A very clear tell that climate is being used as a convenient weapon to attack power rather than being considered as an actual problem to solve is focusing on computing (datacenters etc) as opposed to obviously bigger things like manufacturing, transportation, and HVAC.
Conversation
Replying to
I’ve seen one Guardian article about that, and a bunch of climate activists saying that Guardian article is ridiculous. Are you seeing a broader trend?
1
Replying to
Unfortunately, yes. It was particularly big a couple of years back when some tediously bad faith comparisons of bitcoin mining energy use to the energy use of countries were doing the rounds. It was coming up in every damn conversation. Ahead of things like coal for example.
1
3
Replying to
That struck me as an additional axis for an existing antipathy toward bitcoin. I only ever saw it brought up in conversations about bitcoin, never in conversations about the climate crisis and how to address it.
1
Replying to
It came up in a few high level official energy/climate meetings I was in, that had nothing to do with bitcoin 🙂
Replying to
Fair enough. I’m mostly taking issue with the “rather than” in your original statement. I don’t think it follows that the entire issue is exclusively being used as a cudgel against tech.
1
Replying to
Oh definitely not, only the ones who focus on tech. Most climate activism is sincere and focuses on meaningful things like EVs and renewable energy. That may have been ambiguous.
2

