D.C. Area Sees Spike In Rate of Emissions

"It still beats sitting in traffic," said Fendley, who is a member of the Arlington County School Board.

But much bigger changes will probably be necessary over the next few decades for the D.C. area to reduce emissions. Development will have to be clustered around mass transit, experts say. In far-flung suburbs, residents might one day rely on plug-in hybrid cars, which can run for long distances without burning gasoline.

And utilities will have to build plants that capture carbon dioxide or use non-fossil fuels.

That day seems far off. In Virginia, the Dominion power company has proposed a new plant to keep up with growing demand for electricity. The facility, planned in Wise County in the southwestern part of the state, would have pollution-reducing features.

But it would still burn mainly coal.

"Until a fuel comes along that can produce the same amount of megawatts with the same cost," coal won't be supplanted, Dominion spokesman Dan Genest said.

Still, many people concerned about pollution said last week that they are hopeful-- encouraged by the attention being paid to climate change.

"We are starting," said Matthias Ruth, director of an environmental research institute at the University of Maryland. "We are asking the right questions."