Crypto-currenc$y

Crypto. It's seemingly getting bigger and bigger but is it good or bad? Is it very smart or environmentally friendly? Even Elon Musk and Tesla invested 1.5 million into Bitcoin recently I heard on a webpage. It seems there are a lot of good ideas and things coming/already here such as VecChain (VET) and other "technologies/blockchains". I almost got started mining bitcoins back in 2015 but decided against it because of the greenhouse gas emissions I would have been emitting and putting continuous strain on a power grid powered by a coal powered fossil fuel plant (in Lawrence, KS).

The energy use of crypto is my main topic this morning -- while looking at reviews of Nvidia's new RTX 3060 video card (PC gaming, is an energy intensive and bad, somewhat evil pasttime of mine (could instead be helping myself or others more)) and seeing that Ethereum mining is such a big deal right now apparently. So here's some articles on the topic.

https://earth.org/are-cryptocurrencies-harming-the-environment/

Very good one: https://jsis.washington.edu/news/the-political-geography-and-environmental-impacts-of-cryptocurrency-mining/

https://www.cato.org/blog/why-bitcoin-not-environmental-catastrophe

http://www.digitaljournal.com/tech-and-science/technology/just-how-bad-for-the-environment-is-bitcoin-mining/article/562377

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2017/12/bitcoins-insane-energy-consumption-explained/

A more recent and good article: https://www.coindesk.com/can-bitcoin-survive-the-climate-change-revolution Good links in this one as well, especially the CEO of Black Rock and his message - what is with all these seemingly evil (possibly, I don't know for certain) companies saying they are going all green etc.? other than, probably or seemingly to me anyway it's like "Okay, yup, climate change is real, people are coming to this (correct) conclusion and getting mad. I suppose it's time for us to change our position and outward projection to the world because government's, people, reality - is true and we don't want to be left out (of profits) in the changing economy".

...I was thinking of starting to invest in some crypto currency myself but I'm not sure if I want to if the cost per transaction are so crazy high (read a few of the articles) and environmentally destructive. Why do we need to create such crazy systems that are just made up by some person or person's that always have to be based on so called "real things" when humans ourselves constantly live, learn, create, innovate etc.? But I'm just a dude, I don't know that much.

I understand that for the system to be "legitimate" and "above" all nation-states and decentralized currency, that it must be backed by something. They do this through video cards blasting through and running algorithimic code 24/7 - "mining". Thats the bad and stupid thing in my opinion. When things could just be wrote on a piece of paper. But there's no value to that written word and plan (bitcoin plan of mining and topping out eventually after reaching so many bitcoins). It's still just made up and based on a fossil fuel backed system, which is off the real system - that is, reality - which is unfair in the first place because everyone does not have the same resources and access to resources - i.e. it favors the rich. Which it does - as the rich or people with money are the ones who are able to invest (in servers for example), to move wherever they choose, etc.

"The States are powerless" seems to be true in that, money is what rules the world. China is definitely on the up and up while the U.S. in my opinion, needs a large shift towards sustainability development in our own country (education, food system, and infrastructure for example). I don't know...our world is complex and things are happening fast, time seemingly speeding up, faster and faster. I just hope things turn out okay for the world at large and want to do good work and be happier in my life. Things will get better for me, I believe anyway, and it's okay and fine, but hopefully the world can end up in a decent spot along with human rights, democracy and freedom.

Update - some videos :

Less important ones but still good:

Need to watch: