The biggest contributor to reducing CO2 emissions is nuclear power. Over 55% of power generated without CO2 is from nuclear power. But in Pennsylvania the legislature prefers cheapest power to reducing carbon dioxide. And the networks handling power like PJM also put short term cost above carbon dioxide reduction. So in PA we get the shutdown of TMI when, aside from the jobs lost, we could be getting CO2 reduction, along with sulfur dioxide and other contributors to bad air quality.
And for natural gas, little attention is given to methane release,a really bad actor in terms of climate change. Solar and wind, which take a lot of space, don’t operate all the time and so can’t provide
the electricity we need on an ongoing basis. So we continue needing nuclear power and all the benefits that are given to wind and solar should include nuclear power since so much of our push against climate change requires nuclear power to do the job.
Ed Klevans
February 3, 2020