1 00:00:01,920 --> 00:00:04,320 Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of I Heart Radio. 2 00:00:06,240 --> 00:00:09,800 Speaker 1: Hey brain Stuff, Lauren Vogle bomb here. There's a lot 3 00:00:09,840 --> 00:00:13,440 Speaker 1: of buzz these days about cryptocurrencies, a sort of private 4 00:00:13,440 --> 00:00:16,480 Speaker 1: sector digital version of money that's protected from theft by 5 00:00:16,520 --> 00:00:21,720 Speaker 1: cryptography and counted through blockchain technology, which creates a multitude 6 00:00:21,720 --> 00:00:26,119 Speaker 1: of digital ledgers on computers scattered far and wide. In 7 00:00:26,160 --> 00:00:29,800 Speaker 1: addition to being used to buy things, cryptocurrencies can be 8 00:00:29,880 --> 00:00:34,720 Speaker 1: bought or sold by investors. In April, according to CNBC, 9 00:00:35,280 --> 00:00:39,040 Speaker 1: the global market for cryptocurrencies groot over two trillion dollars 10 00:00:39,120 --> 00:00:42,720 Speaker 1: for the first time ever, with Bitcoin, the biggest digital asset, 11 00:00:42,920 --> 00:00:47,640 Speaker 1: accounting for more than half of that value. But scientists 12 00:00:47,680 --> 00:00:51,479 Speaker 1: and others worry that Bitcoin and these other cryptocurrencies might 13 00:00:51,600 --> 00:00:54,960 Speaker 1: pose a danger to the planet. And that's because their 14 00:00:55,000 --> 00:00:59,400 Speaker 1: blockchains require computers all over the planet to solve complex 15 00:00:59,400 --> 00:01:03,800 Speaker 1: equation in order to verify transactions. Using your computer to 16 00:01:03,840 --> 00:01:06,640 Speaker 1: help pull this off is called mining, and it can 17 00:01:06,680 --> 00:01:10,080 Speaker 1: be lucrative because the people who do it earn cryptocurrency 18 00:01:10,200 --> 00:01:14,560 Speaker 1: as a reward. The problem, critics say, is that all 19 00:01:14,600 --> 00:01:18,880 Speaker 1: of those calculations needed to solve the equations cumulatively consume 20 00:01:19,160 --> 00:01:23,520 Speaker 1: large amounts of electricity. Bitcoin already uses a hundred and 21 00:01:23,520 --> 00:01:26,440 Speaker 1: forty nine point six three taro watt hours a year, 22 00:01:27,160 --> 00:01:30,959 Speaker 1: more than entire countries such as Malaysia and Sweden, according 23 00:01:31,000 --> 00:01:35,800 Speaker 1: to the Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index. Microsoft co founder 24 00:01:35,800 --> 00:01:39,680 Speaker 1: Bill Gates recently told journalist Andrew Ross Sorkin that bitcoin 25 00:01:39,880 --> 00:01:43,640 Speaker 1: quote uses more energy per transaction than any other method 26 00:01:43,880 --> 00:01:49,200 Speaker 1: known to mankind. It's difficult to determine exactly how much 27 00:01:49,200 --> 00:01:52,520 Speaker 1: of that electricity is generated by burning coal and gas, 28 00:01:52,560 --> 00:01:56,800 Speaker 1: whose emissions contribute to climate change, but since nearly two 29 00:01:56,840 --> 00:01:59,919 Speaker 1: thirds of the world's total electricity is produced by energy 30 00:02:00,000 --> 00:02:03,080 Speaker 1: plants that use fossil fuels, it's not hard to imagine 31 00:02:03,080 --> 00:02:07,760 Speaker 1: that some cryptocurrencies increasingly could contribute to climate change. A 32 00:02:07,800 --> 00:02:12,080 Speaker 1: study published in the journal Nature Climate concluded that the 33 00:02:12,120 --> 00:02:15,520 Speaker 1: growth of bitcoin could produce enough emissions by itself to 34 00:02:15,639 --> 00:02:18,480 Speaker 1: raise global temperatures by about three and a half degrees 35 00:02:18,560 --> 00:02:22,519 Speaker 1: fahrenheit or two degrees celsius as soon as twenty three, 36 00:02:22,760 --> 00:02:26,240 Speaker 1: though other researchers have argued that this projection over estimates 37 00:02:26,320 --> 00:02:32,240 Speaker 1: the problem, and while any contribution