Despite its name, the infrastructure used by the “cloud” accounts for more global greenhouse emissions than commercial flights. In 2018, for instance, the 5bn YouTube hits for the viral song Despacito used the same amount of energy it would take to heat 40,000 US homes annually.
Large language models such as ChatGPT are some of the most energy-guzzling technologies of all. Research suggests, for instance, that about 700,000 litres of water could have been used to cool the machines that trained ChatGPT-3 at Microsoft’s data facilities.
Additionally, as these companies aim to reduce their reliance on fossil fuels, they may opt to base their datacentres in regions with cheaper electricity, such as the southern US, potentially exacerbating water consumption issues in drier parts of the world.
Furthermore, while minerals such as lithium and cobalt are most commonly associated with batteries in the motor sector, they are also crucial for the batteries used in datacentres. The extraction process often involves significant water usage and can lead to pollution, undermining water security. The extraction of these minerals are also often linked to human rights violations and poor labour standards. Trying to achieve one climate goal of limiting our dependence on fossil fuels can compromise another goal, of ensuring everyone has a safe and accessible water supply.
Moreover, when significant energy resources are allocated to tech-related endeavours, it can lead to energy shortages for essential needs such as residential power supply. Recent data from the UK shows that the country’s outdated electricity network is holding back affordable housing projects.
In other words, policy needs to be designed not to pick sectors or technologies as “winners”, but to pick the willing by providing support that is conditional on companies moving in the right direction. Making disclosure of environmental practices and impacts a condition for government support could ensure greater transparency and accountability.
If you could hold your breath long enough to get out of your first world bubble, you would be able to see that bitcoin is massively popular amongst people who need ways to escape their collapsing fiat currencies. It is hilarious how spoiled people who happen to be born in countries where everything is taken care of them are too thick and compationless to even consider that other people have actual problems.
Is that why you use it? Because of your collapsing fiat currency?
I’m lucky enough to be from a country with a relatively stable fiat currency, although it is unclear how much longer that will be the case. In order to protect the value I’ve gained from my work, I do hold some of it in Bitcoin. I also use it to support charitable efforts in less fortunate countries. It is an excellent way to transfer value to exactly who I want to transfer it to without giving massive fees to banks and other companies that facilitate the transfer of funds.
A big thing to remember is that whenever you hold any countries currency, you are basically giving them a blank check to your energy. You are telling them that they can have as much of the value that you have saved that they want. When they print more money, they are taking that value directly from you. It is one thing to pay taxes on income, property, and goods purchased and sold, but on top of that, they have the ability to extract extra value from you just by running their printers. The more you believe that a government represents you and has your best wishes at heart, the more you should be holding their currency.
So you lecture me about a bubble I supposedly live in/a lack of perspective for other groups - you know nothing about me by the way - and then prop up someone else’s theoretical problem/solution to make your point even though as far as you know we are both probably pretty privileged?
I’m not saying you have to only pull from your own lived experience, but you have to understand why this makes me raise an eyebrow given the unwarranted finger pointing happening here. It’s not white knighting so much as using other people’s problems that you don’t experience as a cudgel to win an internet argument between two people who don’t have skin in the game. That doesn’t sit right with me and I don’t want to participate.
I have lived in countries like what I’ve described and spent much time with people who are from there, and I financially support people from such places. I see nothing wrong with sharing their situation with people who think they know everything about how a technology is used when they clearly do not.
Yes, I assume you and others are from privileged societies based on your perspective and the things you say. Sometimes, it is very obvious when people have lived their lives in very specific environments.
The way you come across is as someone who doesn’t see any use in getting to know people from societies very different from your own. Simultaneously, you want to feel like you have the correct way of seeing the world, and anyone who sees it differently must be malicious and playing some sort of trick on you. Whenever you feel like you have it all figured out, that’s when you should be looking for your blind spot.
You ever think you project a lot on others?
No no see he has lived among the common people that one spring break, he alone can advocate for their interests. Eat, Pray, Love is basically about him. He is enlightened now.
