Any infrastructure that we build, renewable or not, has an environmental impact. We have to mine resources and disturb natural habitats. If the renewable energy

Any infrastructure that we build, renewable or not, has an environmental impact. We have to mine resources and disturb natural habitats. If the renewable energy is used to replace existing fossil fuel demand, then that's a great thing. If instead we're using renewables mainly to fill new crypto mining demand, then that's a bad thing. There might be some positive impact by spurring more innovation in renewable research but I don't think it's possible to make such an analysis in a 2 paragraph Hacker News comment.