There is a horrific waste of resources devastating the environment that has gone on for far too long without detection.
Hundreds of thousands of computer servers running almost 24/7, hundreds of thousands of people driving to work, burning energy on their development machines. Hundreds of billions of dollars spent on making products (and wasting energy) to support this industry, which then must be transported, wasting more energy.
We must ban this scourge: entertainment!
This entertainment industry (TV shows, movies, podcasts, video games, etc. used primarily for entertainment) adds nothing and is unproductive.
/s
But not totally sarcasm. Maybe bitcoin isn't truly solving all the problems we hoped it could. Perhaps those problems will be solved by a better version, maybe Ethereum or some other cryptocurrency.
Let's not kid ourselves into thinking that energy isn't wasted in other parts of the economy. What's a "legitimate" use of energy? I think most Americans, generally protective of individual rights, would say let the market decide.
If Americans want to pay for TV shows, let the entertainment industry burn energy to give it to them.
If Americans want to buy/sell/transfer Bitcoin, whether to watch their "investment" go up and down in value, or for some other reason, let them.
This also means that our efforts to replace non-renewable sources of energy are being wasted as we are just adding capacity to bitcoin mining network. When you are paying your taxes and subsidize "green" energy know that part of your subsidy just goes to shit.
I think you're right, it's difficult to imagine the scale.
Let's also look at something else: the US department of defense:
"...The U.S. military also produced more greenhouse gases than Morocco, Peru, Hungary, Finland, New Zealand and Norway. According to the research from Brown University, the Pentagon would be the world's 55th largest CO2 emitter if it was a country..." [0]
I think reasonable people could disagree as to whether or not all those emissions were worth it. The point is that many people think the U.S. military is by and large a complete waste of resources analogous to the waste of the Bitcoin network.
If we're going to condemn Bitcoin, let's condemn all the other resource and energy wastes out there.
You can't get rid of military unless you want to become completely defenseless and open to conquer.
Peace is a temporary equilibrium where nobody profits from starting hostilities. Nobody profits from starting hostilities because they know it is going to cost them.
If you are not being robbed or beaten or raped that is because there is police and government that can ensure anybody doing this faces good chance of paying high price for this.
Between governments this is done with a prospect of war but that prospect only exists if there is military to back it up.
Just go and ask China or Russia to reduce their military efforts. See what comes out of it.
Hundreds of thousands of computer servers running almost 24/7, hundreds of thousands of people driving to work, burning energy on their development machines. Hundreds of billions of dollars spent on making products (and wasting energy) to support this industry, which then must be transported, wasting more energy.
We must ban this scourge: entertainment!
This entertainment industry (TV shows, movies, podcasts, video games, etc. used primarily for entertainment) adds nothing and is unproductive.
/s
But not totally sarcasm. Maybe bitcoin isn't truly solving all the problems we hoped it could. Perhaps those problems will be solved by a better version, maybe Ethereum or some other cryptocurrency.
Let's not kid ourselves into thinking that energy isn't wasted in other parts of the economy. What's a "legitimate" use of energy? I think most Americans, generally protective of individual rights, would say let the market decide.
If Americans want to pay for TV shows, let the entertainment industry burn energy to give it to them.
If Americans want to buy/sell/transfer Bitcoin, whether to watch their "investment" go up and down in value, or for some other reason, let them.