One of the public health initiatives by the Department of Public Health and Environment in Colorado is the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Reduction Roadmap. The project is aimed at reducing pollution. The state’s science-based climate targets of 26% by 2025, 50% by 2030, and 90% by 2050 are the goal (www.cdphe.colorado.gov ). Some of the strategies that will be used to achieve this are through a move towards zero-emission vehicles, reducing methane pollution, and working closely with oil and gas companies to reduce their carbon footprint. This is such a big deal from an epidemiology standpoint because of the negative impacts on individuals’ health who suffer from chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases. We need to ensure an environment that facilitates normal daily living for these individuals with fewer flare-ups. We also need to consider the negative effects of those without COPD who can develop diseases like cancer from secondhand exposure. Pollution leads to climate change, climate change leads to wildfires, and fires lead to respiratory illnesses and diseases.
One of the cultural considerations of this is the population who live in Colorado. Colorado is home to ranchers and oil and gas company residents. Especially in the Front Range areas. Oil and gas companies bring in lots of revenue to the state and ranchers in Colorado are in the top 10 for states with the most cattle. Trying to reduce oil and gas production or transition to plant-based meat analogues would not be very popular. The regulatory issues surrounding oil and gas have to do with how much a state allows an oil and gas company to do in their state. In Colorado, there is always controversy about oil and gas related to gas flaring, fracking, and the effects of oil on wildlife (www.epe.gov). Individuals who want to preserve natural lands and also influence global warming are in direct conflict or those who support the oil and gas industry. Ranching raises a different concern. According to the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO, 2020), livestock produce 14.5% of global greenhouse emissions. Generations of family businesses are based on ranching. Developing strategies to assist in less methane production from cows will be essential to the survival of that career path. Lobbyists and lawmakers will be intimately involved in passing bills that assist in cleaner air quality in Colorado in the future. The health of our vulnerable population and airway compromised patients need advocacy. If something does not change then epidemiologists will be faced with an epidemic of large proportion related to COPD and cancers associated with the lungs.
Department of Public Health and Environment Colorado. (2022). GHG Pollution Reduction Roadmap. https://energyoffice.colorado.gov/climate-energy/ghg-pollution-reduction-roadmap
Environmental Protection Agency. (2012). Reducing Air Pollution from the Oil and Gas Industry
https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2016-09/documents/20120417presentation.pdf
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