Reader's view: Replacing coal with natural gas doesn’t make sense

So, President Barack Obama claims he is going to reduce carbon emissions by forcing electric utility companies to cut back on coal and substitute natural gas? Well, maybe someone should tell Obama that the combustion byproducts of burning natural gas are, ahem, carbon dioxide and water - just like coal, albeit with less particulate matter.
Moreover, carbon dioxide is a naturally occurring part of Earth’s atmosphere. If CO2 is part of naturally clean air, how can it be considered toxic or noxious?
Maybe Obama should retake high school science rather than forcing the entire nation to endure substantially higher utilities bills for policies based upon faulty science.
Timothy Ollila
Duluth