CoPIRG

Here are some ideas for cooling your home while saving energy. We also need to do more to cut the pollution that's contributing to hot summers in the first place!

Take action: https://pirg.org/colorado/articles/safer-food-packaging/ Chemicals linked to cancer shouldn’t be anywhere near our food. Yet many of the containers and wrappers surrounding our food are made with toxic chemicals, including BPA. These harmful chemicals can migrate into our food and our bodies. COPIRG is launching our Safer Food Packaging campaign to ban toxic chemicals from food packaging.

We've had over 30 bad air days in the Denver region and are on track for one of our worst summers in the last decade. One source of air pollution that seems unnecessary when we're dealing with so many bad air days is gas lawn equipment. We should limit this equipment & not add more pollutants to the ozone mix. The state offers 30% discounts on cleaner, electric lawn equipment if you can make the switch and help avoid air pollution. We also have tips for reducing some of the health impacts of dirty air days. You can find it all here - https://pirg.org/colorado/foundation/articles/summer-ozone-season-is-here-again-in-colorado/

We lost a number of beloved electronic devices over the last year - not because they broke but because companies ended software support and/or server access.

We put together a few eulogies to remember them by. With more and more devices using internet-connected features, the more risk that that tech will become trash when a company ends support.

Companies should disclose how long they are committed to supporting their devices before we buy them.

https://pirg.org/colorado/foundation/updates/which-electronics-did-companies-end-support-for/

Tuesday, our staff created an electronic waste graveyard to mourn the loss of so many electronics because the company ended support or server access.

Did you lose a beloved device recently? Which one?

Our devices should last longer. Period. It's just wasteful when companies end support and we're forced to trash tech that is still usable. It creates unnecessary electronic waste - up to 1.7 billion pounds of e-waste in the last decade

You can see the items that we have lost in our Electronic Waste Graveyard dashboard at Copirgfoundation.org - https://pirg.org/colorado/foundation/resources/electronic-waste-graveyard/

CoPIRG's Executive Director, Danny Katz, talks about why he had his utility disconnect his Denver home from the gas system.

There were three main reasons.

"For my family's health I've seen enough studies about indoor air pollution from gas. Also safety concerns given that gas is combustible. Third would be costs - the volatile prices of a fuel that is a traded commodity and the fact that gas utilities are wasting a lot of money & passing those costs on to all of us. All in all, sticking with gas didn't make sense when there are electric alternatives like heat pumps, electric water heaters and induction stoves. Mine work well - they are actually more efficient than my gas appliances."

There are lots of incentives in Colorado to go electric. If you want to see what available check out this info https://pirg.org/colorado/foundation/articles/what-are-colorados-home-energy-rebate-programs/

The mountains were visible from Denver again! This Colorado summer has been bad for air pollution with wildfire smoke & ozone days.

Even though today is better air you should still be cautious & continue to try and filter your air this summer when you are home via your AC or heat pump, etc. Now is also a great time for people to switch to a cleaner electric vehicle, ride transit or go solar - all things that reduce the pollutants that fuel ozone.

Talk to your neighbors - there's $$ on the table to incentivize switches to these cleaner technologies.

CO is hot and sunny in the summer but we can reduce ozone pollutants - every bit helps. https://pirg.org/colorado/foundation/articles/summer-ozone-season-is-here-again-in-colorado/