towards climate change sounds scary, 38 00:02:32,720 --> 00:02:36,360 Speaker 1: even that studies lead author Camilo Mora seems hopeful that 39 00:02:36,400 --> 00:02:40,120 Speaker 1: the problem of cryptocurrencies energy consumption can be remedied before 40 00:02:40,160 --> 00:02:43,800 Speaker 1: things get to that point before the article. This episode 41 00:02:43,800 --> 00:02:46,480 Speaker 1: is based on How Stuff Works. Spoke by email with Mora, 42 00:02:46,800 --> 00:02:49,560 Speaker 1: who's an associate professor in the Department of Geography and 43 00:02:49,680 --> 00:02:53,360 Speaker 1: Environment at the University of Hawaii at Manoah. He said, 44 00:02:53,639 --> 00:02:57,200 Speaker 1: the cryptocurrencies are here to stay. This is a technology 45 00:02:57,280 --> 00:03:00,520 Speaker 1: that provides several benefits and there is clearly a huge 46 00:03:00,600 --> 00:03:04,640 Speaker 1: public appetite for it. As a scientist studying this, one 47 00:03:04,760 --> 00:03:09,079 Speaker 1: obviously gets very concerned over the environmental impact of technologies 48 00:03:09,080 --> 00:03:12,880 Speaker 1: that are not ready for showtime. However, I am positive 49 00:03:12,960 --> 00:03:16,720 Speaker 1: that just as other technologies, there is room for positive change. 50 00:03:18,160 --> 00:03:22,959 Speaker 1: More thinks that like other technologies, cryptocurrencies will evolve. It 51 00:03:23,000 --> 00:03:26,080 Speaker 1: wasn't that long ago that cell phones, for example, were bulky, 52 00:03:26,120 --> 00:03:29,480 Speaker 1: expensive bricks instead of the affordable gadgets that we slip 53 00:03:29,560 --> 00:03:34,280 Speaker 1: into our pockets every day. More cites several emerging cryptocurrencies, 54 00:03:34,360 --> 00:03:38,360 Speaker 1: including Stellar and Tron, that he says have less environmental 55 00:03:38,400 --> 00:03:42,280 Speaker 1: impact than Bitcoin, and he believes that in general they'll 56 00:03:42,320 --> 00:03:46,840 Speaker 1: all have smaller ecological footprints in the future. Some new 57 00:03:46,880 --> 00:03:51,320 Speaker 1: cryptocurrencies strive to consume less energy by employing alternative methods 58 00:03:51,360 --> 00:03:54,000 Speaker 1: such as proof of steak, which allows a minor to 59 00:03:54,080 --> 00:03:57,160 Speaker 1: validate transactions on the blockchain based upon the number of 60 00:03:57,200 --> 00:04:00,840 Speaker 1: coins that the minor holds instead of by halving an equation. 61 00:04:02,040 --> 00:04:06,040 Speaker 1: Another potential solution is to transition cryptocurrency networks away from 62 00:04:06,160 --> 00:04:10,160 Speaker 1: energy sources that contribute to climate change. As the Cambridge 63 00:04:10,160 --> 00:04:14,160 Speaker 1: Index website notes, alternative energy sources such as solar and 64 00:04:14,240 --> 00:04:17,560 Speaker 1: wind already produce enough energy to power the entire bitcoin 65 00:04:17,640 --> 00:04:21,919 Speaker 1: network nine times over. To that end, thirty five companies 66 00:04:21,920 --> 00:04:25,800 Speaker 1: and individuals who are involved in cryptocurrency, finance, energy, and 67 00:04:25,920 --> 00:04:30,800 Speaker 1: prominent non governmental organizations have formed the Cryptoclimate Accord or 68 00:04:30,920 --> 00:04:34,800 Speaker 1: c A, which aims to make the cryptocurrency industries energy 69 00:04:34,880 --> 00:04:41,000 Speaker 1: consumption a dent renewable by how stuff Works also spoke 70 00:04:41,120 --> 00:04:44,320 Speaker 1: via email with Doug Miller. He's the global markets lead 71 00:04:44,400 --> 00:04:48,520 Speaker 1: for Chord Participant Energy Web, a global nonprofit that develops 72 00:04:48,520 --> 00:04:52,200 Speaker 1: and distributes open source software for energy companies that supports 73 00:04:52,240 --> 00:04:55,280 Speaker 1: the use of clean energy, the tracing of carbon