Michael Booth

Denver

Part of @Coloradosun crew for health, environment & all things interesting. Hiker. Driver for large family. Dad jokes are free.

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Articles

Measles on a plane

3 days ago | coloradosun.com | John Ingold |Shannon Mullane |Michael Booth

Hey there, Colorado, and welcome to another edition of The Temperature. I’ve been thinking a bit lately about sliding doors — specifically the sliding doors at the entrance to the Children’s Hospital Colorado emergency department in Aurora. About two weeks ago, they slid open when my wife and I carried our infant inside for a check on his oxygen levels as he dealt with that made it hard for him to breathe and put a cannula up his nose. He was ultimately fine then and is fine-r now.
A Q&A on federal challenges to Colorado’s clean energy track

1 week ago | coloradosun.com | Michael Booth

Mid-May in Washington, D.C., brought some loud Trump administration warning shots for states like Colorado, where majorities of voters have pushed for clean energy alternatives and action on climate change. First, the U.S. House and Senate voted to strip California — and states that have largely copied their rules — of the right to go further than EPA minimums in selling clean electric cars and trucks.
Is Colorado getting flattened by clean energy rollbacks?

1 week ago | coloradosun.com | Michael Booth

Because basketball was over for the night, and hockey was over for the night, and because I have no life, I flipped over to the Rockies late Tuesday, tied 2-2 going into the 11th with the Cubs. Our Rox promptly went up 3-2 in their top of the inning. Chicago Hope? Absolutely not, and I wasn’t fooled for a second. The Cubs got a couple of bloop hits, and the Rox seemed outraged that Major League Baseball allows other teams to steal bases.
Congress likely killed Colorado’s EV mandate, clean energy programs, environmental groups say

1 week ago | coloradosun.com | Michael Booth

Congressional actions in the past week essentially killed Colorado’s electric vehicle mandate and threaten billions of dollars in solar and wind power construction meant to ease greenhouse gas emissions and ozone, environmental and state political leaders said.
Wetlands growth produces methane in feedback loop, CU Boulder says

2 weeks ago | coloradosun.com | Michael Booth

Global warming is expanding Arctic wetlands that naturally pump out more methane, speeding up a vicious “feedback loop” that increases the threat from climate change, according to a University of Colorado climate researcher helping to lead a key study.
The impact of the “big, beautiful bill”

2 weeks ago | coloradosun.com | John Ingold |Michael Booth

Happy midday, Colorado, and welcome back to another edition of The Temperature. A guy has sued the Colorado Rockies after being injured by a foul ball at the game, arguing that the team’s abysmal level of play — 40 losses and only 8 wins on the season as of this morning — means fans are less engaged in actually watching the game.
Suncor violated pollution limits for 900 hours during 2022-23 shutdown, environmental study says

2 weeks ago | coloradosun.com | Michael Booth

Suncor’s Commerce City refinery violated pollution emission limits for 900 hours in the three months it shut down after a fire in late 2022, but the company avoided fines because of loopholes in regulations, an environmental group’s study said Tuesday. For 100 of those hours, Suncor reported emissions violations of certain controlled pollutants that were 30 times the levels allowed by their state air permits.
When airport PFAS gets jettisoned, where does the forever firefighting foam go?

2 weeks ago | coloradosun.com | Michael Booth

You can clean the “forever chemicals” of PFAS from storage tanks and firefighting gear, but just like a nuclear radiation cleanup, now you’ve got tanks and piles of contaminated residue with no place to go. Denver International Airport is handing over that problem to the state of Colorado’s hazardous waste experts, after spending about $3 million of airport money to flush out tanks and clean gear previously used to handle PFAS-laden firefighting foam.
Where does Colorado rank in the switch to clean, renewable energy?

3 weeks ago | coloradosun.com | Michael Booth

Coming in seventh out of 50, is that a standing ovation or a single slow clap? Or somewhere in between? A muted victory, perhaps, as a new national ranking puts Colorado’s performance in switching to renewable, clean electricity as seventh-best out of the 50 states. “That puts it squarely in the leadership category,” said Henry Stiles, advocate with the Environment Colorado Research and Policy Center.
We must be No. 1 ... right? Right??

3 weeks ago | coloradosun.com | Michael Booth |John Ingold

Complex environmental problems that take decades to solve — there’s a lot of ’em!Two oldies but goodies came to mind from email blasts this week: ozone and “forever chemicals.”Colorado issued three ozone alerts in the past four days. It’s beginning to seem like we can count on an ozone health alert anytime Front Range temperatures rise above 75 degrees. We’ll continue reporting on state efforts to control this intractable challenge, throughout the summer.