Beijing shuts last coal power plant in switch to natural gas

[NNadir]

17. The world is using 170% of the coal it used in 2000. We are in fact, using more coal...

...as of 2015 than any year in history except 2014.

Natural gas is no kind of "victory" over coal or any other dangerous fossil fuel. It like coal and petroleum is a filthy fuel, the mining of which will represent a great problem for all future generations, especially because of the impact of flowback water from fracking. The increase in the use of natural gas and oil has more than made up in terms of carbon dioxide for the tiny reduction in coal use in 2015 when compared to 2014.

There's no reason to be smug about this. The last two years have been the worst years ever observed for the accumulation of the dangerous fossil fuel waste carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

New York State, I note, plans to shut its nuclear plants and will replace them with natural gas. This is a crime against all future generations.

ORNL Carbon Dioxide Project