I've been camping in the Moraine Park campground. All photos this week have been dulled by particulates that appear as haze. The photos in this gallery were taken on May 16, a day of unusually thick haze. On warm days, the particulates may subserve the formation of smog. A person who traveled to Greeley reported that from a few miles east of I-25, he could not see Longs Peak due to the haze. I am saddened by the deteriorating air quality along the Front Range, in Estes Park and Estes valley, and in Rocky Mountain National Park. Airborne particulates and smog are injurious to lungs of humans and other species. Hiking often prompts additional breathing - which, when smog or particulates are present - becomes an other than healthy activity.

Consider two recent news items. "USC study links smoggy air to lung damage in children" and "U.S. smog limit permits subtle lung damage".

Free online:
Diesel Exhaust and Asthma: Hypotheses and Molecular Mechanisms of Action
Environmental Health Perspectives Supplements Volume 110, #S1, Feb 2002
http://www.ehponline.org/members/2002/suppl-1/103-112pandya/pandya-full.html

Click on a photo to see a larger version on your screen.

More photos of polluted air in RMNP and in Estes valley can be viewed at:
https://pbase.com/aspergerian/smog_in_colorado_rockies