It's almost as if people's thoughts can change and evolve.
I honestly wonder when and how changing your mind became a bad thing.
Show me someone whose thoughts or ideas don't evolve and I'll show you someone who's wasting their life.
I honestly wonder when and how changing your mind became a bad thing.
Show me someone whose thoughts or ideas don't evolve and I'll show you someone who's wasting their life.
New information should ideally get people to re-evaluate their initial opinions about something (ideally).
And another thing which changed is that, every time the price of Bitcoin increases, it can (and will) use more power (the amount of power a Bitcoin miner uses is limited by how much power it can buy with the mining rewards, because if it used more power than that, it would be mining at a loss). There's a lot of difference between when one Bitcoin was USD 1, when it was USD 4000, and now that it's over USD 50000. Someone who was OK with how much power the Bitcoin network used back when the per-block mining reward was around USD 50, might not be OK with how much power the Bitcoin network uses now that the per-block mining reward is over USD 325000.
[citation needed]
> "If Bitcoin is so bad for using as much energy as Argentina, then we should stop using energy to stream entertainment, which we are doing now more than ever."
Until we get off fossil-fuel based electricity, all environmental arguments are going to be based off marginal utility. There's a trade-off.
I personally think that Bitcoin at best is an unregulated financial market and at worst fake internet money. The fact mining contributes to more energy consumption than entire countries is worrying to me. It's a problem that's only going to get worse.
On the other hand, let's look at your argument about streaming entertainment. Currently plugged into my house, I have 2 TVs and 4 computer monitors. I use these to stream entertainment (among other things). Is it wasteful? Yeah, but entertainment is necessary for a balanced life and mental well-being.
Are my 6 screens wasteful? To some extent, although most of that waste is a byproduct of manufacturing where the 'off' button doesn't turn my screens off; it just puts then in a sleep mode which consumes power. So all 6 screens consume some amount of electricity 24 hours a day. This is a problem which should be fixed.
This is a problem with most modern appliances. It contributes to enough excess energy consumption that it even has its own name--vampire electricity.
You see? People can have critiques of both at the same time. But even if you take all the vampire electricity my appliances consume, it's still a drop in the bucket compared with what it takes to mine fake internet money.
I also put my money where my mouth is! I drive electric and charge only at my employer, which uses 100% solar. I don’t eat meat. I shop at package free groceries. I eat as much local food as possible. I don’t stream movies or music.
We exist, my friend, but that’s besides the point. There are no saints in systems as complex as energy. You can only take aim at the big stuff and hope you can make an impact.
Bitcoin is entirely unnecessary, unlike eating and driving. Participating is a choice. And it’s a bad choice.