Topic: Here's food for thought: Bitcoin's carbon footprint - page 2. (Read 335 times)

I am sure of that there will be no impact. But it is still one of the greatest post which I've seen. So somehow energy consumption issue must be solved. Otherwise, it will harm us completely. We need nature all!

Cong. for this greatest thread.

Yes, Bitcoin use a massive amount of electricity but have you compared that with the carbon footprint of the current financial system? I am not just talking about the cost per transaction via their centralized database now.

I am talking about the total cost of their operation, which includes... < All the electricity used to power ATM's world wide and also all the electricity used to power things like air-conditioning in offices and computers and CCTV systems and security systems and also fuel being burned to transport cash and lastly the pollution and energy used to create money from the raw products to the final product in the form of cash and coins. >

We will eliminate most of that, if Crypto currencies can replace Fiat currencies. 

Totally agree with this. Most people are looking for alternatives to lessen the cost they genrate for mining. Which turns out be using natural energy. Which is a win-win for miners and the environment. What causes the dispute whether is it worth mining cryptocurrency and ruining and wasting energy is using coal-pwered energy in mining. I see a lot of miners setting up their mining farm using either solar-panels or hydro electricity and other natural energy to save them costs which will lead to better profit.

Of course, now the equipment for the production of renewable energy sources is getting cheaper every year and it becomes more profitable to install them in private farms. Therefore, I do not think that we have a serious problem with the consumption of electricity for mining Bitcoin.
I agree that this problem is more contrived than it deserves to be discussed.

Already, even on this forum, the strong impact of bitcoin mining on the environment in terms of electricity costs was refuted. In fact, Bitcoin does not consume so much energy for its production as compared to our other types of activity, in particular, for example, for the work of banks. In reality, this problem does not exist. Humanity can generate electricity as much as necessary. In recent years, the cost of producing renewable energy has decreased markedly. More and more private farms acquire a solar or wind power station and not only cover their costs, but also sell surplus energy to the network.
In addition, mining Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency is not harmful to the environment. At the same time, only heat is released, which is sometimes even used to heat residential buildings.

I ran into some eye-opening articles and studies on the aspect of bitcoin that I don't often see (or have ever seen, on that note) discussed here on this forum - the carbon footprint of bitcoin and exactly what it's contributing to the world's ever-increasing problem with climate change.

I clicked my way onto a straightforward and relatively accurate, real-time graph provided by Digiconomist[1] where a bunch of laid out numbers are presented. I'll list the key ones out for now, but I encourage you to visit it yourself and maybe even look into the calculations and accuracy of the tool[2].

Currently, our estimated annual electricity consumption is 54.6 TWh. That's massive when you compare it to Israel's 2015 total energy consumption, 52.86 TWh. Each transaction you make with bitcoin? That's 13.6 US households that could have been powered for a day, and a potential additional 191.17 kg of CO₂ carbon footprint. EACH. TRANSACTION. Bitcoin itself is amounting for 0.24% of the world's electricity, which is staggering that we're even approaching 1% to begin with. This consumption is potentially resulting in 25,935 kt of CO₂ annually (although a portion of the power is coming from renewable sources, which reduces this number).

Sure, renewable energies are an option and there is plenty of cheap hydropower especially in regions in China, but most of the mining is coal-powered[3] and the fact that we're increasing the stress on the increasing need for sustainable practices - or, rather, the magnitude of the stress itself - is staggering.

I doubt sharing this will make much of an impact, but I want to hear your thoughts. Was I the only one too busy waving around enthusiastic posters about the ~possibilities of bitcoin~ or is there any among the community who's similarly surprised? Are there any movements or practices already being conducted within our ecosystem that's being initiated to counteract this increasing load on the environment around us?

Note: I did self-moderate this thread in case replies get spammy, but feel free to voice whatever opinions you have on this, regardless of how extreme they be. Let's hear both sides up.

Note 2: This is not me arguing against bitcoin itself, of course. This is me trying to raise discussion on things that are already going on the ecosystem that is counteracting this as well as potential ideas, so let's try to keep discussions pointed there.

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[1] https://digiconomist.net/bitcoin-energy-consumption
[2] https://digiconomist.net/bitcoin-energy-consumption#assumptions
[3] https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-01625-x