[LukeHoersten]

Energy is thrown off by the Earth's core and the Sun whether it's captured and used or not. Because bitcoin can be mined anywhere in the world with internet, economics are pushing miners to sustainable power sources, just like aluminum production. American households cannot easily move to be closer to sustainable power sources so it's not all that useful a comparison. Not all electricity consumption is equally sustainable.

[f_allwein]

Ok, so what percentage of global energy output would be sustainable to use on Bitcoin? And why? Keeping in mind we may use it instead for things like desalination, weather modification or managing plate tectonics: http://mkaku.org/home/articles/the-physics-of-extraterrestri...