Fair enough, the energy usage is an order of magnitude higher (but other proof of stake cryptos with fewer validators do run on a much leaner network, though I'

Fair enough, the energy usage is an order of magnitude higher (but other proof of stake cryptos with fewer validators do run on a much leaner network, though I'm not saying this is necessarily a good thing) From your own link though, with the current usage of the Solana network, a transaction consumes about as much energy as a google search. Not exactly something worth drawing out the energy pitchforks over.