One problem with "waste of energy" argument is that it assumes Bitcoin the network provides no value. People compare it to centralized, closed systems and say,

One problem with "waste of energy" argument is that it assumes Bitcoin the network provides no value. People compare it to centralized, closed systems and say, "See how inefficient that is?". But what they're not calculating is the cost and suffering caused by maintaining the underlying system (fiat currency, petrodollars, geopolitics). Calculate for me the economic and human damage done if the US falls into hyperinflation and obliterates the world's reserve currency. It won't just be 350m people suffering, it will be billions. Decentralized, permissionless, censorship resistant systems suddenly seem very valuable to me.