{"id":3651,"date":"2022-04-25T12:03:45","date_gmt":"2022-04-25T12:03:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cryptoheretostay.com\/?p=3651"},"modified":"2022-04-25T12:03:46","modified_gmt":"2022-04-25T12:03:46","slug":"us-lawmakers-call-for-more-oversight-of-cryptocurrencys-environmental-impacts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cryptoheretostay.com\/?p=3651","title":{"rendered":"US Lawmakers Call for More Oversight of Cryptocurrency&#8217;s Environmental Impacts"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <script type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\namzn_assoc_placement = \"adunit0\";\r\namzn_assoc_tracking_id = \"totafreearti-20\";\r\namzn_assoc_ad_mode = \"search\";\r\namzn_assoc_ad_type = \"smart\";\r\namzn_assoc_marketplace = \"amazon\";\r\namzn_assoc_region = \"US\";\r\namzn_assoc_default_search_phrase = \"crypto\";\r\namzn_assoc_default_category = \"All\";\r\namzn_assoc_search_bar = \"false\";\r\namzn_assoc_title = \"\";\r\namzn_assoc_rows =\"1\";\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"\/\/z-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/widgets\/onejs?MarketPlace=US\"><\/script><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<p><strong>Twenty-three U.S. lawmakers have called on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to increase oversight of cryptocurrency\u2019s environmental impacts. \u201cWe request that the EPA evaluate \u2018Proof-of-Work\u2019 mining facilities\u2019 compliance with environmental statutes,\u201d they said.<br \/><\/strong><\/p>\n<h2>Lawmakers Want More Oversight of Bitcoin Mining Industry<\/h2>\n<p>U.S. Representative Jared Huffman (D-CA) and 22 other Congress members jointly sent a letter to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael Regan regarding cryptocurrency mining operations Wednesday.<\/p>\n<p>The congressman from California is the chair of the United States House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water, Oceans and Wildlife. He is also a member of the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis.<\/p>\n<p>The letter calls for \u201cincreased oversight of cryptocurrency\u2019s environmental impacts,\u201d Rep. Huffman\u2019s office announced Thursday. In their letter, the lawmakers described:<\/p>\n<p>We have serious concerns regarding reports that cryptocurrency facilities across the country are polluting communities and are having an outsized contribution to greenhouse gas emissions.<\/p>\n<p>Among other claims, the lawmakers asserted that Proof-of-Work (PoW) mining contributes to \u201csignificant greenhouse gas emissions\u201d and \u201cresults in major electronic waste challenges due to the highly specialized and short-lived computing hardware needed to secure the network.\u201d They stressed, \u201cThe industry needs to be held accountable for this waste and discouraged from creating it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Congress members also pointed out that \u201cLess energy-intensive cryptocurrency mining technologies, such as \u2018Proof-of-Stake\u2019 (PoS), are available.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Noting that communities around cryptocurrency mining facilities \u201chave reported significant noise pollution,\u201d the lawmakers emphasized that \u201cIt is critically important that the EPA uses these authorities to adequately protect communities across the U.S being disrupted by these cryptocurrency facilities.\u201d They concluded:<\/p>\n<p>We request that the EPA evaluate \u2018Proof-of-Work\u2019 mining facilities\u2019 compliance with environmental statutes, such as the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act, and engage with the communities when reviewing permits.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFurther, we ask that the EPA investigate and address any harm these existing PoW facilities are causing communities,\u201d the lawmakers added.<\/p>\n<p>Many of the claims regarding bitcoin\u2019s environmental impacts have been debunked. Ark Invest, for example, has explained several times that bitcoin mining is net positive for the environment, and concerns about the cryptocurrency\u2019s energy consumption are misguided. Furthermore, Galaxy Digital published a report in May last year showing that the banking system uses significantly more energy than bitcoin.<\/p>\n<p>In January Coinshares published a report showing that bitcoin\u2019s mining infrastructure accounts for 0.08% of the world\u2019s carbon dioxide production today. The company further noted that \u201cUsage of energy is a contentious and much-misunderstood function of the Bitcoin monetary system.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Earlier this month, celebrity investor Kevin O\u2019Leary said that \u201cbitcoin mining is going to save the world.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Tags in this story<\/p>\n<p>Bitcoin mining, Carbon Emissions, carbon footprint, crypto mining, cryptocurrency mining, environmental impacts, gas emissions, greenhouse gas emissions, oversight of crypto mining, pollution, proof of stake mining, proof of work mining<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>What do you think about U.S. lawmakers seeking increased oversight of cryptocurrency\u2019s environmental impacts? Let us know in the comments section below.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p>Kevin Helms <\/p>\n<p class=\"article__body__author__info__about\">\nA student of Austrian Economics, Kevin found Bitcoin in 2011 and has been an evangelist ever since. His interests lie in Bitcoin security, open-source systems, network effects and the intersection between economics and cryptography.<\/p>\n<p><i class=\"td-icon-font td-icon-mail-1\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"images_credits\"><em>Image Credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>Disclaimer<\/strong>: This article is for informational purposes only. It is not a direct offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell, or a recommendation or endorsement of any products, services, or companies. Bitcoin.com does not provide investment, tax, legal, or accounting advice. Neither the company nor the author is responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in this article.<\/p>\n<p>More Popular NewsIn Case You Missed It<\/p>\n<p><script type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\namzn_assoc_placement = \"adunit0\";\r\namzn_assoc_tracking_id = \"totafreearti-20\";\r\namzn_assoc_ad_mode = \"search\";\r\namzn_assoc_ad_type = \"smart\";\r\namzn_assoc_marketplace = \"amazon\";\r\namzn_assoc_region = \"US\";\r\namzn_assoc_default_search_phrase = \"bitcoin\";\r\namzn_assoc_default_category = \"All\";\r\namzn_assoc_search_bar = \"false\";\r\namzn_assoc_title = \"\";\r\namzn_assoc_rows =\"1\";\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"\/\/z-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/widgets\/onejs?MarketPlace=US\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/news.bitcoin.com\/us-lawmakers-call-for-more-oversight-of-cryptocurrencys-environmental-impacts\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Twenty-three U.S. lawmakers have called on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to increase oversight of cryptocurrency\u2019s environmental impacts. \u201cWe request that the EPA evaluate \u2018Proof-of-Work\u2019 mining facilities\u2019 compliance with environmental statutes,\u201d they said. Lawmakers Want More Oversight of Bitcoin Mining Industry U.S. Representative Jared Huffman (D-CA) and 22 other Congress members jointly sent a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3652,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_wp_rev_ctl_limit":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3651","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-crypto-updates"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cryptoheretostay.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3651","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cryptoheretostay.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cryptoheretostay.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cryptoheretostay.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cryptoheretostay.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3651"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cryptoheretostay.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3651\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3653,"href":"https:\/\/cryptoheretostay.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3651\/revisions\/3653"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cryptoheretostay.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3652"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cryptoheretostay.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3651"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cryptoheretostay.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3651"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cryptoheretostay.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3651"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}