For nearly a decade, climate activists led by Bill McKibben of 350.org have claimed that natural gas is worse for the climate than coal.64 And yet, on virtually every metric, natural gas is cleaner than coal. Natural gas emits 17 to 40 times less sulfur dioxide, a fraction of the nitrous oxide that coal emits, and almost no mercury.65 Natural gas is one-eighth as deadly as coal, counting both accidents and air pollution.66 And burning gas rather than coal for electricity requires 25 to 50 times less water.67
