US Lawmakers Call for More Oversight of Cryptocurrency’s Environmental Impacts – Bitcoin News

Twenty-three U.S. lawmakers have referred to as on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to extend oversight of cryptocurrency’s environmental impacts. “We request that the EPA consider ‘Proof-of-Work’ mining amenities’ compliance with environmental statutes,” they mentioned.

Lawmakers Want More Oversight of Bitcoin Mining Industry

U.S. Representative Jared Huffman (D-CA) and 22 different Congress members collectively despatched a letter to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael Regan relating to cryptocurrency mining operations Wednesday.

The congressman from California is the chair of the United States House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water, Oceans and Wildlife. He can also be a member of the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis.

The letter calls for “elevated oversight of cryptocurrency’s environmental impacts,” Rep. Huffman’s workplace introduced Thursday. In their letter, the lawmakers described:

We have severe considerations relating to stories that cryptocurrency amenities throughout the nation are polluting communities and are having an outsized contribution to greenhouse fuel emissions.

Among different claims, the lawmakers asserted that Proof-of-Work (PoW) mining contributes to “vital greenhouse fuel emissions” and “ends in main digital waste challenges because of the extremely specialised and short-lived computing {hardware} wanted to safe the community.” They careworn, “The trade must be held accountable for this waste and discouraged from creating it.”

The Congress members additionally identified that “Less energy-intensive cryptocurrency mining applied sciences, similar to ‘Proof-of-Stake’ (PoS), can be found.”

Noting that communities round cryptocurrency mining amenities “have reported vital noise air pollution,” the lawmakers emphasised that “It is critically vital that the EPA makes use of these authorities to adequately shield communities throughout the united statesbeing disrupted by these cryptocurrency amenities.” They concluded:

We request that the EPA consider ‘Proof-of-Work’ mining amenities’ compliance with environmental statutes, such because the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act, and have interaction with the communities when reviewing permits.

“Further, we ask that the EPA examine and handle any hurt these current PoW amenities are inflicting communities,” the lawmakers added.

Many of the claims relating to bitcoin’s environmental impacts have been debunked. Ark Invest, for instance, has defined a number of occasions that bitcoin mining is internet constructive for the surroundings, and considerations in regards to the cryptocurrency’s vitality consumption are misguided. Furthermore, Galaxy Digital printed a report in May final 12 months exhibiting that the banking system makes use of considerably extra vitality than bitcoin.

In January Coinshares printed a report exhibiting that bitcoin’s mining infrastructure accounts for 0.08% of the world’s carbon dioxide manufacturing in the present day. The firm additional famous that “Usage of vitality is a contentious and much-misunderstood perform of the Bitcoin financial system.”

Earlier this month, superstar investor Kevin O’Leary mentioned that “bitcoin mining goes to avoid wasting the world.”

Tags on this story
Bitcoin mining, Carbon Emissions, carbon footprint, crypto mining, cryptocurrency mining, environmental impacts, fuel emissions, greenhouse fuel emissions, oversight of crypto mining, air pollution, proof of stake mining, proof of work mining

What do you concentrate on U.S. lawmakers in search of elevated oversight of cryptocurrency’s environmental impacts? Let us know within the feedback part beneath.

Kevin Helms

A pupil of Austrian Economics, Kevin discovered Bitcoin in 2011 and has been an evangelist ever since. His pursuits lie in Bitcoin safety, open-source programs, community results and the intersection between economics and cryptography.

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