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Another Reason to Avoid Cryptocurrency
@Tarahman via Unsplash
The standard reasons to avoid cryptocurrency are known to many of us, including its volatility, the speculation involved in its rise and fall, and lack of intrinsic value. One you may not know about is the adverse environmental impact of the industry on New York and the Northeast, and indeed, the world.
Cryptocurrency “mining” is an energy-intensive process requiring ever increasing electric power generation as the value of the coins increases. According to the NY Times (reference below), yearly creation of Bitcoin requires about 91 terawatt-hours of electricity annually, comparable to the annual use by the 5.5 million inhabitants of Finland. A terawatt-hour is a unit of energy equal to outputting one trillion watts for one hour.
The concept of “mining” is difficult to understand, and revolves around how cryptocurrency creates an electronic payment system not based on banks and other regulatory organizations. The network of users maintains all records of transactions and mining rewards those aiding in managing the vast virtual ledger. And this is where energy comes in to the equation. Mining one coin in 2009 used a few seconds of electricity on a home computer when Bitcoin was worth little. Today, with a Bitcoin worth about $17,000 (down from $50,000 in 2021) it requires about 9 year’s worth of electricity supplied to a typical home.
This seemingly insatiable appetite for electric power is adversely impacting NY in a number of ways. A power generating plant on Lake Seneca in the Finger Lakes region discharges warm water into the lake, changing the ecology, affecting fishing, wildlife and recreational opportunities. Most of the plant’s output from fossil fuel generated electricity is used for crypto mining and adds to air pollution in the region. Indeed, some plants have been purchased by investors solely to generate power for crypto and use highly polluting waste coal as a fuel source. In many cases, rate payers in those communities subsidize crypto mining, pay more for their own electricity needs, and are charged with environmental cleanup costs. The Sierra Club and EarthJustice report that CO2 emissions increased by 479% in the first year of mining operations at Seneca Lake.
Two days before Thanksgiving, New York Governor Hochul signed landmark environmental legislation, the first of its kind in the nation, that declares a 2 year moratorium on new cryptocurrency mining installations that rely on carbon-based fuels for energy generation. The bill requires “completion of a comprehensive generic environmental impact study of cryptocurrency mining operations using proof-of-work methodology in the State of New York in the context of the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA) goals established in statute in 2019” before permits are issued. Please thank the Governor for this and her support of NY’s environment at 1-518-474-8390.
The Fortistar North Tonawanda gas powered power plant on the Niagara Frontier north of Buffalo, previously run only when the grid was at capacity, has been gearing up to run full time to supply cryptocurrency mining needs, threatening the environment in several nearby environmental justice areas. There is opposition developing to the continued operation of that plant. Advocates say that the Governor should finish the job begun with the recent signing and shut down crypto mining in NY altogether.
Steven J Goldstein MD: SJG34@Cornell.edu
Learn more here:
https://earthjustice.org/sites/default/files/files/energy_bomb_bitcoin_white_paper_101322.pdf
Carbon Neutrality and The Dangers of Cooking with Gas
credit: RMI.org
Working for the health and welfare of future generations is a tenet of medical practice, and also a guiding principle for those working to ensure a healthy planet and environment for those coming after us.
Looking to the future, a transition away from the use of fossil fuels to power our homes, businesses, heating, cooling, and cooking is already underway. New York is among those states leading the way to minimize the effects of climate change. New York’s Climate Scoping Plan, adopted in December 2022 as a roadmap to achieve NY’s climate goals, includes a commitment to achieve carbon neutrality, with a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions of 40% by 2030 and 85% by 2050 from 1990 levels. According to Wikipedia, “Carbon neutrality is a state of net-zero carbon dioxide emissions. This can be achieved by balancing emissions of carbon dioxide with its removal or by eliminating emissions from society.”
Heat pumps are a cost efficient way to heat and cool and the latest generation of pumps are a great advance over models from years ago, using less electricity and keeping spaces comfortable year-round in both hot and cold climates. The Scoping Plan’s vision for the buildings sector by 2050 sees 85% of homes and commercial building space statewide electrified, with thermal energy and heat pump technology replacing fossil fuel based heating and cooling.
The Scoping Plan and the recently passed NY Environmental Bond Act have built in incentives and rebates to achieve these goals. Becoming familiar with these issues as they roll out may benefit not only the planet, but your pocketbook as well. A green transition will also greatly benefit school children, and programs to upgrade energy systems in schools and to support the purchase of electric non-polluting school buses are already underway.
The transition away from another fossil fuel, natural gas, may be hastened by two recent studies. The first study, from California, and in the national news this past October, demonstrated that natural gas stoves release benzene, a known cancer-causing agent into the home environment as well as nitrogen oxide and tiny particles that are associated with lung disease. The other more recent study, released in December, details the substantial effects of gas stoves on asthma incidence in the United States.
When it is time to upgrade or replace your appliances, be sure to consider the environment, health, and incentives and rebates in your planning.
Read more here:
Climate Scoping Plan: https://climate.ny.gov/resources/scoping-plan/
Env. Bond Act: https://www.nysut.org/news/2022/december/green-bond-act
Gas Stoves: https://bit.ly/3jLuNmL
Steven J Goldstein MD
