Bitcoin mining isn’t nearly as bad for the environment as it used to be | Hacker News Reader

Bitcoin mining isn’t nearly as bad for the environment as it used to be

cnbc.com

13 pointsfelixbraun7 comments

There are some who consider any use of electricity for Bitcoin mining to be wasteful. If you extrapolate, the problem is either, 1) They believe that they should be able to decide what electricity can be used for, or at least through the democratic process, or 2) The belief that all electricity usage is ultimately a waste - that humanity is somehow destroying the earth with every electron generated and consumed - and as humanity we must reduce electricity consumption to 0.

On point (1), New York recently tried to ban Bitcoin mining, and it failed with a combination of lobbying by the industry and the electrical unions. Support for it with politicians collapsed. This is literally the democratic process, so if it didn’t go your way, you should support it. If alternatively you want a dictator (yourself or others) to ban it because of your perceived notion of what is a “good” use of electricity, I don’t know what to tell you. Move to China?

On point (2), this is a Malthusian argument. As a society we should be happy when more energy is generated, as that shows development. The total consumption of electricity is a reflection of how developed we are. Environmentalists should promote the generation of cleaner electricity rather than the outright ban of usage.

The bottom line is, electricity should be generated and offered to the market. Your subjective opinion of what is a “good” use of electricity is meaningless, as I find video games, jacuzzis, air conditioning, and all manner of other uses of electricity a waste. So you saying Bitcoin mining is a waste is just a simple opinion.

> On point (1), New York recently tried to ban Bitcoin mining, and it failed with a combination of lobbying by the industry and the electrical unions. Support for it with politicians collapsed. This is literally the democratic process, so if it didn’t go your way, you should support it. If alternatively you want a dictator (yourself or others) to ban it because of your perceived notion of what is a “good” use of electricity, I don’t know what to tell you. Move to China?

Personally I think the proposal you're describing is ridiculous and wouldn't do much in terms of affecting climate change, but I'm confused why you hold this up as an example of democracy working.

What is literally democratic about elected officials backing down from a proposal they introduced because of pressure by affected industries?

Democracy is based on interest groups. They form around issues and pressure politicians in an organized way. Interest groups could be unions, business groups, social justice groups, or broad demographic groups that are not organized but potentially respond to messaging.

The interest groups that support Bitcoin mining have leverage with politicians because they represent a certain number of voters, political advertising and advocacy muscle, and donations to parties and candidates. This is how democracy works in every country on earth.

Democracy is rule by the population or officials the population elects.

The existence of interest groups is independent of democracy. They form in pretty much every political system on the planet, not just democratic ones.

The point I was making is in regards to people who want bitcoin mining banned - it was attempted in NY and the elected politicians folded under pressure. That is the democratic process.

You forgot option 3: that it's possible to provide the same properties as Bitcoin but using almost no energy.

But speaking of point 1, there are minimum energy-efficiency standards for tons of products from cars to light bulbs to water heaters. Making PoS the minimum standard is no different.

There are many who would disagree that PoS provides the same security guarantees as bitcoin's proof of work.

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