比特币减半会损害环境，我们无能为力阻止它

据 Fast Company 报道，比特币减半大约每四年发生一次，即比特币挖矿奖励减少 50%。

Bitcoin halving, in which rewards for mining Bitcoin are reduced by 50%, happens roughly every four years, as Fast Company has reported.

据 Fast Company 报道，比特币减半大约每四年发生一次，即比特币挖矿奖励减少 50%。

April 2024's Bitcoin halving will affect what miners can earn, but it is also anticipated to have a troubling environmental impact.

2024 年 4 月的比特币减半将影响矿工的收入，但预计也会对环境产生令人不安的影响。

What's happening?

发生了什么？

Bitcoin is finite, with 21 million as the cutoff point, according to Fast Company. Around 19 million have already been mined, and halving happens after every 210,000 blocks are mined. The reward was 6.25 BTC for every block mined up until April's halving, but that now stands at only 3.125 BTC.

据 Fast Company 称，比特币是有限的，以 2100 万为分界点。大约已经开采了 1900 万个区块，每开采 21 万个区块就会减半。在 4 月减半之前，每开采一个区块的奖励为 6.25 BTC，但现在仅为 3.125 BTC。

With the halving, two environmentally negative possibilities are expected. First, mining Bitcoin is an energy-intensive activity, with a United Nations study that found 173.42 terawatt-hours of electricity were used to mine Bitcoin between the 2020 and 2021 mining period.

随着减半，预计会出现两种对环境不利的可能性。首先，开采比特币是一项能源密集型活动，联合国的一项研究发现，在 2020 年至 2021 年采矿期间，开采比特币使用了 173.42 太瓦时的电力。

When rewards are halved, miners are likely to work harder to make the same amount they did before the halving, which could see the amount of energy used soar, as Fast Company detailed.

正如 Fast Company 详细介绍的那样，当奖励减半时，矿工可能会更加努力地工作，以赚取与减半前相同的金额，这可能会导致能源消耗量猛增。

Second, miners may opt to invest in new equipment to boost productivity, meaning machines at the end of their life cycle will likely end up in landfills.

其次，矿工可能会选择投资新设备以提高生产率，这意味着机器在其生命周期结束时可能最终会被扔进垃圾填埋场。

Why is excessive energy consumption and e-waste concerning?

为什么过度能源消耗和电子垃圾令人担忧？

While renewable energy sources like solar and wind power are becoming more prevalent across the globe, power stations that run on fossil fuels remain the dominant provider of electricity.

尽管太阳能和风能等可再生能源在全球范围内变得越来越普遍，但使用化石燃料的发电站仍然是主要的电力供应商。

According to the Energy Institute's 2024 Statistical Review of World Energy, shared by Our World in Data, coal generated 35.51% of the world's energy in 2023, followed by gas at 22.47%.

根据我们的世界数据分享的能源研究所《2024 年世界能源统计回顾》，2023 年煤炭发电量占全球能源总量的 35.51%，其次是天然气，占 22.47%。

These energy sources produce pollution that traps heat in the atmosphere, leading average global temperatures to creep up. With warmer air encouraging extreme weather events like droughts, flooding, wildfires, and deadly storms, it's essential we reduce our reliance on dirty fuel for energy and cut consumption. The increased power demands of Bitcoin mining will not help this cause.

这些能源产生的污染将热量滞留在大气中，导致全球平均气温攀升。随着空气变暖，干旱、洪水、野火和致命风暴等极端天气事件频发，我们必须减少对肮脏能源燃料的依赖并减少消耗。比特币挖矿不断增加的电力需求无助于这一目标。

Regarding e-waste, the World Health Organization has noted it is the world's fastest-growing solid waste stream. Of the 59 million tons of e-waste discarded in 2019, only 17.4% was documented as being collected and recycled.

关于电子垃圾，世界卫生组织指出，它是世界上增长最快的固体废物流。在 2019 年丢弃的 5900 万吨电子垃圾中，只有 17.4% 被记录为被收集和回收。

The items that aren't recycled typically end up in landfills, and the WHO says that if treated inappropriately, this waste can release up to 1,000 different chemical substances into the environment, such as lead and mercury.

未回收的物品通常最终会被送往垃圾填埋场，世界卫生组织表示，如果处理不当，这些废物可能会向环境中释放多达 1,000 种不同的化学物质，例如铅和汞。

What can we do to help?

我们能提供什么帮助？

While there's not a lot we can do about the Bitcoin market, we can be more responsible about our life choices. For example, harnessing the power of the sun through rooftop solar panels can reduce our reliance on dirty fuel and cut our energy bills.

虽然我们对比特币市场无能为力，但我们可以对自己的生活选择更加负责。例如，通过屋顶太阳能电池板利用太阳的能量可以减少我们对肮脏燃料的依赖并减少能源费用。

We can also make better decisions when it comes to recycling electronics. Consider repairing existing machines rather than throwing out broken ones, which could save you money and keep items from heading to landfills. If that isn't an option, finding appropriate recycling points for electronic waste will at least give machines more of a chance of finding a second life than just sending them to the trash would.

在回收电子产品时，我们还可以做出更好的决策。考虑修理现有的机器，而不是扔掉损坏的机器，这样可以节省金钱并防止物品进入垃圾填埋场。如果这不是一个选择，那么为电子垃圾找到合适的回收点至少会给机器更多的机会获得第二次生命，而不是仅仅将它们扔进垃圾桶。

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