Show Description:

If you’re like most, you’ve likely heard that cryptocurrencies are all the rage, are growing rapidly, and have become a significant force in financial markets across the globe. And if you’re like most people, you also probably don’t understand exactly what cryptocurrencies are and how they’re created or “mined.”

Join HealthyPlanet’s Bob DiBenedetto for a discussion with Earthjustice’s NY Policy Advocate, Elizabeth Moran on the climate/environmental impacts of cryptocurrencies.

In addition to providing a 101 course on these new currencies, this discussion reveals how “proof of work” cryptocurrency mining (used by Bitcoin) is highly energy-intensive to the point that it’s threatening our efforts to reduce our collective carbon footprint on a global scale. For example, according to the Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index, Bitcoin already consumes more energy than the whole of Argentina, with a population of 45 million. 

Tune in to hear:

•What cryptocurrency “mining” is and how these currencies compare to credit cards, standard currencies and other forms of payment.

• What “proof of work” crypto mining is and how alternative mining methods can reduce the process’s energy consumption by more than 99%–while performing the same function! 

• How crypto mining is growing in NY State, and why many environmental groups are now petitioning for a moratorium on its growth until the risks can be fully assessed.

• How just one cryptocurrency operation can create more electronic waste than an entire iPhone.

• How entire fossil fuel-burning power plants are being taken out of mothballs to power the electricity demands of cryptocurrency mining.

• How crypto mining in NY State may be threatening jobs in some of our largest upstate industries.

and much more…

 (SEE BELOW FOR USEFUL “RELATED LINKS AND RESOURCES”)

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About Elizabeth Moran:

Liz Moran is Earthjustice’s New York Policy Advocate. She brings to the organization a decade of experience organizing communities and advocating for bold environmental policies in the halls of Albany.

Prior to joining Earthjustice, Liz served as the Environmental Policy Director with the New York Public Interest Research Group (NYPIRG). There, she led the organization’s campaigns on fighting climate change, protecting water quality, and reducing solid waste. Before returning to NYPIRG, Liz worked at Environmental Advocates of New York as their Water & Natural Resources Director from 2014 to 2018. In that capacity, she led the organization’s advocacy efforts on fracking, water pollution, land use and conservation, and invasive species issues.

Over the course of her career, by working alongside impacted communities, her efforts have led to numerous victories, including the creation of New York’s multibillion dollar Clean Water Infrastructure Act, the adoption of New York’s drinking water standards for PFOA, PFOS, and 1,4-dioxane, the closure of New York’s hazardous waste loophole for oil and gas waste, and more.

Follow Liz Moran: Twitter @LizAGMoran, Facebook @liz.moran.71.

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