TWEETSTORM: ripples from Greenpeace against Bitcoin mining
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TWEETSTORM: The ripples caused by Greenpeace's intervention against Bitcoin mining
Tweetstorm is an occasional series that brings you threads that you may have missed on the hot topics of the day. Here Lyn Urso puts the case for the defence against a recently formed anti-POS alliance.
The latest attack on bitcoin makes it clear: Bitcoin is a threat to the existing financial system and its benefactors are using climate NGOs to do their dirty work. @Ripple CEO has teamed with @Greenpeace to play on emotions of people who care about the climate. This is wrong. 1/
Climate change is the greatest crisis that humanity has faced. Blaming Bitcoin's PoW instead of the existing financial system and their addiction to fossil fuels is missing the forest for the trees. I'm calling out @Greenpeace for being complicit in this climate denialism. 2/
Together, they have a new website that promotes outright lies and debunked studies to push this climate whataboutism. In the following tweets, I will go point-by-point and show how wrong @Greenpeace is to make this devil's bargain with the very enemies we must defeat. 3/
"Recent estimates show Bitcoin uses more electricity than all of Sweden." Bitcoin a global monetary network. It secures close to 1 trillion USD. It provides a way for the most vulnerable people to protect their hard earned earnings from dictators and hyperinflation. 4/
It provides a payment platform that exists outside the financial system, so when activists are debanked (as Greenpeace activists have been in India), they can use bitcoin as a last resort. 5/
Furthermore, bitcoin's current electricity use is 0.5% of the total global electricity consumption. How much energy does the US use to protect its global monetary interests? 6/
Cambridge Center for Alternative Finance agrees that these are not apple-to-apple comparisons. "There is nothing quite like Bitcoin that can be readily used for an apples-to-apples comparison. Bitcoin is many things to many people:..." 7/
"...some consider it a new store of value in the form of a synthetic, counterparty-free commodity; others prize the underlying value transfer system that enables both payment and settlement functions in a permissionless and censorship-resistant fashion;..." 8/
...and still others are primarily drawn to the incorruptible notary function enabled by its tamper-resistant public ledger. As a result, direct comparisons to other activities that appear similar on the surface can only provide a partial – and...incomplete – picture." 9/
2) "Bitcoin alone could help warm the planet more than 2 degrees." This comes from a well-refuted study published in Nature Climate Change. In the same journal, three other publications challenged the original's dubious methodology. One group provided a clear warning... 10/
They wrote, "we argue that the Mora et al. scenarios are fundamentally flawed and should not be taken seriously by researchers, policymakers, or the public." (Masanet, et al, 2019) Why is @Greenpeace promoting this refuted study? Don't they believe in following the science? 11/
The reality is that bitcoin's energy consumption cannot be measured using per transaction estimates. PoW/mining provides security for the network, once that is met, the only additional cost comes from transaction fees. Right now, that is 1% of miner earnings. 12/
Our best estimates come from NYDIG's modeling. They project bitcoin mining/PoW emissions to peak at 0.9% of total global emissions. How can @Greenpeace promote an outrageous claim that bitcoin will push us to 2 degree C? As a climate activist & researcher, I expect better. 13/
Don't agree with the NYDIG results? Then, instead of wasting $5 million on useless ads, spend that money on scientists so they can do the real research. Let's have this battle in academic publications, where it belongs. 14/
3) "Bitcoin is resurrecting fossil fuels." There's two parts here. First, flared gas is a byproduct of fossil fuel production that is not very efficient, especially under windy conditions. More than that, flaring methane is harmful to rural and low-income communities. 15/
Flared methane causes respiratory problems, nausea, headaches, dizziness and causes pregnancy complications. It is an eyesore to the local communities. 16/
Bitcoin miners monetize the capture of flared gas, which is a 100% combustion conversion from CH4 to CO2 and H2O. This generates electricity to operate the mining equipment. 17/
While this releases CO2 emissions, this is better than releasing methane directly into the atmosphere. Methane is 84x better at trapping heat than CO2, over a 20 year period. Why is @Greenpeace trying to stop us from reducing methane emissions? 18/
The goal is not to extend the lifetime of fossil fuels, but given government inaction, we must find alternative routes to reduce emissions. The IPCC reported that 0.3 deg C of the 1.1 deg C of warming is due to methane emissions. We need to reduce these emissions NOW. 19/
Given the right local legislative environment, places like Texas could use mining as an effective tool to reduce methane emissions and even capture CO2 at the source using CCS. This is what @Greenpeace should be promoting. Real tools, right now. 20/
Yes, we have seen a few coal mines come back to life using bitcoin mining. However, this is primarily due to state-level fossil fuel subsidies/tax breaks and a failure to secure a just transition for coal miners and their communities that depend on revenue from these plants. 21/
PoS is the existing system. It makes it easy for the wealthiest to make decisions. @Greenpeace, If we are serious about environmental justice, then we must begin with economic fairness. PoW is the only protocol that guarantees this. PoS is not our friend in this fight. /end
Politicians are rigging the energy market to make coal artificially cheaper, this is the only reason why mining can work with coal. The good news is that as more renewables come online, the cheaper prices will be. Making it impossible to run a coal plant. Time is on our side. 22/
PoS is the existing system. It makes it easy for the wealthiest to make decisions. @Greenpeace, If we are serious about environmental justice, then we must begin with economic fairness. PoW is the only protocol that guarantees this. PoS is not our friend in this fight. /end
What we need is a just transition for coal miners and for their communities. Bitcoin can't solve this problem alone. We need politicians and organizations like @Greenpeace to take action. Let's work together to save our coal workers. 23/
4) "A software code change could reduce Bitcoin's energy use by 99.9%." This sounds great on face value, but it misguided. PoW is what makes bitcoin a neutral network. It secures value and prevents security providers from taking over the network. PoS does not do this. 24/
PoS is the existing system. It makes it easy for the wealthiest to make decisions. @Greenpeace, If we are serious about environmental justice, then we must begin with economic fairness. PoW is the only protocol that guarantees this. PoS is not our friend in this fight. /end
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