Is the natural gas alternative good or bad? I’m asking because I really have no idea.
Natural gas is an excellent alternative -— for now. It is abundant, relatively cheap and burns cleaner than coal. I say for now as it too emits CO2 from burning and once the enviro-nazis finish taking down coal, they will come for gas saying the same thing they say about coal now: A fossil fuel pollutant whose emissions contribute to global warming, and must be shut down.
They are unrelenting in their desire to make the world rely on “renewables” including wind turbines (slicing and dicing millions of birds) or solar (setting on fire and frying birds). Another option, of course, is nuclear power but that to is unacceptable (radiation at the beach for a tan is fine, but powering our lights is a no-no).
On a BTU to BTU basis, Natural gas will emits less CO2 and other pollutants(NOx, SO2, HG, etc) than coal. But if you put in wind or solar, you would be emitting nothing, except a few dead birds.