Bitcoin’s Impacts on Climate and the Environment

[arthur]

Link: https://news.climate.columbia.edu/2021/09/20/bitcoins-impacts-on-climate-and-the-environment/

Globally, Bitcoin's power consumption has dire implications for climate change and achieving the goals of the Paris Accord because it translates into an estimated 22 to 22.9 million metric tons of CO2 emissions each year—equivalent to the CO2 emissions from the energy use of 2.6 to 2.7 billion homes for one year. One study warned that Bitcoin could push global warming beyond 2°C. Another estimated that bitcoin mining in China alone could generate 130 million metric tons of CO2 by 2024. With more mining moving to the U.S. and other countries, however, this amount could grow even larger unless more renewable energy is used.

Power plants such as Greenidge also consume large amounts of water. Greenidge draws up to 139 million gallons of fresh water out of Seneca Lake each day to cool the plant and discharges it some 30 to 50° F hotter than the lake's average temperature, endangering the lake's wildlife and ecology. Its large intake pipes also suck in and kill larvae, fish and other wildlife.

And even if it one day becomes possible to run all bitcoin mining on renewable energy, its e-waste problem remains. To be competitive, miners want the most efficient hardware, capable of processing the most computations per unit of energy. This specialized hardware becomes obsolete every 1.5 years and can't be reprogrammed to do anything else. It's estimated that the Bitcoin network generates 11.5 kilotons of e-waste each year, adding to our already huge e-waste problem.

We know Patchcoin can be a Bitcoin replacement. Same capabilities and coin supply, less than 1% of the energy usage.