Opinion: Coloradans deserve to know the dangers of the fuels we burn, and current legislature would readily remind us

As a 20 year old extremely concerned about my future, and as an organizer with Mi Familia Vota, an organization working to advocate for those who are disproportionately impacted by environmental degradation, I see an urgent need for the passage of House Bill 1277, also known as the Increasing Transparency – Impact of Fossil Fuels bill.

Even as our climate rapidly changes and our air quality worsens, most people aren’t aware of the effects of burning fossil fuels. While Colorado law requires significant greenhouse gas pollution reductions, laws are meaningless without follow through. Pollution is far from being reduced as fast as the law requires, and more importantly, as fast as the health of our communities require. The Colorado legislature should follow through on their own intentions by passing House Bill 1277 requiring warning labels on fossil fuels.

My generation has grown up carrying the pressing weight of the climate crisis. As an elementary schooler, climate change was already part of my everyday vocabulary. Nevertheless, my climate education often took the form of debates asking: Is climate change real? 

I am incredibly grateful to my public school teachers who were trying their best to teach my peers and I about current global issues. Yet these debates followed the common rhetoric of Big Oil’s disinformation campaigns to confuse the public; rather than asking what should be done to limit environmental degradation and work toward a livable future, we were stuck questioning the science of greenhouse gas emissions’ linkage to global heating. 

As early as 1954, over six decades ago, Big Oil companies were warned about the negative effects of fossil fuels and even conducted their own research into global warming. They then, following in the footsteps of the tobacco industry, invested billions of dollars into covering up this research. In Colorado, a 2023 survey found that 25% of Coloradans do not think global warming is happening, 40% do not think global warming is caused by human activities, and less than 40% regularly hear about global warming, per the Yale Program on Climate Communication. 

While more than 99.9% of over 18,000 peer-reviewed scientific papers agree on the human-caused climate crisis, scientific consensus is clearly insufficient; we need to break out of the narrative that all citizens will suddenly have the tools to see past Big Oil’s decades of greenwashing and disinformation. 

In order to address the climate crisis, we must take tangible steps to actively counter climate disinformation through providing consumers with transparent, accurate labeling on the impact of fuel products, Colorado’s number one emitter of greenhouse gas emissions. 

Studies have shown that the tobacco industry warning labels played a large role in the 73% decline in smoking rates among adults in the U.S. since the labels were introduced in 1966. Colorado’s Fuel Warning Label bill has the ability to make a similar impact on fossil fuel usage. 

House Bill 1277, which has passed the House and is with the Senate, requires retailers to display clear labels on fuel dispensing pumps, or on displays or shelving of fuels sold in containers, stating in English and Spanish: “WARNING: Use of this product releases air pollutants and greenhouse gases, known by the state of Colorado to be linked to significant health impacts and global heating, respectively, pursuant to section 25-5-1603, C.R.S. Tampering with this label is a violation of section 18-4-510, C.R.S.”

The bill would not cost the state anything to implement, with amendments, it includes protections for retailers with accidental violations, and would provide consumers with critical information for their purchasing decisions. 

It is well past time to take action toward transparent messaging on the consequences of burning petroleum products. On behalf of the many youth and Colorado Springs constituents who share my concerns, I call on the state Senate and Gov. Jared Polis to help promote environmental consciousness by passing House Bill 1277 into law.

Simone Colburn, a sophomore at Colorado College, grew up in Cambridge, Mass., and is an organizer with Mi Familia Vota.

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