The hottest Energy consumption Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
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Top Crypto Topics

Some emissions are more equal than others

Irina Slav on energy • 2004 implied HN points • 05 Jan 24
🌞 Climate & Environment Greenhouse Gases Scientific research Energy consumption Carbon Footprint Climate change
  1. Some emissions are necessary to help avoid catastrophic climate change.
  2. Scientists need to focus on the bigger emission picture rather than solely worrying about their own emissions.
  3. There is a call for cognitive dissonance among scientists when it comes to emissions and the necessity of some emissions.

Thermodynamics of air capture of carbon dioxide

The Climate Brink • 864 implied HN points • 01 Jun 23
🌞 Climate & Environment Thermodynamics Carbon Capture Global Warming Energy consumption Climate solutions
  1. Thermodynamics helps us understand the energetics of processes and evaluates their effectiveness.
  2. Direct Air Capture (DAC) technology can play a significant role in reducing atmospheric CO2 levels beyond traditional emissions reduction methods.
  3. Implementing DAC technology requires a massive amount of energy, emphasizing the importance of finding climate-safe energy sources.

AI's Environmental Impact: How Much Energy Does It Consume?

Rod’s Blog • 39 implied HN points • 19 Feb 24
🕹 Technology AI Energy consumption Carbon Footprint Data Centers Renewable Energy
  1. Artificial intelligence (AI) consumes a significant amount of energy and contributes to a large carbon footprint due to its need for computing power.
  2. The main sources of AI's carbon footprint are data centers that rely on fossil fuels or non-renewable energy sources to power and cool the machines.
  3. Both AI and cryptocurrency mining are energy-intensive activities but can benefit from renewable energy sources and face challenges related to ethics and regulation.

How much more electricity will the UK need to switch to electric vehicles?

Sustainability by numbers • 188 implied HN points • 15 Sep 23
🌞 Climate & Environment Electric Vehicles Energy consumption Renewable Energy Energy Efficiency
  1. Fully switching to electric cars in the UK would increase electricity demand by around one-quarter.
  2. Transitioning all road transport to electric would lead to a 40% increase in electricity demand in the UK.
  3. Shifting to electric transport significantly reduces overall energy demand due to the higher efficiency of electric vehicles compared to petrol and diesel vehicles.
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Review 2023 - Energy

nicosmid • 19 implied HN points • 30 Jan 24
🕹 Technology Bitcoin Mining Environmental Impact Energy consumption
  1. Bitcoin mining power usage in 2023 was around 16-18 GW with over 50% coming from renewable sources.
  2. Bitcoin mining industry leads in using sustainable energy and saw a significant increase in the mix of renewable sources.
  3. Bitcoin miners can operate independently of traditional power grids and 75.3% of off-grid mining relies on sustainable energy.

Is the next crunch in the AI race the lack of data center space?

danvdb • 1 HN point • 26 Feb 24
🕹 Technology AI Data Centers Energy consumption Infrastructure Market Dynamics
  1. The AI industry might face a shortage of data center space with the increase in NVIDIA H100 GPUs.
  2. The energy consumption from the forecasted 4.5 million H100 GPUs in 2023/24 could exceed the data center capacity, posing a challenge.
  3. Existing data centers may struggle to retrofit the necessary equipment and manage the power demands of the upcoming surge in GPU servers.

3 Million Barrels of Oil Per Batt!

Aether Pirates of the Matterium! • 3 HN points • 26 Feb 23
🔬 Science Energy Electric Vehicles Environmental Impact Energy consumption
  1. It takes a lot of oil to produce and charge an electric vehicle battery, potentially more than the amount it would save over its lifetime.
  2. The total energy cost of producing and using the Tesla Model S Long Range battery pack, including environmental factors like disposal and fires, is equivalent to about 3,088,431 barrels of oil.
  3. Factors like lithium extraction, transportation, factory construction, and battery recycling all contribute to the overall energy cost of electric vehicle batteries.

Are AI Girlfriends the Great Filter?

Neural Networking • 0 implied HN points • 14 Jan 24
🕹 Technology AI Simulation Brain Energy consumption GDP
  1. The Fermi paradox questions why we haven't encountered extraterrestrial life despite the vastness of the universe.
  2. The possibility of AI advancing to perfectly stimulate human reward pathways might lead to a decline in the desire for outward expansion.
  3. Current trends in global population growth, energy consumption, and GDP concentration suggest that the need for physical exploration may be diminishing.

Coin Metrics’ State of the Network: Issue 211

Coin Metrics' State of the Network • 0 implied HN points • 13 Jun 23
🔮 Crypto Bitcoin Mining Energy consumption Data Analysis
  1. Study presented a new methodology for estimating Bitcoin's energy consumption using data patterns from mining hardware.
  2. Mining process involves searching for a special number called 'nonce' and each mining machine leaves an identifiable pattern.
  3. The study estimated Bitcoin's power draw at 13.4 GW in May 2023, which is around 16% less than Cambridge University's estimate, showcasing the importance of accurate analysis in the cryptocurrency industry.