[ivanhoe]

As weird as it sounds, but even when performance is not a deal breaker for individual users, on high-traffic sites the sum of all energy wasted on unnecessary/unoptimized computations can become so large that it becomes an actual ecological concern. It's a completely new thing that we should keep an eye on.

[kaba0]

Is it really when we literally waste countries’ energy usage on bitcoin and such? Computers are surprisingly low in energy consumption on the grand scale of things, especially compared to their usefulness.

[funcDropShadow]

Really? Only one application of computers --- Bitcoin --- wastes countries' energy usage and yet it doesn't make sense to optimize software for ecologic reasons?

[kaba0]

No, but there are plenty much higher targets before going after computers, especially compared to the insane value they produce. Like, is that single server running all the logistics of a country’s train network “inefficiently” really significant compared to.. the inefficiency of even a single train?

[funcDropShadow]

What about those billions of devices running software in gadgets, phones, TVs, routers, dishwashers, etc ?

[burnished]

Crypto uses vast energy as a feature, a side effect of maintaining a competitive environment as part of proof of work (other staking mechanisms are different). You could not optimize this to use less energy.