How Can Cryptocurrency Clean Up Its Act?

Cryptocurrency has many benefits, but currently comes at a high energy cost -- and a huge, negative environmental impact. Learn what the industry is doing about it in this episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/conservation/issues/cryptocurrency-climate-change-news.htm

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of I Heart Radio.
Hey brain Stuff, Lauren Vogle bomb here. There's a lot
of buzz these days about cryptocurrencies, a sort of private
sector digital version of money that's protected from theft by
cryptography and counted through blockchain technology, which creates a multitude
of digital ledgers on computers scattered far and wide. In

(00:26):
addition to being used to buy things, cryptocurrencies can be
bought or sold by investors. In April, according to CNBC,
the global market for cryptocurrencies groot over two trillion dollars
for the first time ever, with Bitcoin, the biggest digital asset,
accounting for more than half of that value. But scientists

(00:47):
and others worry that Bitcoin and these other cryptocurrencies might
pose a danger to the planet. And that's because their
blockchains require computers all over the planet to solve complex
equation in order to verify transactions. Using your computer to
help pull this off is called mining, and it can
be lucrative because the people who do it earn cryptocurrency

(01:10):
as a reward. The problem, critics say, is that all
of those calculations needed to solve the equations cumulatively consume
large amounts of electricity. Bitcoin already uses a hundred and
forty nine point six three taro watt hours a year,
more than entire countries such as Malaysia and Sweden, according

(01:31):
to the Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index. Microsoft co founder
Bill Gates recently told journalist Andrew Ross Sorkin that bitcoin
quote uses more energy per transaction than any other method
known to mankind. It's difficult to determine exactly how much
of that electricity is generated by burning coal and gas,

(01:52):
whose emissions contribute to climate change, but since nearly two
thirds of the world's total electricity is produced by energy
plants that use fossil fuels, it's not hard to imagine
that some cryptocurrencies increasingly could contribute to climate change. A
study published in the journal Nature Climate concluded that the
growth of bitcoin could produce enough emissions by itself to

(02:15):
raise global temperatures by about three and a half degrees
fahrenheit or two degrees celsius as soon as twenty three,
though other researchers have argued that this projection over estimates
the problem, and while any contribution towards climate change sounds scary,
even that studies lead author Camilo Mora seems hopeful that

(02:36):
the problem of cryptocurrencies energy consumption can be remedied before
things get to that point before the article. This episode
is based on How Stuff Works. Spoke by email with Mora,
who's an associate professor in the Department of Geography and
Environment at the University of Hawaii at Manoah. He said,
the cryptocurrencies are here to stay. This is a technology

(02:57):
that provides several benefits and there is clearly a huge
public appetite for it. As a scientist studying this, one
obviously gets very concerned over the environmental impact of technologies
that are not ready for showtime. However, I am positive
that just as other technologies, there is room for positive change.

(03:18):
More thinks that like other technologies, cryptocurrencies will evolve. It
wasn't that long ago that cell phones, for example, were bulky,
expensive bricks instead of the affordable gadgets that we slip
into our pockets every day. More cites several emerging cryptocurrencies,
including Stellar and Tron, that he says have less environmental

(03:38):
impact than Bitcoin, and he believes that in general they'll
all have smaller ecological footprints in the future. Some new
cryptocurrencies strive to consume less energy by employing alternative methods
such as proof of steak, which allows a minor to
validate transactions on the blockchain based upon the number of
coins that the minor holds instead of by halving an equation.

(04:02):
Another potential solution is to transition cryptocurrency networks away from
energy sources that contribute to climate change. As the Cambridge
Index website notes, alternative energy sources such as solar and
wind already produce enough energy to power the entire bitcoin
network nine times over. To that end, thirty five companies
and individuals who are involved in cryptocurrency, finance, energy, and

(04:25):
prominent non governmental organizations have formed the Cryptoclimate Accord or
c A, which aims to make the cryptocurrency industries energy
consumption a dent renewable by how stuff Works also spoke
via email with Doug Miller. He's the global markets lead
for Chord Participant Energy Web, a global nonprofit that develops

(04:48):
and distributes open source software for energy companies that supports
the use of clean energy, the tracing of carbon emissions,
and integration of distributed energy resources such as home rooftop
solar panel. He said, we are tackling this by developing
various open source solutions that make it easier for crypto
mining facilities, exchanges, and investors and holders to procure renewables

(05:12):
based on the measured or estimated energy use associated with
their crypto related activities. He pointed out that there is
variation in the energy consumption of different cryptocurrency blockchain systems
and that not all of them are as energy intensive
as bitcoin. He said, Nevertheless, the c c A isn't
entering conversations around promoting one consensus protocol over another since

(05:36):
we're focused on decarbonizing the entire sector as fast as possible.
The central aim of the c c A is to
turn all crypto related energy use into a source of
new renewable energy demand so we can accelerate investments in
additional renewable energy facilities. In other words, we see the
cryptosector as an important and emerging renewable energy buyer class.

(05:59):
Miller continued, We also plan to gather input from various
stakeholders and researchers to provide guidance around whether and how
additional measures should be implemented so that the sector can
fully decarbonize and provide an example for other industries to follow. Also,
on a side note, Elon Musk announced on May twelve

(06:21):
one that test Slope is no longer accepting bitcoin until
he's sure it can be produced sustainably. But to keep
cryptocurrency network's energy use in perspective, it's important to realize
that those often plugged in but often inactive electronic gadgets
and appliances in our homes are even more voracious users
of electricity. The Cambridge Index's website estimates that the electricity

(06:44):
consumption of such vampire devices over the course of a
year is enough to power the global bitcoin network for
one point nine years. Today's episode is based on the
article cryptocurrency has a huge, huge negative impact on climate
change on how stuff works dot com, written by Patrick J.

(07:04):
Keider brain Stuff. This production of I Heart Radio in
partnership with how stuff works dot Com and is produced
by Tyler Klang. Four more podcasts. For my heart Radio,
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