emissions, 74 00:04:55,320 --> 00:04:59,240 Speaker 1: and integration of distributed energy resources such as home rooftop 75 00:04:59,279 --> 00:05:03,839 Speaker 1: solar panel. He said, we are tackling this by developing 76 00:05:04,000 --> 00:05:07,279 Speaker 1: various open source solutions that make it easier for crypto 77 00:05:07,320 --> 00:05:12,000 Speaker 1: mining facilities, exchanges, and investors and holders to procure renewables 78 00:05:12,040 --> 00:05:15,120 Speaker 1: based on the measured or estimated energy use associated with 79 00:05:15,160 --> 00:05:19,400 Speaker 1: their crypto related activities. He pointed out that there is 80 00:05:19,520 --> 00:05:23,960 Speaker 1: variation in the energy consumption of different cryptocurrency blockchain systems 81 00:05:24,000 --> 00:05:26,600 Speaker 1: and that not all of them are as energy intensive 82 00:05:26,640 --> 00:05:31,119 Speaker 1: as bitcoin. He said, Nevertheless, the c c A isn't 83 00:05:31,279 --> 00:05:36,239 Speaker 1: entering conversations around promoting one consensus protocol over another since 84 00:05:36,240 --> 00:05:40,160 Speaker 1: we're focused on decarbonizing the entire sector as fast as possible. 85 00:05:40,880 --> 00:05:42,800 Speaker 1: The central aim of the c c A is to 86 00:05:42,880 --> 00:05:46,159 Speaker 1: turn all crypto related energy use into a source of 87 00:05:46,279 --> 00:05:49,919 Speaker 1: new renewable energy demand so we can accelerate investments in 88 00:05:49,960 --> 00:05:53,839 Speaker 1: additional renewable energy facilities. In other words, we see the 89 00:05:53,880 --> 00:05:58,400 Speaker 1: cryptosector as an important and emerging renewable energy buyer class. 90 00:05:59,680 --> 00:06:03,280 Speaker 1: Miller continued, We also plan to gather input from various 91 00:06:03,320 --> 00:06:07,559 Speaker 1: stakeholders and researchers to provide guidance around whether and how 92 00:06:07,600 --> 00:06:10,719 Speaker 1: additional measures should be implemented so that the sector can 93 00:06:10,760 --> 00:06:17,400 Speaker 1: fully decarbonize and provide an example for other industries to follow. Also, 94 00:06:17,520 --> 00:06:20,239 Speaker 1: on a side note, Elon Musk announced on May twelve 95 00:06:21,040 --> 00:06:24,120 Speaker 1: one that test Slope is no longer accepting bitcoin until 96 00:06:24,160 --> 00:06:28,360 Speaker 1: he's sure it can be produced sustainably. But to keep 97 00:06:28,360 --> 00:06:32,799 Speaker 1: cryptocurrency network's energy use in perspective, it's important to realize 98 00:06:32,839 --> 00:06:36,200 Speaker 1: that those often plugged in but often inactive electronic gadgets 99 00:06:36,200 --> 00:06:39,760 Speaker 1: and appliances in our homes are even more voracious users 100 00:06:39,800 --> 00:06:44,200 Speaker 1: of electricity. The Cambridge Index's website estimates that the electricity 101 00:06:44,240 --> 00:06:46,839 Speaker 1: consumption of such vampire devices over the course of a 102 00:06:46,920 --> 00:06:49,960 Speaker 1: year is enough to power the global bitcoin network for 103 00:06:50,040 --> 00:06:58,120 Speaker 1: one point nine years. Today's episode is based on the 104 00:06:58,200 --> 00:07:01,719 Speaker 1: article cryptocurrency has a huge, huge negative impact on climate 105 00:07:01,800 --> 00:07:04,560 Speaker 1: change on how stuff works dot com, written by Patrick J. 106 00:07:04,680 --> 00:07:07,400 Speaker 1: Keider brain Stuff. This production of I Heart Radio in 107 00:07:07,440 --> 00:07:09,720 Speaker 1: partnership with how stuff works dot Com and is produced 108 00:07:09,760 --> 00:07:12,720 Speaker 1: by Tyler Klang. Four more podcasts. For my heart Radio, 109 00:07:12,920 --> 00:07:15,720 Speaker 1: visit the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever 110 00:07:15,760 --> 00:07:17,160 Speaker 1: you listen to your favorite shows.