Smog across Colorado's Front Range is going to make gas more expensive. But do the clean air benefits justify the cost to consumers?

As foul smog continues to hover along Colorado's Front Range horizon, millions of drivers in the state will pay more for a special formula of gasoline that is supposed to cause less pollution. But just how much that fuel improves the air and whether the expense is worth the financial burden it is under debate in Colorado.

Gov. Jared Polis is poised to fight the use of reformulated gas — a special blend that reduces harmful emissions from car exhaust — and earlier this month he informed a state board that he intends to fight a federal rule that would require it.

Environmentalists, however, say reformulated gas should remain part of the strategy to lower toxic emissions because the ozone problem is a crisis that requires Colorado to use every solution at its disposal.