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The article is from 2019, so its claims about Ethereum are outdated. But even so:

> We start by collecting data on emission rates… for four pollutants commonly created by burning fossil fuels to produce energy

Wait, why focus on fossil fuels alone?

And why focus on cryptocurrency specifically? Did they produce a similar study for e.g. entertainment?

Also, did I miss the part where the impact of traditional mining is estimated and compared? I can’t find anything about the headline’s claim in the body of the article.

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I'm sure my coal miner grandfather who had Black Lung would disagree.
Not that I agree or disagree about the article or your comment but the point is that physically mining hurt only the workers and the local ecosystem while the crypto mining hurt humanity as a whole by the way of global warming.
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According to this chart: https://ethereum.org/en/energy-consumption/ It's 21 TWh/yr, on par with use of Google.

Alex de Vries (VU Amsterdam)calculates that by 2027 the AI sector could consume between 85 to 134 terawatt hours each year. About the same as the annual energy demand of de Vries’ home country, the Netherlands. https://www.cell.com/joule/fulltext/S2542-4351(23)00365-3

So just another global "app", google, netflix, ethereum. Hopefully combined they also give us the solution to the energy crisis or the climate issues faster.

Fusion now: https://www.marathonfusion.com/technology

How much does the Ukraine-Russia war cost extra in energy? Claude Sonnet says:

14.58 TWh per year. This is likely a significant underestimate, as it doesn't account for all aspects of military operations. The actual figure could be several times higher, potentially in the range of 30-100 TWh.

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