Shuttering of New York facility raises awkward climate crisis questions as gas – not renewables – fills gap in power generation

When New York’s deteriorating and unloved Indian Point nuclear plant finally shuttered in 2021, its demise was met with delight from environmentalists who had long demanded it be scrapped.

But there has been a sting in the tail – since the closure, New York’s greenhouse gas emissions have gone up.

Castigated for its impact upon the surrounding environment and feared for its potential to unleash disaster close to the heart of New York City, Indian Point nevertheless supplied a large chunk of the state’s carbon-free electricity.

Since the plant’s closure, it has been gas, rather then clean energy such as solar and wind, that has filled the void, leaving New York City in the embarrassing situation of seeing its planet-heating emissions jump in recent years to the point its power grid is now dirtier than Texas’s, as well as the US average.

  • UnderpantsWeevil
    16 months ago
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    the West combined emits less CO2 than just China.

    Not even remotely true, per capita.

    • iopq
      -16 months ago
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      Because a lot of Chinese people still do sustenance farming. They don’t add to carbon, they actually might be carbon negative since they grow crops

      • UnderpantsWeevil
        16 months ago
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        Because a lot of Chinese people still do sustenance farming.

        That hasn’t been true in decades.

        • iopq
          -16 months ago
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          6 months ago
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          I’ve met them in Yunnan last year, lmao, you have no idea, you’ve never been to China so shut the fuck the up

          • UnderpantsWeevil
            06 months ago
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            you’ve never been to China

            It’s funny to hear folks call you a Wumao “never even been to China” in such short order.

            It takes a lot of time and money to travel the world. But I’m sure you have an abundance of both, right? I certainly don’t, which is why I post Chinese Propaganda for a living.