In its early stages, cryptocurrency was considered a concept of niche, but it has increased by general popularity, because more and more people achieve the advantages of decentralized currencies.
But these digital currencies are delivered with environmental impacts of the real world, and energy experts and nature defenders have started to ring the alarm of the damage they can cause.
What is the extraction of cryptocurrency?
Cryptocurrency extraction involves validating and adding transactions to a large public book, or blockchain, using powerful computers that solve complex problems, which releases new cryptocurrencies in circulation. This method is called proof of work (POW) because it obliges machines to use a massive quantity of treatment power to validate the blockchain and gain network rewards.
As the non -profit organization Earthjustice explainedIt is essentially a race between “millions of computer machines” to resolve the problem first, minors using ever faster machines and more electricity to win awards as the price of the crypto increases.
Why is cryptocurrency extraction important?
The computers necessary for cryptographic exploitation use gargantuan quantities of energy. The exploitation of cryptocurrencies can use even more energy than certain countries – such as Argentina – consume in one year, professor cornell of fenngqi energy systems you said waer.
And while the industry began to feed mining installations with renewable energies, the majority still rested on dirty fuels such as oil and gas, which are both major contributors to the overheating planet.
According to a United Nations University reportThe impact on the carbon of Bitcoin farm from 2020 to 2021 is equivalent to burn 84 billion pounds of coal or to execute 190 natural gas plants. United Nations scientists said that 45% of electricity production for global Bitcoin extraction operations came from coal, while natural gas represented 21% of the network’s energy supply.
Meanwhile, only 2% and 5% of the electricity necessary for the extraction of Bitcoin comes from solar and wind energy (although these figures have probably increased since 2021).
“If the energy source, the energy source is not renewable – think of coal, think of natural gas, and so on – they are delivered with carbon footprints, they come with environmental impacts, and they come with climatic consequences, and it is not a good idea, right? saidby Waer.
Crypto extraction also has a negative impact on communities around the world. For example, residents living near a Bitcoin extraction installation in Granbury, Texas, filed a complaint against society, saying that excessive noise has caused permanent hearing loss, insomnia and other health problems. Residents of Memphis, Tennessee, have expressed concerns about how a newly open cryptography extraction center has an impact on their health and water supplies in the city, because mining operations also require huge amounts of water.
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How the cryptography industry becomes more sustainable
Some cryptocurrency platforms try to give the industry a greener reputation. The Swiss company Fedrok is investing in carbon credits, and Lightchain AI is committed to the green crypto, which it says that it realizes by adopting solar and wind energy and using artificial intelligence to reduce energy consumption.
Professor You also think that investors should be informed of the environmental impacts of the purchase of cryptocurrencies.
“But at some point I wish when someone bought a bitcoin, they also see the carbon footprint associated with specific bitcoin, right, and it’s possible” said.
If you want to invest in cryptocurrencies, consider investing in currencies that are more respectful of the environment, such as Ethereum, or Clean economy stocks who benefits the planet.
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