Daniel

Original report: https://earthjustice.org/experts/mandy-deroche/how-much-do-we-subsidize-cryptocurrency-minings-electricity-use-no-one-knows This post argues that Earthjustice’s latest report on Bitcoin mining is significantly disconnected from both the scientific consensus and real-world evidence. By failing to engage with the latest research and developments, Earthjustice risks undermining efforts to leverage Bitcoin mining as a tool that benefits the environmental across a range of metrics. This […]

Yes, you read the headline correctly. A lot has changed since 2021 (better research, better data, and the greening of Bitcoin mining itself). In fact, this thesis is now supported by the scientific consensus (14 of the last 16 papers on Bitcoin and energy suggest positive environmental impacts from Bitcoin mining), a conclusion shared by

Gas peaker plants, which fire up during periods of high electricity demand, are a critical yet environmentally damaging component of many energy grids. These plants emit significant amounts of CO2, nitrogen oxides (NOx), and particulate matter, disproportionately impacting low-income communities near their locations. While there is broad consensus on the need to phase them out,

The World Bank set an ambitious goal: eliminate nearly all gas flaring by 2030. Flaring, the burning of excess natural gas during oil extraction, is a major environmental problem, releasing millions of tons of CO2e (CO2 equivalents) in the form of methane and other toxic pollutants into the atmosphere annually. The problem is, flaring only

A detailed guide I believe that the most important action that Bitcoiners can take, which is not currently being taken with enough focus/skill, is to improve the way we communicate the value of Bitcoin to the next wave of Bitcoin adopters. These people are the “early majority”. They care about different things to the early

The English word “measure” comes from the Sanskrit word “maya”. Maya refers to illusion, but also the measurable world. Bitcoin is perhaps the most important freedom technology in Maya, but it is still therefore part of the matrix, the world of things, of the measurable. While we talk of “escaping the matrix” in Bitcoin, and

One of the paradoxes I noticed about us humans over the last 15 years coaching humans – and being coached myself – is that we live in this information age, yet “lack of information” is clearly not our challenge when it comes to changing the world, or changing our world for the better. Imagine you

I am an impact investor, more recently specializing in climatetech. Before that I was I ran a technology company. These experiences gave me some insights into the challenges that all new technologies face in achieving mainstream adoption. Bitcoin currently faces this same challenge. Let’s zoom in to where the chasm could be crossed, and what

On May 2018 Alex de Vries wrote a 5 page commentary called Bitcoin’s Growing Energy Problem The word commentary is important. According to Nature commentaries are shorter, have a lighter review process and “often reflect the author’s perspective, rather than reporting new data.” De Vries’s article was a commentary… and his perspective was “We can

Saul Griffith argues that achieving a renewable energy transition will require more energy in the short term. He emphasizes the need for a substantial increase in energy production to support the electrification of various sectors and the deployment of renewable technologies. In his book “Electrify,” Griffith discusses the concept that transitioning to renewable energy sources