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>most precious and vital resource we can gather in limited supply (energy) ??? What leads one to this opinion? The problem with energy isn't that there isn't

by hoseja 4y ago

>most precious and vital resource we can gather in limited supply (energy) ??? What leads one to this opinion? The problem with energy isn't that there isn't enough of it but we're not exploiting enough of it. I want a personal fusion reactor, not a tax on existing. Why does viscerally hating cryptobros lead people to wanting to kneecap humanity forever, huddling around solar-powered heaters in winter, eating impossible soy products?

erk__ 4y ago
I think the issue here is not how we could gather energy, but how it is done currently. A lot of crypto mining runs on limited resources such as gas or oil. If we had limitless power this would not be an issue of course, but that is a dream scenario
- hoseja 4y ago
  Why are limited resources cheaper than unlimited ones? Won't the increased, focused demand for energy lead to innovation in that space?
  - erk__ 4y ago
    Because often it is cheaper to exploit the limited resources because that is what we have done for decades and already have a good infrastructure around it. There have been a lot of innovation in the area of renewables and "unlimited" resources such as solar. But it is not being driven by people needing more energy but by various regulations and now also price.
  - mort96 4y ago
    I don't think it's too interesting to talk about how oil, gas and coal are "limited resources", since we've clearly shown to be good at innovating in methods of extraction. The most interesting aspect to me isn't that we'll run out of oil/gas/coal, but that we'll have destroyed the environment through greenhouse gases long before we run out of those resources. With this analysis, it makes total sense why it would be cheap. Extracting fossil fuels is cheap and will continue to be so for a long time. The true cost of energy from oil, gas and coal is in the emissions, but those are externalities which aren't paid for by the people who use the energy. The only way increased energy demand would lead to innovation in renewables would be if those externalities were somehow made part of the cost of the energy, such as by a heavy carbon tax. But cryptobros are usually the right-libertarian types who wouldn't be in favor of that.
imtringued 4y ago
> I want a personal fusion reactor, not a tax on existing. Good, now enjoy the rest of your life fully aware that you will always be paying that tax every single year through the process known as "aging".

by hoseja 4y ago

erk__ 4y ago

I think the issue here is not how we could gather energy, but how it is done currently. A lot of crypto mining runs on limited resources such as gas or oil. If we had limitless power this would not be an issue of course, but that is a dream scenario

hoseja 4y ago
Why are limited resources cheaper than unlimited ones? Won't the increased, focused demand for energy lead to innovation in that space?
- erk__ 4y ago
  Because often it is cheaper to exploit the limited resources because that is what we have done for decades and already have a good infrastructure around it. There have been a lot of innovation in the area of renewables and "unlimited" resources such as solar. But it is not being driven by people needing more energy but by various regulations and now also price.
- mort96 4y ago
  I don't think it's too interesting to talk about how oil, gas and coal are "limited resources", since we've clearly shown to be good at innovating in methods of extraction. The most interesting aspect to me isn't that we'll run out of oil/gas/coal, but that we'll have destroyed the environment through greenhouse gases long before we run out of those resources. With this analysis, it makes total sense why it would be cheap. Extracting fossil fuels is cheap and will continue to be so for a long time. The true cost of energy from oil, gas and coal is in the emissions, but those are externalities which aren't paid for by the people who use the energy. The only way increased energy demand would lead to innovation in renewables would be if those externalities were somehow made part of the cost of the energy, such as by a heavy carbon tax. But cryptobros are usually the right-libertarian types who wouldn't be in favor of that.

imtringued 4y ago

> I want a personal fusion reactor, not a tax on existing. Good, now enjoy the rest of your life fully aware that you will always be paying that tax every single year through the process known as "aging".