Bitcoin's proof-of-work is a fascinating thought experiment, an interesting proof of concept, and an absolutely terrifying real-world energy sink in a world that's already starved for clean energy and heading for an unavoidable climate meltdown.

We've heard all the whataboutist arguments about Christmas lights and bankers' data centers and whatever. Yes, we should save energy there too! But when there's a novel form of energy waste that's ballooned past a mid-size European country's annual consumption within a decade and provides a service that's largely philosophical ("digital scarcity"), then that seems like something we should address immediately.