OPINIONATED: Facts and Misinformation About ‘Green Bitcoin,’ With Jonathan Koomey

This week, “Opinionated” co-hosts Ben Schiller, Anna Baydakova and Danny Nelson are talking to Jonathan Koomey, researcher and book author.

This episode is sponsored by PumaPay.io.

Koomey, the author of “Turning Numbers into Knowledge: Mastering the Art of Problem Solving” and “Cold Cash, Cool Climate: Science-Based Advice for Ecological Entrepreneurs,” spent a lot of time studying and debunking the current narrative around bitcoin’s impact on the environment. 

In 2019, he conducted a study for CoinCenter, titled “Estimating Bitcoin Electricity Use: A Beginner’s Guide,” where he separates real numbers from baseless assumptions. Koomey likes to run numbers and he’s indifferent to bitcoin, so he stays cool above the raging fire of the bitcoin climate debates. 

How much electricity does bitcoin actually consume? Is it a lot, and compared to what? What are the most reliable sources of actual numbers? Is buying carbon offsets a good way to make your bitcoin “green”? 

Listen as Anna, Ben and Danny discuss these complicated topics with Jonathan.  

Jonathan Koomey’s Twitter handle is: @jgkoomey.

Materials mentioned in this episodes:

Jonathan Koomey’s research for CoinCenter: “Estimating Bitcoin Electricity Use: A Beginner’s Guide”Jonathan Koomey’s books: “Turning Numbers into Knowledge: Mastering the Art of Problem Solving” and “Cold Cash, Cool Climate: Science-Based Advice for Ecological Entrepreneurs”Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance: Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index (CBECI) Danny Cullenward and David G. Victor, Making Climate Policy Work

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