I was at the forum in Lugano and was quite surprised.
Edit: Daniel Batten at PlanB Forum in 2023, but haven’t found the video of the talk.
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Daniel Batten is a gem 
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Any other source than “bitcoinmagazine”? Otherwise it feels like asking my bank about positive effects of actively managed funds.
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Don’t be scared, you might learn something. You have four links, pick the one that you are comfortable with.
Edit: the source is the Human Rights Foundation for the first one, it is “fine” I guess
I am not scared but I have no time to “learn” from likely biased sources. Which one is the article from the Human Rights Foundation?
The first one, bitcoinmagazine.com is simply publishing the work of the HRF: https://bitcoinmagazine.com/check-your-financial-privilege/stranded-bitcoin-saving-wasted-energy-in-africa
It is a long read, you might prefer one of the video or you can ask chatgpt for a summary.
Dont wait too long to learn while we are approaching life changing gains.
I searched “why is bitcoin environmentally friendly”. Google was able to oblige with a 2 sentence summary:
“Because the Bitcoin network runs 24/7/365, it can make use of renewable energy at all hours of the day and during any season of the year. Bitcoin’s flexible demand load not only can increase revenue for green power providers but can also encourage further investment in clean energy.”
So even if you think BTC is worse then trading turds it could conceivably be the case that it is causing incremental capital to be allocated to renewable energy investments.
That incremental capital presumably comes from the person buying the BTC from the miner, who assumes they will recover the cost by selling at a higher price to the next buyer, etc.
The whole exercise would be environmentally friendly if the incremental renewable energy sources created exceed energy consumed by Bitcoin. I doubt it is the case, but maybe I am wrong and someone can explain why, in 2 sentences …
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I asked perplexity AI the same question. Pro cons. Now happy stacking or not.
The question of whether Bitcoin is environmentally friendly is complex and subject to differing perspectives. Proponents argue that Bitcoin mining can be beneficial for sustainability in several ways:
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Renewable Energy Utilization: Bitcoin mining operations can run 24/7, making them ideal consumers of renewable energy that might otherwise go to waste due to its intermittent nature. Miners are incentivized to seek out low-cost energy, which often comes from renewable sources like hydro, wind, geothermal, and solar[1].
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Monetizing Stranded Energy: Bitcoin creates a market for “stranded energy” - energy that is produced but not consumed due to its location or timing. This includes vented landfill gas and flared gas, which can be converted into electricity for mining, reducing carbon emissions and monetizing otherwise wasted resources[1].
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Supporting the Expansion of Renewable Energy: The demand from Bitcoin mining can drive investment in renewable energy infrastructure, potentially accelerating the transition to greener energy sources[1].
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Methane Emission Reduction: Some companies are capturing methane from landfills to generate electricity for Bitcoin mining, addressing the issue of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, being released into the atmosphere[1].
However, critics highlight significant environmental concerns:
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High Energy Consumption: Bitcoin mining is energy-intensive, with global operations consuming electricity comparable to that of mid-sized countries. This has raised concerns about its carbon footprint and the sustainability of such energy use[2][3][4].
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Dependence on Fossil Fuels: Despite the increasing use of renewables, a significant portion of Bitcoin’s energy mix still comes from fossil fuels, contributing to carbon emissions and other environmental impacts[2].
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Water and Land Footprint: Bitcoin mining has considerable water and land footprints, with its water usage comparable to filling over 660,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools, and its land footprint 1.4 times the area of Los Angeles during the 2020–2021 period[2].
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E-Waste: The hardware used in mining generates significant amounts of e-waste, contributing to environmental pollution[4].
In conclusion, while Bitcoin mining presents opportunities for supporting renewable energy and reducing certain emissions, it also poses substantial environmental challenges, particularly in terms of energy consumption, reliance on fossil fuels, and the generation of e-waste. The environmental impact of Bitcoin remains a contentious issue, with ongoing debates about its sustainability and the need for regulatory and technological improvements to mitigate its negative effects[1][2][3][4].