Not me alone. I can’t advocate for them as well as they can for themselves. It must drive you nuts that so many people stand up for the Gazans.
Wow you really are just flinging shit at the wall and seeing what sticks aren’t you?
Some of us have actually seen stun grenades go off and had their cameras broken by police officers. Don’t even try to convince me you’ve been there with me. After all, sometimes it’s very obvious when people have lived their lives in very specific environments. Right?
It’s not obvious. You think it’s obvious. You know very little about me or where I have lived, learned, etc. This patronizing tone is undeserved and frankly, you can go pound sand.
If you lived or have been around people struggling with collapsing currencies, then you wouldn’t be so naive and bitter towards the solutions that many are using.
👍
tbh if you’re worried about fiat currency, you shouldn’t be investing in crypto currency (which is even more volatile imo) but instead in real, physical assets (such as food and housing).
Then again, i believe that the big problems can only be solved by repairing the society as a whole. Investing in your own wealth, imo, isn’t worth it. But your choice is yours.
Almost nobody who has ever purchased bitcoin and held onto it until now has lost anything*. This is not the case for ANY fiat currency on earth. There is a very good reason that so many people are flocking to it as a store of value. Holding value in real estate is a good idea, but most food loses its value even faster than the worst fiat currencies.
*The exception here is a small handful that happened to have purchased only in the last few weeks, and they have only lost about 1% of their value.
That part of your argument is doing a lot of heavy lifting.
Not that heavy - this is much more than can be said of any fiat currency. Especially the ones that are in rapid collapse compared to the main players, like USD or EUR. A currency that can hold value is the difference of being able to feed your family or not for a lot of people.
Oh it’s you. Enjoy your weekend.
Thanks! You too!
Oh my God that’s hilarious that you are just making up a strawman of it being helpful for reasons you don’t even use.
What a weird libertarian crypto shill perspective that is so absolutely unhelpful for anyone.
Just so you know, you are entirely misunderstanding what the term “strawman” is used to refer to. In general, it will make you at least appear to be intelligent if you use words in the proper context.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Straw_man
I didn’t set up any opposing point of view to argue with. No matter what your view on this issue is, that simply isn’t what I’ve done in this situation.
Despite the fact that we are on different sides of an issue, I was still able to help you with something that may prevent you from looking stupid in the future. See how that works? Someone doing something to help someone other than themself.
Nah.
You created your own fake argument for crypto currency despite not using it that way and not being the conversation when it’s about energy use.
You built your own strawman. Of an imaginary person that is benefiting in a way that makes you feel better.
You are also condescending. It doesn’t make you right in an argument it makes you self assured and self serving. Looks like I was helpful too.
They are not imaginary. There are millions of them. I’ve met many of them, and so can you if you ever decide that people from poorer countries are worth your time.
And again, that simply isn’t what a strawman is. Read the link. Everything else aside, you are not using that word in the way people use it. It is as if you are insisting French people say “bone apple tea” before they eat, and then you are calling my condescending for letting you know that you misheard it. I understand it can be hard to admit when you were mistaken, but quite frankly, it will end up causing less harm to your ego in the long run if you do.
You are just full of slightly wrong information aren’t you.
That is what a straw man is. It’s an argument that you make up for the purpose of having an easy win. You even keep making emotional attacks to belittle your opponent. You are making Ad Hominem attacks to make me seem completely out of touch with poor people when I am one but you don’t know cause you didn’t ask and assumed.
Literally an example is getting bribed and buying a dog and when people complain about the bribe you say people don’t like dogs but you do.
Also a “Bone Apple Tea” is when someone says something like “as the Japanese say Sorry-naw-ra” you are wrong goodbye.
I understand that Bone Apple Tea is a different type of mistake then what you are making. I was just pointing out that you were misunderstanding something, and when someone corrects you, you get defensive instead of trying to learn.
Someone said crypto has no use, I pointed out that for millions of people, it does have a use. You may not like this fact, but that doesn’t make the response invalid.
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