=auto/https://wp-cpr.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2024/01/240129-SUNCOR-REFINERY-3.jpg)
Boulder is one big step closer to putting Exxon and Suncor on trial for climate change
A Colorado judge rejected the companies’ attempt to dismiss the case, clearing a path for a lawsuit seeking damages for climate-related disasters.
![](https://www.cpr.org/cdn-cgi/image/width=3840,quality=75,format=auto/https://wp-cpr.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2019/05/2015.cpr-staff-fellow-sam-brasch-square-for-web.creditCPR.jpg)
By Sam Brasch
![](https://www.cpr.org/cdn-cgi/image/width=3840,quality=75,format=auto/https://wp-cpr.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2024/02/240228-natural-gas-energy-weld-hwv-0001.jpg)
Why Xcel Energy’s new clean heat plan could shift Colorado away from natural gas
In a win for environmental groups, the final clean heat plan emphasizes zero-carbon electricity instead of a proposal to cut emissions with cleaner forms of fossil fuels.
![](https://www.cpr.org/cdn-cgi/image/width=3840,quality=75,format=auto/https://wp-cpr.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2019/05/2015.cpr-staff-fellow-sam-brasch-square-for-web.creditCPR.jpg)
By Sam Brasch
![The Suncor oil refinery in Commerce City with several large pipes and other heavy machinery pictured.](https://www.cpr.org/cdn-cgi/image/width=3840,quality=75,format=auto/https://wp-cpr.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2022/08/20220817-ENERGY-OIL-SUNCOR-REFINERY-HV-0002.jpg)
An upcoming lawsuit calls for an air pollution crackdown at Suncor Energy’s Commerce City refinery
The upcoming suit from environmental groups alleges state and federal regulators have failed to protect residents living near the facility.
![](https://www.cpr.org/cdn-cgi/image/width=3840,quality=75,format=auto/https://wp-cpr.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2019/05/2015.cpr-staff-fellow-sam-brasch-square-for-web.creditCPR.jpg)
By Sam Brasch
![WESTERN-SUGAR-BEETS-FORT-MORGAN-PLAINS-AGRICULTURE](https://www.cpr.org/cdn-cgi/image/width=3840,quality=75,format=auto/https://wp-cpr.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2023/10/231005-western-sugar-beets-fort-morgan-hwv-0003.jpg)
One worker killed, four others hospitalized after toxic gas exposure at a sugar plant in Fort Morgan
The local sheriff’s office said the hydrogen sulfide exposure occurred at a wastewater treatment area near Western Sugar Cooperative’s sugar plant.
![](https://www.cpr.org/cdn-cgi/image/width=3840,quality=75,format=auto/https://wp-cpr.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2019/05/2015.cpr-staff-fellow-sam-brasch-square-for-web.creditCPR.jpg)
By Sam Brasch
![](https://www.cpr.org/cdn-cgi/image/width=3840,quality=75,format=auto/https://wp-cpr.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2024/05/PXL_20240515_200800268-EDIT.jpg)
How a Boulder resident bought a used EV for less than $700
To meet its climate goals, Colorado is offering steep discounts to ensure that rich people aren’t the only ones buying electric vehicles.
![](https://www.cpr.org/cdn-cgi/image/width=3840,quality=75,format=auto/https://wp-cpr.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2019/05/2015.cpr-staff-fellow-sam-brasch-square-for-web.creditCPR.jpg)
By Sam Brasch
![](https://www.cpr.org/cdn-cgi/image/width=3840,quality=75,format=auto/https://wp-cpr.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2021/11/181130-ALTOGETHER-ALPINE-RECYCLING-CENTER-TRASH-GARBAGE-KEVINJBEATY-45.jpg)
Why Gov. Polis vetoed legislation to end state incentives for ‘advanced recycling’
Environmental advocates say the techniques are a false promise with serious pollution risks, but the governor warned the plan could stymie innovation.
![](https://www.cpr.org/cdn-cgi/image/width=3840,quality=75,format=auto/https://wp-cpr.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2019/05/2015.cpr-staff-fellow-sam-brasch-square-for-web.creditCPR.jpg)
By Sam Brasch
![](https://www.cpr.org/cdn-cgi/image/width=3840,quality=75,format=auto/https://wp-cpr.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2024/05/PXL_20240515_220813245.jpg)
How Colorado’s space weather forecasters predicted the recent solar storm
NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center in Boulder monitors the sun to protect the technology behind modern society.
![](https://www.cpr.org/cdn-cgi/image/width=3840,quality=75,format=auto/https://wp-cpr.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2019/05/2015.cpr-staff-fellow-sam-brasch-square-for-web.creditCPR.jpg)
By Sam Brasch
![plastic-bags](https://www.cpr.org/cdn-cgi/image/width=3840,quality=75,format=auto/https://wp-cpr.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2019/07/352795189_773184086.jpg)
Why Colorado is considering ending state incentives for “advanced recycling”
A proposal passed in the final days of the legislative session would block any state support for chemical recycling plants, but it’s not clear whether Gov. Polis will sign the measure.
![](https://www.cpr.org/cdn-cgi/image/width=3840,quality=75,format=auto/https://wp-cpr.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2019/05/2015.cpr-staff-fellow-sam-brasch-square-for-web.creditCPR.jpg)
By Sam Brasch
![Cars driving under a highway sign warning motorists about high winds.](https://www.cpr.org/cdn-cgi/image/width=3840,quality=75,format=auto/https://wp-cpr.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2024/05/20240506-high-wind001.jpg)
The weather pattern behind Colorado’s high winds is also bringing the ozone layer to ground level
The state recommends vulnerable people or those with health conditions do fewer outdoor activities until later in the afternoon.
![](https://www.cpr.org/cdn-cgi/image/width=3840,quality=75,format=auto/https://wp-cpr.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2019/05/2015.cpr-staff-fellow-sam-brasch-square-for-web.creditCPR.jpg)
By Sam Brasch