Silvia Alejandra Ordoñ ez Jamioy

Las Mesas -Nariñ o, Pasto | 3206744418 | alijita1020@gmail.com

20/09/2021

Silvia Alejandra Ordoñ ez Jamioy

Effects of technology on the environment
UNAD Universidad nacional abierta y a distancia
Las Mesas, Nariñ o
Pasto

Dear UN Secretary-Executive:
I want to talk about the arrival of computer technology, the bitcoins appeared in 2009, which differ
from other currencies because they are not regulated by any government or issuing bank
(decentralized) and use a revolutionary technology called Blockchain for their infrastructure and
security. they require large hardware requirements or large installations of very powerful
computers, and this obviously translates into large electricity demands and CO2 emissions.

The action that damages the environment is what is called 'mining'. The large expenditure on
energy is accompanied by the necessary infrastructures to carry out this process requires the
operation of hundreds of thousands of computers incessantly at full capacity, using supercomputers
that require a powerful cooling system to solve complex calculations. If instead of a resource it were
a State, the electricity consumption of Bitcoin would place it in position 27 on the world list in 2019,
this is equivalent to 0.66% of the energy produced throughout the planet according to a recent
study by the Center for Alternative Finance from the University of Cambridge (UK), moving to
countries such as Sweden and Ukraine. the use of bitcoins generates CO2 emissions equivalent to
those of the city of Las Vegas. In Iceland, the electricity demanded by the bitcoin ‘mines’ is already
on the verge of exceeding the consumption of all households on the island. The heads of an
Icelandic electricity company have already issued a severe warning If current trends continue,
there will not be enough energy to supply the population.

In my opinion, it would help to reduce pollution by moving the mining centers to other territories,
where they can be fed through sustainable energy sources, I recommend such technology as what
has been proposed in El Salvador, where it is intended to take action and use geothermal energy.
Originated by volcanoes for Bitcoin mining, the best that could be done is to develop these new
mining processes in which caring for the environment and making it Eco friendly is a priority issue.
Issuing mainly renewable energies which are those energy sources based on the use of natural
resources: the sun, wind, water or plant or animal biomass. They are characterized by not using
fossil fuels, but natural resources capable of unlimited renewal, with which energy demand would
be supplied and the environment would not be affected, to conclude, cryptocurrencies give us very
good advantages and economic freedoms but if the systems that use them are not regulated soon
the planet and its inhabitants will be affected environmentally. In short, fighting climate change
requires profound changes in our energy model and in our behavior patterns, I wish that it was
already an unavoidable commitment for society.

Sincerely,

Silvia Alejandra Ordoñez Jamioy

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