CHI’s Climate Team Quoted in the Colorado Sun

Policy Analyst Chrissy Esposito was quoted in the May 12 Colorado Sun article: How Colorado’s Changing Climate Is Putting Children’s Health at Risk. The story reports on how exposure to air pollution can lead to health problems, including diminished lung development and asthma, and why pollution is often worse in lower-income neighborhoods.

“Kids can’t help that they’re still developing,” Esposito said. “They still have developing immune systems, organs—they can’t help that they breathe faster.” She also advocated for studying how children’s health responds to climate change, especially in poorer communities that are most at risk.

The article also cites data from CHI’s report Global Issue, Local Risk while describing Colorado’s limited ability to prepare for climate change at the local level. Esposito, who was a co-author of the report, explained: “A lot of plans tend to be in rich counties and rich cities.” “We don’t want to just say, ‘Yuma County doesn’t have a plan.’ Well, Yuma County doesn’t have the resources or the infrastructure to create a plan or sustain it.”

The story was first published May 11 in Collective Colorado, a publication of The Colorado Trust, one of CHI’s funders. Collective Colorado also published a Spanish version: El Clima Cambiante de Colorado Está Poniendo en Riesgo la Salud Infantil.