Is it possible to harm the environment when using cryptocurrency? How can electronic money be connected with nature in general? Let’s talk in more detail about the possible harmful effects and how you can reduce its amount.
It all started on May 12, 2021, when Elon Musk spoke out about the high levels of carbon dioxide emissions that are associated with bitcoin mining. After that, he refused to accept this type of currency as payment for Tesla. Then the question was raised about the non-environmental nature of the cryptocurrency mining process.
Environmental pollution. How global can it be?
What does it consist of:
- The mining process itself is a complex procedure that consumes large amounts of energy and results in huge carbon emissions.
- Approximately 70% of the dollar goes to stimulate the use of electricity. This is quite a lot compared to the same daily consumption of electricity for various services or products.
- Also, the mining process itself requires sufficiently powerful computers in large numbers, and their performance requires suitable resources to create: video cards, ASIC installations and other parts that also require energy for both mining and production. Other people, not miners, also need to upgrade their hardware to be comfortable using it, which means that it is worth counting on the wiser decisions of those who can afford to switch to something greener.
For some, this is nothing at all, compared to computer innovations, achievements in the world of science and progress in the crypto world, but let’s look at it from the side of ecology. We should not forget how important the state of nature is for all of us.
Some statistics:
Thanks to research from the University of Cambridge, it was found that bitcoin consumes so much energy per year that it would at least be enough for the whole of Argentina. Approximately 121.4 terawatt-hours will please a year. During this time, approximately 37 megatons of carbon dioxide are produced.
According to the energy meter of the same university, bitcoin mining accounts for 0.6% of the total global electricity consumption. It would seem that this is quite a bit, because the same game consoles, according to statistics, use 0.25%, but such numbers do exist.
Also, according to the measurements of Nature Communication, we can conclude with regards to the state of greenhouse effects by 2024: it will significantly increase the norm.
Many Miners are moving to other countries where the cost of energy is cheaper, which allows them to work with cryptocurrencies more. But this only stimulates greater use of energy, which is bad for the world around us.
How to prevent such terrible consequences?
Of course, it is possible to replace electricity consumption with the use of renewable sources, but this will not always lead to the desired result. In the province of Xinjiang, where a large number of mining farms were located, the replacement of electricity with solar panels brought some harm to the environment – the production of solar panels itself is not so environmentally friendly. Minecraft activity in that area was stopped.
Research by Square and ARK allows for the possibility of using solar energy for mining, but this should take into account the constant changes in the power of solar energy over time.
A mining farm in Iceland, for example, runs entirely on geothermal energy from the Svarzengi power plant.
Competition
Expert Daniel Flumkin: “many mining farms use the energy of natural gas and hydroelectric power. The impact of bitcoin on the environment can be exaggerated, as recently the cost of renewable energy is almost elective with coal-fired power plants.
Due to the fact that the topic of ecology is becoming more and more relevant every year, it can be noted that people will switch to other blockchains. News from the world of cryptocurrency you can watch on ICOholder. This site will allow you to view the changes and surges of cryptocurrencies. Convenient and easy to use. We recommend to you.
Conclusion:
Yes, the banking system, electric cars, and even New Year’s festive glowing decorations consume enough energy, that’s right. It is worth striving to improve these processes using electricity, but today we are talking about mining.
The crypto mining industry can have a negative impact on the environment, so you should carefully and competently switch to alternative sources of energy consumption. So it will be possible to make mining safer and more environmentally friendly.
It is only through the efforts of the various working sectors in our lives, which will be directed towards the greatest possible environmental performance, that we can improve the condition of our planet. It would seem that electronic money, but what an impact on nature they can actually have! Take care of yourself and nature!
