Re - Wintergreen

Greg Allen | Sep 20, 2017

In his article on Wintergreen’s seminar concerning electricity options, Craig Bakay quotes Angela Bischoff as saying natural gas is a better option than nuclear. Having discussed this with Angela, I wish to clarify her position.

Craig drew this conclusion, not from her interview, but from a slide in her presentation that claims natural gas generation would be better (i.e. cheaper, safer) than extending Pickering nuclear station for another decade. By no means is this preferable to phasing out both nuclear and natural gas generation with renewables and demand-side management.

Over the next decade, methane emissions contribute more to global warming than CO2 and Ontario’s natural gas comes with upstream methane emissions which, according to analysis of satellite data, may contribute half the rise in global methane levels. If we hope to temper the disastrous consequences of climate change, natural gas for all purposes will have to be phased out sooner than later.