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I really like Bitcoin as a technology and as a statement of decentralized control, but I really hate the power consumption - which is becoming increasingly hard

by jl6 6y ago

I really like Bitcoin as a technology and as a statement of decentralized control, but I really hate the power consumption - which is becoming increasingly hard to ignore. How do we kill it?

JumpCrisscross 6y ago
> How do we kill it? Isn't the root problem the dirtiness of our (and specifically, China's) power generation? If not, if power usage is a problem per se to someone, aren't there better targets?
- jl6 6y ago
  Energy is such a huge and all-encompassing problem that we need to pull on all the energy levers we have - more sources, cleaner sources, safer sources, more storage, lower losses in distribution, greater efficiency in consumption, smarter allocation of consumption...
op03 6y ago
The answer is always Competition. Pitting one bunch of mindlessly ambitious lunatics against another bunch of mindlessly ambitious lunatics is Natures way of reducing the odds of everyone going extinct - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Queen_hypothesis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Queen_hypothesis
gher-shyu3i 6y ago
Why kill it? Embrace it. The power consumption is solved by renewables.
- jl6 6y ago
  It isn’t, because there’s no cap on it. Cover the planet in solar panels and Bitcoin still might consume more.
  - gremlinsinc 6y ago
    Realize Bitcoins are horrible, get govts to ban it in favor of Ethereum once it gets POS and all the layer 2 stuff. Maybe POW coins could fork together into some sort of side chain on Ethereum so they retain their current values, but move completely to PoS instead. It'd probably be best if the thought leaders of Bitcoin based coins joined forces with the DAO's running Ethereum and figure a way to preserve the most "wealth" locked up in bitcoin while migrating to Ethereum chains.
DougN7 6y ago
I wonder how it compares to all the power used for the Super Bowl (at the stadium, transportation, broadcasting, viewing, creating commercials, etc)

by jl6 6y ago

I really like Bitcoin as a technology and as a statement of decentralized control, but I really hate the power consumption - which is becoming increasingly hard to ignore. How do we kill it?

JumpCrisscross 6y ago

> How do we kill it? Isn't the root problem the dirtiness of our (and specifically, China's) power generation? If not, if power usage is a problem per se to someone, aren't there better targets?

jl6 6y ago
Energy is such a huge and all-encompassing problem that we need to pull on all the energy levers we have - more sources, cleaner sources, safer sources, more storage, lower losses in distribution, greater efficiency in consumption, smarter allocation of consumption...

op03 6y ago

The answer is always Competition. Pitting one bunch of mindlessly ambitious lunatics against another bunch of mindlessly ambitious lunatics is Natures way of reducing the odds of everyone going extinct - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Queen_hypothesis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Queen_hypothesis

gher-shyu3i 6y ago

Why kill it? Embrace it. The power consumption is solved by renewables.

jl6 6y ago
It isn’t, because there’s no cap on it. Cover the planet in solar panels and Bitcoin still might consume more.
- gremlinsinc 6y ago
  Realize Bitcoins are horrible, get govts to ban it in favor of Ethereum once it gets POS and all the layer 2 stuff. Maybe POW coins could fork together into some sort of side chain on Ethereum so they retain their current values, but move completely to PoS instead. It'd probably be best if the thought leaders of Bitcoin based coins joined forces with the DAO's running Ethereum and figure a way to preserve the most "wealth" locked up in bitcoin while migrating to Ethereum chains.

DougN7 6y ago

I wonder how it compares to all the power used for the Super Bowl (at the stadium, transportation, broadcasting, viewing, creating commercials, etc)