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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
by 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 agoWhy are limited resources cheaper than unlimited ones? Won't the increased, focused demand for energy lead to innovation in that space?
- erk__ 4y agoBecause 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 agoI 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.