April, 05 2023, 12:49pm EDT
Proof of problems: Bitcoin mining's pollution devastates communities across the U.S.
Exclusive EWG report on bitcoin's backyard blight supports calls to 'change the code'
Electricity-intensive mining of the cryptocurrency bitcoin harms communities across the U.S. with air, climate, waste, water and noise pollution, a new Environmental Working Group investigation finds.
Bitcoin mining uses a power-hungry computing method known as “proof of work” – a process that is inherently wasteful because of the huge amounts of energy needed for it to succeed.
The new report features interviews with residents, environmental advocates and others in six states, revealing the widespread blight bitcoin mining inflicts in their backyards. In Georgia or North Carolina, noise pollution ruins homeowners’ quality of life. In Montana and Kentucky, carbon and other emissions impair air quality. In Pennsylvania, dirty coal waste powers bitcoin mining operations, and in New York, bitcoin mining relies on a natural gas plant critics say is contaminating their water and air.
“This report vividly shows how proof of work crypto-mining operations are contributing to increased air, water and noise pollution in many communities across the U.S.,” said EWG Policy Director and report co-author Jessica Hernandez.
“It amplifies the voices of those who are fighting to save their homes and livelihoods from the bitcoin mines invading their communities,” Hernandez said. “The industry cannot continue to turn a blind eye to the real-world harm it is causing or greenwash the problem away.”
EWG’s report bolsters its calls to “change the code, not the climate” and to encourage the bitcoin community to self-innovate away from proof of work to another mining process that doesn’t create these problems. Change is possible, as demonstrated when ethereum – the world’s second largest cryptocurrency – switched to “proof of stake” last year, another way of mining that requires about 99 percent less electricity than proof of work.
Major banks and other institutions that are investing in bitcoin can also play a part, using their financial decision-making to help encourage changes in mining practices. For example, if Fidelity Investments, which has been mining bitcoin since 2014, dropped support for proof of work, it would have a sizable impact on the push for cleaner cryptocurrency mining.
“Speaking with people around the country has been eye-opening in revealing the extent of the problems that bitcoin mines are causing in communities,” said EWG Editor in Chief and report co-author Anthony Lacey. “It’s hard to learn of these stories and not ask why bitcoin miners can’t change their code to be better neighbors.”
EWG’s report offers a human interest view of the problems bitcoin mining foists on communities throughout the U.S., following a landmark report released by Earthjustice and Sierra Club last year that focused on the technical aspects of the industry’s negative impacts.
EWG and Greenpeace USA launched a national campaign, Change the Code, Not the Climate, in March of 2022 to shed light on the electricity and climate implications of bitcoin mining and its effect on U.S. climate goals. Learn more about the campaign here.
The Environmental Working Group is a community 30 million strong, working to protect our environmental health by changing industry standards.
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IEA Says 'Unprecedented' Clean Energy Surge Has Kept Key Warming Target Alive
"The pathway to 1.5 °C has narrowed in the past two years, but clean energy technologies are keeping it open," said International Energy Agency executive director Fatih Birol.
Sep 26, 2023
The International Energy Agency said Tuesday that the rapid acceleration of clean energy growth worldwide has kept the Paris climate accord's critical 1.5°C warming target alive for now—but warned the continued burning of fossil fuels poses a dire threat to efforts to stave off the worst of the planetary crisis.
In a new report, the IEA noted that the adoption of clean energy technology has "surged at an unprecedented pace over the last two years," with solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity additions growing by close to 50% and electric car sales rising by 240%.
"This progress reflects cost reductions for key clean energy technologies—solar PV, wind, heat pumps, and batteries—which fell by close to 80% on a deployment-weighted average basis between 2010 and 2022," according to the IEA's report.
Fatih Birol, executive director of the IEA, said in a statement that "the pathway to 1.5°C has narrowed in the past two years, but clean energy technologies are keeping it open."
"With international momentum building behind key global targets such as tripling renewable capacity and doubling energy efficiency by 2030, which would together lead to a stronger decline in fossil fuel demand this decade, the COP28 climate summit in Dubai is a vital opportunity to commit to stronger ambition and implementation in the remaining years of this critical decade," Birol added.
The IEA's report comes on the heels of a record-hot summer that saw catastrophic extreme weather events across the globe—disasters that scientists say will increase in frequency and intensity if world leaders don't take immediate action to phase out planet-warming fossil fuels.
