5 ms·
(Ported from the duped thread [1]) I think it's kind of good that these absurd scenarios involving Bitcoin are driving people (in the larger sense of companies
by quadrifoliate 5y ago
(Ported from the duped thread [1])
I think it's kind of good that these absurd scenarios involving Bitcoin are driving people (in the larger sense of companies and governments) towards more environmental awareness.
If you think about it, the entire system is just as absurd as Bitcoin. Business pollute the environment we live in, and then get to brag to shareholders about "delivering value", "increased revenue margins", and "efficiency" that they later get rewarded by the stock market for.
The green company that makes a slightly lower profit, but takes care of the environment falls out of the index to be replaced by the polluter that either does the bare minimum, or actively breaks laws and treats fines as the cost of doing business. The market rewards rapacity over environmentalism.
Well, Bitcoin is even more efficient, it's directly burning coal and converting it into money that the market will also pay for!
The (hopefully) good outcome of this is that it will drive corporations and governments to take a breath, and formulate policies that prioritize the long-term health of the environment over short term priorities like jobs and the economy.
-------------------------------
[1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27749932 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27749932
- mistrial9 5y ago+1 here on this analysis ; four or five decades of stupid capital investment and population explosion plus plastics -- no contest ! I literally mean this.
- rightbyte 5y agoBitcoin has commodified wasting resources for money.
- mirekrusin 5y agoProof-of-Waste (PoW) is quite accurate.
- ohhhhhh 5y agoSaying it's a waste is like putting a moral qualifier on the use of energy - and for the purpose and affect that this decentralized monetary system can have on the world is definitely worth it in my eyes. People dont make a fuss about using 2 clothes dryers and 24/7 christmas lights that use more energy, but hey that's an approved use of energy.
- rightbyte 5y agoLuckily Christmas lights lit 24/7/52 don't generate xmas-coins. Morals or not. We will see if Ethereums "proof of stake" will be able to solve anything.
- AnthonyMouse 5y agoAnd if you solve the general problem, you solve the specific problem. Is this a story if there is a carbon tax and as a result the profit-maximizing activity is to mine Bitcoin by building wind turbines?
- swiley 5y agoThis. Bitcoin mines were not the first to dump heat into natural bodies of water, but their number makes the damage and need for regulation obvious.