Blame culture: Bitcoin the environmental disaster
Bitcoin has yet again unfairly copped significant flak, this time, on the basis that it is harmful to the environment.
No.
Bitcoin is a protocol.
Algorithms do not expel carbon dioxide.
[mic-drop]
Fine, ok.
We will try to take this seriously.
It should firstly be said, due to Bitcoin’s potential implications for the current rotund and ever more pompous ruling class, it should not be surprising that this FUD is directed at Bitcoin by puppet politicians, supported by central bankers.
Oh yes, the “genie is out of the bottle” and they are getting nervous.
CUE: Bitcoin is an environmental disaster.
Yet more textbook deception tactics. Albeit, more insidious this time, playing on people’s genuine fears about the environmental issues facing humanity.
We should consider some classic sociopathic behavior:
“Let’s take a real problem and manipulate said problem by instead narrating it as our adversaries problem (even though it is more than likely my own fault).”
Proponents of the environmental disaster narrative show disrespect for people’s concerns around our plant’s environment, and a complete and utter hypocritical distortion of facts.
Here are three things you should know:
- They do not understand current energy wastage
- The Cambridge Center for Alternative Finance (CCAF), estimates that Bitcoin currently consumes around 110 Terawatt Hours per year — 0.55% of global electricity production.
- By conservative estimate lets say 30% of the total energy globally produced is wasted (below is an estimate from 2017 study by the World Economic Forum (WEF) showing that actually 67% energy in the US, a developed country, was wasted).
2. They do not understand Bitcoin mining incentivizes clean energy use
Bitcoin miners are location agnostic and can operate whilst utilizing intermittent energy resources (solar, wind, geothermic energy).
Bitcoin is a self regulating organism, naturally culling inefficient miners. The competition involves miners seeking the cheapest energy obtainable which in turn will naturally drive miners towards sustainably sourced electricity.
Bitcoin mining is the most adaptive energy sector in the history of mankind and by its nature is shall use energy that is otherwise wasted.
Bitcoin mining will increase sustainable energy adoption.
3. True clean energy proponents should prioritize real energy issues by:
- Capturing the huge amounts of the world’s wasted energy
- Targeting the polluters themselves (i.e. agriculture, coal, oil and gas), not Bitcoin’s use of the free market
- Preventing the ecological devastation and mass deforestation of the “world’s lungs”
- Compare Bitcoin apples for apples versus current global banking system energy output and “proof of war”
Energy mix allocation is not a legislative requirement for individuals or private entities.
Until regulators address the source the argument is simply inappropriately allocating blame towards Bitcoin.
Here are some advantages of Bitcoin:
- Energy usage is uncorrelated to transaction number
- Energy efficiency will continuously improve in proportion to network adoption
- Energy efficiency will improve as mining rigs improve
Bitcoin is the most energy efficient store of value in the history of mankind.
