That is a good point, and completely true.There are a tonne of...

That is a good point, and completely true.

There are a tonne of moving parts in this equation, and I agree that even if we were to accept the most catastrophic predictions for climate change from the hard-core watermelon brigade (i.e., the ones who are green on the outside and red on the inside) , which are every bit as wacky as the arguments from the hard core denialists, it still doesn't necessarily mean that radically cutting emissions is the "best" thing to do for humanity.

The reality is that this is one of those situations where the best path forward is basically unknowable, and will possibly even remain unknowable in hindsight.

Although TBH, I personally think that the way that coal poisons our air, water and food chains with methylmercury is as good a reason to kill coal-fired power as its CO2 emissions.