美国比特币矿业繁荣带来的环境负担
Gianluca Guidi1,2,3, Francesca Dominici4, Nat Steinsultz5
1Department of Biostatistics, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.
Nature communications
|March 27, 2025
概括
比特币挖矿消耗大量的电力,主要来自化石燃料. 这会产生细颗粒 (PM2.5) 的空气污染,影响数百万美国人和他们的健康,往往远离矿山.
科学领域:
- 环境科学 环境科学
- 公共卫生 公共卫生
- 能源政策 能源政策
背景情况:
- 比特币挖矿业务是能源密集型的,利用大量的电力.
- 由于比特币挖矿的电力消耗造成的空气污染对环境和健康的影响尚未得到充分了解.
- 微粒 (PM2.5) 污染对人类健康构成重大风险.
研究的目的:
- 量化美国主要比特币矿山的电力消耗.
- 为了确定这些矿山的电力来源.
- 评估由此产生的PM2.5空气污染暴露,并确定受影响的社区.
主要方法:
- 在2022年,在美国找到34个最大的比特币矿.
- 确定了这些矿山的电力来源.
- 模拟的PM2.5污染分散和暴露.
主要成果:
- 从2022年中期到2023年中期,34个矿山消耗了32.3 TWh的电力,85%来自化石燃料.
- 约有190万美国人暴露于额外的PM2.5污染 (≥0.1μg/m3).
- 纽约市和休斯顿附近的社区经历了PM2.5度最高的地区 (≥0.5μg/m3).
结论:
- 比特币挖矿的电力需求导致了美国各地的PM2.5空气污染.
- 这种污染不成比例地影响社区,造成健康风险.
- 可能需要进行政策干预,以减轻加密货币开采对环境和健康的影响.
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