The demand response is paying major energy users to turn off their operations. To me, that sounds like Bitcoin miners are claiming squatters rights on the grid where they're saying, we're here and we're going to use all this energy, but if you pay us, we'll turn it off. And to me, that's not a valuable activity or something that should be applauded. No one's going to stop mining Bitcoin. The entire point of creating a solid technology such as Bitcoin is specifically because it is so incredibly secure.
Studies estimate that global bitcoin mining uses more electricity than most countries, and that bitcoin mining may be responsible for about 65 megatons of carbon dioxide a year, comparable with the emissions of Greece. Some bitcoin operations are bringing old coal plants back on line, even as lobbyists for the bitcoin mining industry argue that mining operations can have a positive impact on the climate by creating more demand for carbon-free power. But even if all of the power were derived from green sources, is bitcoin mining really the best use of renewable electricity?
This episode features a report by multimedia journalist Lily Jamali of the public radio program Marketplace, who takes us inside a crypto mining facility in upstate New York.
Guests:
Rolf Skar, Senior Advisor, Greenpeace USA
Brittany Kaiser, Chair of the Board, Gryphon Digital Mining
Thomas Cmar, Senior Attorney, Earthjustice
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