Harvard University Research: Bitcoin Mining Intensifies PM2.5 Air Pollution, Should BTC Take the Blame?

A recent study led by Harvard University experts showed that because bitcoin miners in the United States rely on the electricity provided by fossil fuel power plants, this indirectly increases the pollutants emitted by these power plants, which not only exacerbates the pressure on environmental issues, but also has the characteristics of cross-regional transmission. But is Bitcoin really fully responsible? (Synopsis: Japan's TEPCO plans to use excess electricity to mine bitcoin: successful profits will introduce more green energy mining) (Background supplement: AI is an electricity-eating monster!) Sam Altman is optimistic that "fusion power generation" will bring energy breakthroughs) One of the long-standing criticisms of bitcoin opponents is the pressure on energy caused by bitcoin mining. According to a recent Harvard-led study, "The Environmental Burden of the Bitcoin Mining Boom in the United States," bitcoin mining companies in the United States rely on fossil fuel power plants for electricity, which indirectly increases the pollutants emitted by these power plants, such as carbon dioxide, fine particulates (PM2.5) and other harmful pollutants. Study: Air pollution will spread across regions Research notes that about 1.9 million Americans were affected by air pollution between August 2022 and July 2023 alone, the study said. Researchers compiled data from the 34 largest bitcoin mining farms in the United States and concluded that operating bitcoin mining farms in one state will indirectly increase the pressure on power generation in another state, resulting in more emissions of pollutants from power plants in that state, which will affect the environment in multiple states: For example, the electricity consumed by a mine in North Carolina will indirectly put more pressure on a coal-fired power plant in Kentucky, which in turn will affect Illinois' air quality, and local residents will have no direct recourse against the mine or power plant. However, the author believes that the study directly accuses Bitcoin of too one-sided pollution to the environment. Bitcoin is energy neutral First of all, Bitcoin mining itself does not care whether you burn coal or use water, as long as the electricity is enough, the mine does not need to blow air conditioning in the center of the city, but will move to places with excess energy. For example, Iceland's hydroelectric and geothermal power plants have long been a gathering place for miners, and the natural gas burning (flaring) phenomenon in Texas in the United States has long been a concentration of miners: bitcoin mining farms will also take in these gases that would otherwise be emitted and turn waste into treasure. As early as January last year, Bloomberg and other foreign media also reported that more than 54% of the energy consumed by bitcoin mining has come from renewable energy, including hydro, wind and solar energy. In a 2023 report, the Bitcoin Mining Council (BMC) also reported that the sustainable energy adoption rate of bitcoin mining worldwide has been higher than that of some traditional industries, such as banking or gold mining. In terms of regions, the use of green energy has also been improved in mining activities in the United States, Canada, Iceland and other places: North America: The United States and Canada have a high rate of green energy utilization due to the improvement of renewable energy infrastructure. For example, companies such as Hut 8 and Bitfarms use a lot of hydropower in Quebec, Canada. Iceland: Nearly 100% geothermal and hydroelectric power is used, making it a hot spot for green mining. Read more: International Energy Agency: Virtual Currency Mining, AI and Data Center "Global Electricity Consumption" Likely to Double by 2026 Read more: "Bitcoin mining helps solve the energy crisis" Arcane Report: Balancing the Regenerative Grid, Recovering Waste Heat for Heating Bitcoin's Actual Carbon Footprint < Global Financial System On the other hand, have you ever heard people criticize Visa, Goldman Sachs, the world's big banks for their carbon emissions? The global financial system, gold mining, currency printing, money trucks, and financial transaction servers consume several times more energy and carbon emissions than Bitcoin, but they are not examined with a magnifying glass because they are difficult to quantify. According to a report by Galaxy Digital 2021, Bitcoin mining emits approximately 60–70 Mt CO₂e per year, while traditional finance and gold mining emit a total of 500–900 Mt CO₂e. Overall, Bitcoin is not perfect, but its energy source is transparent, optional, and it is gradually moving towards green energy. The AI computing power center is an electric monster Moreover, the world's current hot AI computing power center is also an electric monster, but people have not stopped the pace of developing AI. According to public information, the current power consumption of data centers in the United States accounts for about 3.5% to 4% of the country's electricity consumption, although not all of it is consumed by AI-related operations (including training and inference stages), but this part is still the core part of data center power consumption. With the popularity of generative AI, the power demand for AI data centers is expected to grow rapidly. According to Goldman Sachs research, by 2030, the total electricity consumption of data centers may account for 8% of US electricity, of which AI-related electricity consumption may account for 19% of data center electricity, which is estimated to be about 1.5% to 2% of the national electricity. Of course, we can't give up landscape protection just because of industrial development. What government agencies should think about is how to ensure development while providing comprehensive supporting measures to encourage industries to use green energy and reduce pollution, and ultimately achieve the ideal of carbon reduction or even zero carbon emissions. Related stories Bitcoin Green Mining! Marathon tests to mine BTC KPMG certification with dump "renewable energy": Bitcoin pollution is overestimated! Mining can transform energy and reduce carbon emissions: Bringing new ESG possibilities Bloomberg: Iceland is a mecca for Bitcoin mining! There is abundant renewable energy, electricity prices are not inflationary (Harvard University study: Bitcoin mining exacerbates PM2.5 air pollution, BTC should be behind the pot? This article was first published in BlockTempo's "Dynamic Trend - The Most Influential Blockchain News Media".