There are even more lessons in the “This Machine Greens” documentary. Could Bitcoin mining actually be a net positive for the environment? That’s their thesis. The documentary has Swan Bitcoin’s seal of approval, Enrique Posner produced it and Jamie King, of “Steal This Film” fame, directed it. In the first part of this analysis, we learned that the Bitcoin network tends to use wasted energy and goes wherever there’s cheap energy available. And renewable sources of energy are usually cheap because they’re efficient.
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What will we learn in part two? Keep reading to find out.
But first, we should let you know that “This Machine Greens’” talking heads are these heavy hitters: Lyn Alden, Alex Gladstein, Meltem Demirors, Nic Carter, Caitlin Long, Samson Mow, Magdalena Gronowska, Greg Foss, Adam Ortolf, and Hass McCook.
This Machine Greens’ Stance On Energy
- Civilization began with the discovery and mastery of fire. Which, of course, is energy.
- Money is energy. The things we use as tokens, “Exist as unforgeable proof of the time and energy spent in creating them.”
- Money is “one of the key human tools in supporting civilizational coordination and organization.”
- Bitcoin is energy.
BTC price chart for 09/17/2021 on Bitstamp | Source: BTC/USD on TradingView.com
Creating Money Is Crucial
Back to the gold is Proof-Of-Work idea that Lyn Alden proposed, the narrator tells us, “Embeded in each Bitcoin, like a bar of gold or a string of sheels, is proof that this work was done.” And Lyn Alden cuts to the chase and states the problem, “Creating money can seem like a waste to people who are not familiar with the needs that money serves.” Money increases the efficiency of ALL other transactions.
This idea goes hand in hand with the way Jordan Peterson synthesized the whole conundrum around Bitcoin’s energy consumption:
“Whatever energy is expended in the production of Bitcoin and the maintenance of the system should be more than recouped by the increased efficiency of every system that uses Bitcoin as a transactional device.” Boom! If we take that into account, “There’ll be a net energy gain and not a net energy loss if you calculated it across the entire system.”
Bitcoin Will Fund Clean Energy
According to Alex Gladstein, Bitcoin can fund the “Electrification of new areas and creation of new economic activity.“ This machine greens, if you will. And if we’re talking infrastructure for clean energy, Magdalena Gronowska breaks it down:
“It’s derisking constructions of renewable energy facilities. It’s derisking it because it’s willing to buy 24/7, 365. And when you have a predictable buyer, a predictable revenue stream, it’s easy to plan out your operations. And that certainty means that that site gets built.”
This Machine Greens Refers to Bitcoin
How does “This Machine Greens” end? With a bang. They talk about inflation in the US, something every other country in the world knows intimately, but they’re just starting to feel. And then, they go to the reasons Bitcoin is needed. Concepts that this website’s audience is very familiar with, but will fall like a ton of bricks over the head of any casual viewer.
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The documentary concludes that the conversation is actually between those who think Bitcoin is useful and those who think it isn’t. If you’re in the first camp, Bitcoin’s promises to the world far outweigh its energy consumption. Plus, it might fund the next revolution in clean energy that the planet so desperately needs. A win/ win situation.
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