Running Up For Air – Why These Runners Ran Until They Couldn’t

In the West, we are on the front lines of air pollution. Major western cities like Denver, Phoenix, Salt Lake City, and Reno regularly rank among the worst in the entire country for particle and ozone pollution.
The people who live in our region are noticing.
The Running Up for Air race series is an event that challenges participants to put their fitness endurance to the test in the name of air quality.
The event began on Grandeur Peak in the Wasatch Mountains above Salt Lake City. Participants ran up the peak, overlooking the pollution from over 8,000 ft above sea level. In the winter the smog above the Wasatch front is often some of the worst in the country. During the race runners got first-hand experience with the poor air quality of their home as they ran up above the air pollution and then descend back into it.
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Now the event has spread to several areas across the West. It raises awareness and money for air pollution in key cities.
WRA was present to help crew one of the sponsored events run by Suffer Better in Staunton State Park, Colorado.
On this episode of Two Degrees Out West – Why air pollution is a crisis in the West, the runners that were inspired to run until they couldn't in the name of addressing air pollution, and how you can add your voice to the fight for clean air.

Learn more below!

https://westernresourceadvocates.org/

2 Degrees Out West is a podcast from Western Resource Advocates, an environmental conservation organization that's focused on the Interior West. WRA works across seven states to protect our climate, land, air, and water. WRA protects and advocates for Arizona, Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, Nevada, Montana, and Wyoming.

2 Degrees out West is a podcast for advocates and decision makers who want to fight climate change and its impacts across the West.

On 2 Degrees Out West we talk with climate experts and advocates to bring you stories, experiences, and insights from their work in the places we call home.

It is Hosted by Dave Papineau

Want to be part of 2 Degrees Out West?

• Email us with thoughts, suggestions, and interviewees at dave.papineau@westernresources.org.
• Follow us @westernresourceadvocates on Instagram.
• Create a clip sharing "our Bright Climate Future for the West" and send it to us at dave.papineau@westernresources.org. to be included in one of our next episodes.
• Join our email list to stay updated on when new episodes are released and calls to action on how you can help the West.
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Clean Energy Expert Debunks Clean Coal

In a legally dubious 202c order, the federal government forced the broken, dirty, and unreliable coal power plant to stay open past its planned closure. The craziest part? The plant is currently broken and would need to be fixed – costing millions of dollars.

It's the latest in the confusing effort from the administration to keep coal power plants online despite the abundance of evidence that there are more efficient, reliable, and cost-effective options.

The main utility that operated Craig 1, Tri-State, had been planning its closure for over 10 years - In part due to its air pollution impacts on places like Rocky Mount National Park and the fact that it’s not needed for reliability.

As a listener, you may already know all of this. This is an issue WRA and others have been vocal about in 2026. We produced a podcast, many social media posts, and currently have an action alert where you can tell your state leadership to fight to close coal power plants in your state.

However, many online – whether humans or bots coordinated by powerful interests - seem inclined to defend coal.

Coal is one of the worst energy sources for the West. Regularly, The West suffers from some of the worst air pollution in the country. Salt Lake City, Denver, Reno, and Phoenix all experience serious levels of ozone and particle pollution. Those pollutants are linked to cancer, lung disease, asthma, and a wide variety of other nasty health concerns. Ending coal power is imperative if we're going to protect our health in the West.


To help debunk some myths and claims, we asked WRA’s Clean Energy Director, Erin Overturf, to debunk some of the pro-coal comments on our social media.

As a side note – this podcast is available in a video version for those interested in a visual format.

Today’s exciting new video version of 2° Out West: Debunking “Clean Coal” with a Clean Energy Expert!

Video Version:

https://youtu.be/4mKT1s_XYTw

2 Degrees Out West is a podcast from Western Resource Advocates, an environmental conservation organization that's focused on the Interior West. WRA works across seven states to protect our climate, land, air, and water. WRA protects and advocates for Arizona, Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, Nevada, Montana, and Wyoming.

2 Degrees out West is a podcast for advocates and decision makers who want to fight climate change and its impacts across the West.

On 2 Degrees Out West we talk with climate experts and advocates to bring you stories, experiences, and insights from their work in the places we call home.

It is Hosted by Dave Papineau

Want to be part of 2 Degrees Out West?

• Email us with thoughts, suggestions, and interviewees at dave.papineau@westernresources.org.
• Follow us @westernresourceadvocates on Instagram.
• Create a clip sharing "our Bright Climate Future for the West" and send it to us at dave.papineau@westernresources.org. to be included in one of our next episodes.
• Join our email list to stay updated on when new episodes are released and calls to action on how you can help the West.
• ...

Just two days before the new year residents of Colorado, Nebraska, New Mexico, and Wyoming woke up to an unpleasant surprise.

The Craig One power station in Northwest Colorado had been forced to remain open by the Trump administration. The Administration used an unusual and legally shaky 202c order to force the plant to stay open. It was the latest in a series of similar orders forcing old, dirty, and often unreliable coal power plants to stay on the grid.

Not only do coal power plants worsen air pollution in the West - where many major cities already often have some of the worst air quality in the country - but it also is expensive and contributes to rising electricity costs in the West.

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Everyone in the West deserves clean air. Coal power is old, dated, expensive, and often unreliable. The Future of the West means relying on clean energy like affordable wind and solar. The administration's effort to keep this obsolete coal plant online is a threat to our clean air, health, and affordable energy bills.

On this episode of Two Degrees Out West, we talk about the 202c order to keep the Craig One power plant open and what this unprecedented move by the Trump administration means for the West.

2 Degrees Out West is a podcast from Western Resource Advocates, an environmental conservation organization that's focused on the Interior West. WRA works across seven states to protect our climate, land, air, and water. WRA protects and advocates for Arizona, Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, Nevada, Montana, and Wyoming.

2 Degrees out West is a podcast for advocates and decision makers who want to fight climate change and its impacts across the West.

On 2 Degrees Out West we talk with climate experts and advocates to bring you stories, experiences, and insights from their work in the places we call home.

It is Hosted by Dave Papineau

Want to be part of 2 Degrees Out West?

• Email us with thoughts, suggestions, and interviewees at dave.papineau@westernresources.org.
• Follow us @westernresourceadvocates on Instagram.
• Create a clip sharing "our Bright Climate Future for the West" and send it to us at dave.papineau@westernresources.org. to be included in one of our next episodes.
• Join our email list to stay updated on when new episodes are released and calls to action on how you can help the West.
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