US politicians individually contact 4 mining companies and ask for information on energy usage.
Four members of the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce expressed their "serious concern" over the possibility of a rise in the need for fossil fuels as a result of Proof-of-Work mining.
Concerning the potential environmental impacts of the energy consumption of four large crypto mining companies, four members of the US House of Representatives from the Energy and Commerce Committee have asked responses.
U.S. lawmakers Frank Pallone, Bobby Rush, Diana DeGette, and Paul Tonko asked Core Scientific, Marathon Digital Holdings, Riot Blockchain, and Stronghold Digital Mining to provide information beginning in 2021 about the energy consumption of their mining facilities, the source of that energy, what percentage came from renewable energy sources, and how frequently the companies curtailed operations. The average cost per megawatt hour that the companies spent mining cryptocurrency at each of their individual sites was another question that the four members of the House committee asked.
In a letter to Riot CEO Jason Les, the lawmakers wrote, "Blockchain technology holds enormous promise that may make our personal information more secure and economy more efficient." The hardware and energy requirements for PoW-based cryptocurrencies, however, "may, in some cases, entail severe externalities in the form of toxic emissions and excess electronic waste."
The proposal came after U.S. President Joe Biden on Tuesday signed the Inflation Reduction Act into law, which many experts believe to be the most significant piece of climate change legislation ever. The bill contained incentives to promote and expand green energy initiatives, such as "climate-smart" industry and sustainable mobility.
Whether the topic is being discussed for its economic or environmental effects, bitcoin continues to be a hot topic in politics, both domestically and internationally. 23 U.S. congressmen urged EPA administrator Michael Regan in a letter issued in April to investigate if crypto mining companies may be infringing environmental laws.