The World Meteorological Organization warned in May that there's a 66% chance that, over the next five years, global temperatures will rise beyond 1.5°C of warming above pre-industrial levels for at least a year.
"The time for a swift, equitable, and fully funded phase-out of fossil fuels is now, with rich countries moving first and fastest."
In its new report, the IEA makes clear that despite some encouraging progress, nations—particularly the wealthy countries most responsible for fossil fuel emissions—aren't doing nearly enough to curb their polluting activities and transition to renewable energy.
The report finds that global carbon dioxide emissions from the energy sector "remain worryingly high," hitting a new record last year. Additionally, the report observes that fossil fuel demand and investments in supply have increased, "spurred by the energy crisis of 2022 after Russia's invasion of Ukraine."
"The energy sector is changing faster than many people think, but much more needs to be done and time is short," the IEA said Tuesday. "Momentum is coming not just from the push to meet climate targets but also from the increasingly strong economic case for clean energy, energy security imperatives, and the jobs and industrial opportunities that accompany the new energy economy. Yet, momentum must be accelerated to be in line with the 1.5°C goal and to ensure that the process of change works for everyone."
If nations don't rapidly scale up their climate ambitions, the IEA warned, keeping warming below 1.5°C by the end of the century would require "massive deployment" of unproven carbon removal technologies.
"This report reaffirms a stark truth: To limit global temperature rise as agreed upon internationally, there's no room for new oil, gas, or coal fields," Kelly Trout, research director of Oil Change International, said in a statement Tuesday. "The time for a swift, equitable, and fully funded phase-out of fossil fuels is now, with rich countries moving first and fastest and paying their fair share to finance a global just transition."
"As countries prepare to make serious climate commitments at COP28," Trout added, "they must take into account the unequivocal evidence that the shift away from fossil fuels must happen, and it must happen fast."
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Fetterman to Return Menendez Donation... in 'Envelopes Stuffed With $100 Bills'
"The jorts-and-hoodie senator has the only rational anti-corruption position here, while all the fancy-suit senators complaining about dress codes but saying nothing about Menendez now look ridiculous," said one journalist.
Sep 25, 2023
In addition to calling for U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez's resignation over federal bribery charges, Sen. John Fetterman is planning to return $5,000 that the New Jersey Democrat gave to Pennsylvania Democrat's 2022 campaign.
"We are in process of returning the money," Fetterman spokesperson Joe Calvello toldThe Messenger on Monday, "in envelopes stuffed with $100 bills."
While a Menendez spokesperson did not respond to the outlet's request for comment, the embattled senator—who on Friday temporarily stepped down as chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee—was defiant on Monday in response to demands for him to resign from the chamber, publicly saying that "not only will I be exonerated, I will still be New Jersey's senior senator."
"Think of the ink spilled and beds wet about how John wearing a Dickies shirt and shorts will destroy the decorum of the Senate, but yet no one can muster calling for Menendez to resign."
Menendez and his wife are accused accepting bribes in the form of "cash, gold, payments toward a home mortgage, compensation for a low-or-no-show job, a luxury vehicle, and other things of value" in exchange for helping three businessmen and the Egyptian government.
According to the indictment unsealed Friday, federal agents who raided the Menendez home found various pieces of possible evidence, including "over $480,000 in cash—much of it stuffed into envelopes and hidden in clothing, closets, and a safe."
Fetterman on Saturday was the first senator to join a growing number of House Democrats and Democratic New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy in calling for Menendez—who is up for reelection next year—to resign now.
Menendez is "entitled to the presumption of innocence under our system," Fetterman said, "but he is not entitled to continue to wield influence over national policy, especially given the serious and specific nature of the allegations."
In a series of posts on social media Monday, Calvello noted that "more senators, both Republicans and Democrats, have forcefully denounced how John Fetterman dresses than have called for Menendez to resign for being corrupt."
As House Republicans have continued to risk a government shutdown in recent days, GOP lawmakers and right-wing pundits have been melting down on social media and cable news over a relaxation of the Senate dress code that they have blamed on Fetterman, known for sporting more casual attire on Capitol Hill.
"This is a perfect snapshot of what is wrong with Washington and why people outside the beltway have no faith in D.C.," Calvello added. "Think of the ink spilled and beds wet about how John wearing a Dickies shirt and shorts will destroy the decorum of the Senate, but yet no one can muster calling for Menendez to resign."
The Lever's David Sirota declared Monday that "the jorts-and-hoodie senator has the only rational anti-corruption position here, while all the fancy-suit senators complaining about dress codes but saying nothing about Menendez now look ridiculous."
Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) on Monday afternoon became just the second senator to urge his indicted colleague to willingly exit the chamber. He simply said that "Sen. Menendez has broken the public trust and should resign from the U.S. Senate."
Monday night, Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) became the third, saying: "Sen. Menendez is entitled to the presumption of innocence. But the people of New Jersey and the United States Senate are entitled to an effective senator. The shocking and specific allegations against Sen. Menendez have wholly compromised his capacity to be that effective senator. I encourage Sen. Menendez to resign."
This post has been updated with comment from Sen. Peter Welch.
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Senate Dems Want to Cancel All Student Lunch Debt—A 'Term So Absurd That It Shouldn't Even Exist'
U.S. Sen. John Fetterman said the aim of the bill is to "stop humiliating kids and penalizing hunger."
Sep 25, 2023
As children across the United States have started a new academic year over the past month, many families have had to contend with federal lawmakers' refusal to guarantee universal free meals and the resulting "lunch shaming"—which three U.S. Senate Democrats hope to partially combat with new legislation to cancel student lunch debt nationwide.
"'School lunch debt' is a term so absurd that it shouldn't even exist," Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) declared in a statement Monday. "That's why I'm proud to introduce this bill to cancel the nation's student meal debt and stop humiliating kids and penalizing hunger."
"It's time to come together and stop playing political games with Americans' access to food," he added. "September is Hunger Action Month and I'm proud to be introducing this bill to help working families now, while we work to move our other priorities to combat food insecurity in our nation."
Fetterman—who chairs the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry's Subcommittee on Food and Nutrition, Specialty Crops, Organics, and Research—is leading the fight for the School Lunch Debt Cancellation Act with Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and Peter Welch (D-Vt.).
"No child in Rhode Island—or anywhere in America—should be penalized for not being able to afford school lunch. It's that simple," asserted Whitehouse. "Our legislation will eliminate lunch debt in schools, supporting every child's access to a healthy meal and positioning them for long-term success."
Welch agreed, saying: "Our students shouldn't have to worry about how they're paying for lunch—full stop. I'm proud to partner with my colleagues Sen. Fetterman and Whitehouse on this commonsense bill, and urge my colleagues to stand with us."
Congress initially responded to the Covid-19 pandemic by enabling public schools to provide free breakfast and lunch to all 50 million children nationwide, but Republicans blocked the continuation that policy last year. Instead, lawmakers passed the Keep Kids Fed Act, a bipartisan compromise that increased federal reimbursement rates for programs serving low-income students. However, as Common Dreamsreported in January, only around a quarter of districts that responded to a survey from the School Nutrition Association said those levels are sufficient, and 99.2% had concerns about raised rates expiring.
Further burdening American families trying to feed children amid food companies' price gouging, congressional Republicans and right-wing Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) also killed the pandemic-era expansion of the child tax credit—a move that contributed to the U.S. child poverty rate more than doubling in 2022 compared with the previous year, according to data released this month.
"Prior to the pandemic, some schools had resorted to tactics that embarrassed kids, such as stamping their hands to remind parents of unpaid bills and substituting cold cheese sandwiches for hot meals," Civil Eatsreported Monday. "Sometimes meals were thrown out in front of the children. And while experts say that fewer districts have resumed these practices—often dubbed 'lunch shaming'—they haven't gone away entirely either."
Crystal FitzSimons, director of school and out-of-school time programs at the Research and Action Center (FRAC), told the outlet, "Schools, families, and states really did not want to go back to having the complicated school nutrition operations where some kids have access to free meals and other kids do not, and they have to struggle with unpaid debt."
The families of almost half a million food insecure children in Pennsylvania collectively owe nearly $80 million in public school lunch debt, according to Fetterman's office. Nationally, more than 30 million kids can't afford their school meals and the total debt is $262 million annually.
California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, and Vermont have all guaranteed universal free school meals, and Nevada has a policy in place for the 2022-23 school year only. While lawmakers in other states are working to pass similar bills, advocates have called for federal legislation to ensure all schoolchildren are fed.
In addition to the new debt cancellation bill, Fetterman is among the co-sponsors of the Universal School Meals Program Act, reintroduced in May by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.).
"It is downright cruel that we are letting our children in America go hungry," Fetterman said at the time. "No child in America should be worried about if they are going to be able to get breakfast, lunch, or dinner. I am proud and honored to co-sponsor this bill that will finally make sure that our children are fed."
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