How to Solve the District’s Air Quality Problem

How to Solve the District’s Air Quality Problem

By Molly Rauch

D.C. Carbon Fee and Rebate is the answer we’ve been looking for.

Right now, the D.C. City Council is considering introducing a price on carbon that would significantly drive down carbon dioxide emissions in our city — while giving revenue directly back to District residents. As a groundbreaking local response to the threat of climate change, the carbon fee and rebate policy would benefit D.C. families.

Climate change is personal, it is a major threat to my children’s health and future. It will bring more intense and frequent heat waves to our city which already suffers from oppressive and humid summers, and where, as in many cities, heat is disproportionately dangerous for the poorest communities. Additionally, extreme weather events will increase in frequency and we could see more ticks and mosquitoes which carry diseases like Zika and West Nile Virus – even possibly bringing malaria back to the region. Climate change also threatens our air, it is likely to trigger deterioration in air quality over time.

Poor air quality is not something I take lightly. As someone who has been prescribed a rescue inhaler to control my respiratory problems, I know how bad air days can affect my breathing. Sometimes it feels like a sunburn inside my lungs. Air pollution is especially dangerous for children, whose lungs are still developing into adulthood. Breathing polluted air interferes with normal lung development, increases the risk of asthma in children, and triggers asthma attacks. Here in D.C., 12% of all children have asthma, higher than the national average. If you walk into any school nurse’s office in the district you will see evidence of this epidemic – dozens upon dozens of inhalers bundled with their asthma plans.They are stacked, hung, or filed for the children who need them in case of an attack.

D.C. suffers from poor air quality due to ground level ozone, smog. The American Lung Association has given the District an F for persistent smog problems. Smog is formed when chemicals in the atmosphere react with heat and sunlight. The chemicals which undergo this reaction are known as “ozone precursors” and include volatile organic compounds (VOCs), methane, and nitrogen oxides (NOx). In D.C., ozone precursors come from our region’s infamous vehicle traffic, as well as pollution from power plants, factories, and other industrial facilities that is blown in from nearby states.

The thing about smog, is that heat and sunlight speed up the chemical reaction which creates it. As temperatures rise, smog levels also tend to rise. Climate change and the resulting increase in temperature is likely to increase smog levels in cities across the country, including our district.This will increase the asthma burden in our city, directly harming our children and families.

This is why the carbon fee and rebate policy is important for the health of our community. The policy would charge major polluters like PepcoExelon and Washington Gas for their carbon emissions. The overwhelming majority of the revenue would be returned to District residents. ​The carbon fee would apply to natural gas and oil consumed in the city as well as carbon-intensive electricity and emissions linked to transportation — exempting public transportation. Companies that buy and sell fossil fuels in our city would pay a steadily rising fee on each ton of heat-trapping pollution they cause. Returning that fee to residents through a rebate would ensure that ratepayers break even or come out ahead. Low-income families would receive a boosted rebate to help compensate for the damages of pollution they already suffer from and to alleviate poverty.

The carbon fee and rebate would result in improved air quality over time. Greenhouse gas emissions from the use of electricity, natural gas, and home-heating fuel would fall 23% relative to a business-as-usual baseline by 2032. Those co-pollutants released alongside carbon dioxide – smog precursors, NOx, and particle pollution among them – would also decline, immediately improving our local air. Moreover, D.C.’s policy could become the basis for other cities, counties, and states across the country to pass similar policies of their own. Widespread action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions will not only improve air quality, but it will also mitigate global warming.

With no voting representation in Congress, D.C. has little obvious influence on the Hill. This doesn’t mean our city can’t lead the rest of the country by implementing climate solutions at the local level which protect our health and alleviate poverty. Our city can show true leadership in the climate movement and serve as an example to cities across the country by implementing a carbon fee and rebate policy. Moms in D.C. and beyond understand this is the right path for our children’s health and future.


Molly Rauch is public health policy director for Moms Clean Air Force. She lives with her family in Washington, DC, where she serves on the District of Columbia’s Commission on Climate Change and Resiliency.

Fighting for the Future with Moms Clean Air Force

Fighting for the Future with Moms Clean Air Force

Written by Olivia Kuykendall and Maria Zlotescu

What is one thing every child deserves? The chance to grow up in a world free from worries of climate change.

On July 14, Moms Clean Air Force held its annual “Play-In For Climate Action” in Washington D.C. to fight for that chance. Dozens of eager climate activists filled the Upper Senate Park to advocate for a cleaner future. Attendees came from as far Texas to listen to speakers discuss the fate of our planet.

The event featured speakers of all ages to highlight that our climate is an issue that that will affect the present and future generations. Moms Clean Air Force offered plenty of activities to engage families. Children played with parachutes and bubble machines while families attempted yoga and dozens of other activities. The events made the rally not only a political event but a community one bringing together strangers united by a common cause.

Parents at the rally were not all fearful of their children’s future — they were hopeful. Hopeful that their children could one day have healthier water and cleaner air.

The experience made me hopeful, too. Many listened to our Put A Price On It campaign testimonies and were interested in getting involved. Plenty thanked me for my time, expressing the importance of advocacy in the fight for cleaner air. One attendee even expressed the importance of the involvement of young people in the climate action movement.

While young people are important, today’s parents are raising the next generation of voters. Children who see their parents involved in activism are more likely to follow. The children who attended the event today are the environmental leaders of tomorrow.

During the event, I also had the opportunity to sign up for “Dear Tomorrow” — a project where people share letters, photos and videos to their children, family or future self about their promise to take action on climate change. I’m going to write a letter to my little nephews. I want them to be able to visit the Potomac River like I did as a kid.

As we left the event, many rally-goers went to meet with their senators or representatives. I am confident that their meetings went well because I saw their passion and dedication with my own eyes. It gave me energy.

As Moms Clean Air Force fights on the national level, let us remember our local fight. Break out the signs, petitions, and phones. Let’s put a price on carbon pollution in DC. Not just for us. For the kids.

Photos courtesy of Moms Clean Air Force.