The Frustrating, Maddening, All-Consuming Bitcoin Energy Debate (Opinion)

In response to this article, I can only wonder how sustainable Bitcoin will prove to be over the next few years. I think the questions people are raising about efficiency and energy use are serious concerns, if not endemic of a larger oversight in the project as a whole. I'm absolutely not a Bitcoin or crypto expert, but this article strikes me more as a direct refutation than a framework for arguing against that line of reasoning. Furthermore, this line didn't quite sit well with me:

> So the next time you open an article on Bitcoin’s energy consumption, ask yourself: Would this person pass Bitcoin 101? If the answer is no, you can safely discard his or her opinion.

Like I said, I'm no Bitcoin expert, but this is a pretty dangerous thought process. I'm starting to worry that neither side will ever see eye-to-eye, and eventually cryptocurrency will pay the price for it. The blockchain is a remarkably powerful tool, but it needs to be wielded responsibly by people who can acknowledge it's shortcomings and appreciate it's power.

Pretending bitcoin energy cost is not a problem because fugitive gas in oil extraction or energy inputs to make aluminium is a bigger problem.

This is crap. Fiat currency has economic consequences but burning brown coal to make a dollar bill isn't one of them.

Bitcoin is Crypto ver. 1.0

There are better ways to do this but those invested in Bitcoin resist change in the same way that people invested in fiat resist crypto.