Denver Area Air Quality & Allergies... (Boulder: live, zip codes, move to)

[NE Live]

I am curious how is the air quality in the Denver area? There does not appear from what I have been reading to any smog days at all, is that true? Is a certain suburb/area of Denver have better air quality than the others? Are allergy problems lower in the area due to the lower humidity levels?

Also what is the local feeling on the economy there? It appears a recession for the US in early 2008 is likely, just wondering how job prospects are currently and going forward in 2008?

Thanks in advance for helping me out!

[Katiana]

Denver has an air quality problem. You can search this site or do a google search to read about it.

Re: allergies, it depends on what you are allergic to. If allergic to molds, this is a good place to be. However, there are a lot of allergens out there. Many people find their allergies get better when they move anywhere, b/c they have not yet been sensitized to the allergens in that area. After a few years, the allergies may return.

[hello-world]

you can learn about some of this here: http://www.scorecard.org/

a temperature inversion (warm above, cool below, rather than the typical other way around near the surface of the earth) can sometimes trap pollutants in the area - rather than letting them disperse from the churning that might happen with warm below, cold above as you might imagine - resulting in a significant "brown cloud" (smog), especially bad when the sun is out during the day (which is usually) as then the photochemistry of all the auto and industrial emissions can really get going. there are also ozone and carbon monoxide issues, etc.. not as bad as some places can get (LA, Salt Lake, or more so Beijing, Mexico City...), but relatively poor air quality in and around denver.

[Katiana]

Thanks for looking up that link, hello-world. I was just too lazy. Boulder also has its own brown cloud of the same origins.

To the OP: there is a "Clean Air Colorado" program here that tells you when you can burn wood in your fireplace. (It's OK at anytime if you have a wood stove w/a catalytic converter, or if you heat only with wood.) You dial this number, or watch the news, and find out if you can have a fire in your fireplace. The air is actually much cleaner here than when we came here in 1980.

[NE Live]

How often does it seem the air quality is "bad" in Denver? Is the brown cloud etc primarily in the downtown core or does it get like that in the Suburbs as well? Is there a certain suburb area that is better for air quality than others or is it more when it is bad, it is bad every where? Thanks again!

[hello-world]

Originally Posted by NE Live

How often does it seem the air quality is "bad" in Denver? Is the brown cloud etc primarily in the downtown core or does it get like that in the Suburbs as well? Is there a certain suburb area that is better for air quality than others or is it more when it is bad, it is bad every where? Thanks again!

the brown cloud hovers over most of the region to some degree or another, sometimes worse than others, sometimes practically nonexistent. when it is bad, it is everywhere, i.e., air sort of mixes and diffuses so, while higher concentration things can exist in some locations, the "things" can exist all around the region and be a little tricky to pinpoint. i find that i can feel it more near I25 or other arteries more than elsewhere, but that doesn;t really say much. you can use that link to look up various zip codes. 80203 is one central denver zip, 80302 is one in boulder.

as for economy, you can find that on some other threads. just use the search tool of this thing. or google "economy denver". i think "the adams group" did one study and projection, e.g.. coloradoeconomy.com .

[Katiana]

Originally Posted by NE Live

How often does it seem the air quality is "bad" in Denver? Is the brown cloud etc primarily in the downtown core or does it get like that in the Suburbs as well? Is there a certain suburb area that is better for air quality than others or is it more when it is bad, it is bad every where? Thanks again!

A rough estimate of no-burn days, Nov.1 through Apr. 30 (the extent of the program) is 50%.

[hello-world]

Originally Posted by pittnurse70

A rough estimate of no-burn days, Nov.1 through Apr. 30 (the extent of the program) is 50%.

good point, pittnurse. and as for the brown cloud/smog (which has a bit to do with photochemistry and inversions/trapping of pollutin higher concentration, even without the particulates of the burning), that tends to be a bit more of a winter phenomenon, too, though the haze and smog can be around most any time of year.

[NE Live]

Wow are there any cities left in the US with good jobs, that are also not polluted so terribly. It is tough to try and find one.

[NWChris]

Originally Posted by NE Live

Wow are there any cities left in the US with good jobs, that are also not polluted so terribly. It is tough to try and find one.

I live out in the country east of Seattle and we have little in the way of pollution - the rain and wind wash it away. And the jobs are plentiful here, at least in the computer industry. In fact our big problem is we want to move to CO but all the good jobs (for Hubby) are here!