Quellen
[1] Why Bitcoin Mining Might Actually Be Great For Sustainability Why Bitcoin Mining Might Actually Be Great For Sustainability
[2] UN Study Reveals the Hidden Environmental Impacts of Bitcoin: Carbon is Not the Only Harmful By-product https://unu.edu/press-release/un-study-reveals-hidden-environmental-impacts-bitcoin-carbon-not-only-harmful-product
[3] Climate Impacts of Bitcoin Mining in the U.S. Climate Impacts of Bitcoin Mining in the U.S. | MIT Climate Portal
[4] The environmental impact of bitcoin mining explained | TechTarget The environmental impact of bitcoin mining explained | TechTarget
[5] Everything You Need To Know About Bitcoin And The Environment Everything You Need To Know About Bitcoin And The Environment
[6] Fact-Checking 8 Claims About Crypto’s Climate Impact Crypto's Climate Impact: 8 Claims, Fact-Checked | TIME
[7] Economic estimation of Bitcoin mining’s climate damages demonstrates closer resemblance to digital crude than digital gold - Scientific Reports Economic estimation of Bitcoin mining’s climate damages demonstrates closer resemblance to digital crude than digital gold | Scientific Reports
[8] Bitcoin is terrible for the environment – can it ever go green? Bitcoin is terrible for the environment – can it ever go green? | Bitcoin | The Guardian
I’m bullish for BTC and hold on on my part since 2017 (lost quite some coins because I good greedy and went into Altcoins 
) however, I do not really believe the narrative that mining helps the energy sector. Reading about the Malawi project where they mine with additional energy from heavy rain and/or flooding I seems that they would rather invest in smart electrical storage solutions, the same is true for the mining with energy from cracking which would be burnt otherwise. Also there it would be better to actually invest into smart solutions how to handle the valuable carbo-gases.
Anyway I know that it’s mainly about the gains on BTC which I agree could be quite impactful, but I don’t like the white washing on the energy consumption. I focus more on the possibility to un-bank with BTC.
And that’s it, my bitcoins are right now 101% up (I bought them in 2022)
I have also some Fetch.ai at 441% up and a few stupid DogeCoins (I don’t even know why I bought this) that are finally in the positive…
Forgetting my crpyto for 2 years was worth it… The issue now is when to sell??
What I see is that the article is written by someone who works at HRF but who at the same time is a BTC fan, judging from his homepage.
At this pace we might break ATH in USD today.
Already happened for BTC/EUR.
I see the ATH in the monthly closing tomorrow.
Yes, I was just looking at this right now. I bought them in EUR and ATH are already reached…
I think it will probably happen in the next few days… but who knows…
The point is this is still not big institutional US money. Big pension funds and family offices have a 90d waiting period for new funds/etf… NFA
So I don’t have too much time atm and so I can’t share links but I also don’t want to use AI for this.
Like @conquestador I’m bullish for BTC and while the environmental side does cause me some doubts I also believe that the narrative around it is quite biased. I mention this namely when a comparison is done with something like VISA and they just compare the energy per transaction. This is usually extremely flawed because Bitcoin’s energy is not high to make the transactions, it is high to secure the network.
So if I go to a bank and ask for the teller to withdraw some cash, the “energy cost equivalent to a bitcoin transaction” TM is not just the energy that the system used to make that transaction in the system, and to produce the bills. It needs to also include (in proportion) all the energy required to operate that bank location (electrical or otherwise).
Now, on to the question. One of the theoretical upsides is that Bitcoin creates a global purchaser of electricity. This has the downside that if country X has very cheap, fossil fuel electricity because they don’t have any environmental laws, then they are very much paid to burn fossil fuels directly. The upside is that some renewable energy projects are not economically feasible because of scale and costs.
Say you have a small town that’s very remote and as such they have difficulty in getting energy from the power grid. They use fossil fuels for this reason. They have nearby but this would only be feasible with a higher demand, maybe because the city is too small, or because this source of energy rarely produces the required amount of energy, sometimes less, sometimes more than they need. If you have a way to sell this excess energy over the internet (Bitcoin), then this project can become feasible.
I will have a look at the links shared as I concede that I do not have practical examples of this, but logically, at least to me, it makes sense.
We have peer-reviewed articles too. My point is not for anyone to read them, but we have tons of contents showing net positive brought by bitcoin miners to help with esg objectives. Tons.
From Mining to Mitigation: How Bitcoin Can Support Renewable Energy Development and Climate Action
Bitcoin’s Carbon Footprint Revisited: Proof of Work Mining for Renewable Energy Expansion
Can I come crying here to you if it doesn’t happen? 
Btc miners brings the financial incentive. There is a reason why they don’t get batteries or data centers or whatever else you can come up with. Unless you have a financial incentive, humans are not taking actions, it has always been like this and it won’t change.