Bitcoin Forum

 








Offset Bitcoin is an open, collaborative project with a single mission: to neutralize and reverse the negative environmental impact of the Bitcoin network.

Initially, this is to be accomplished by offsetting (i.e. counteracting) the network's annual carbon (CO₂) emissions through donations to the world's most effective organization(s) working on climate change mitigation.

Ultimately, the goal is to lock in a far greater amount of CO₂ than the amount released by the Bitcoin network, so that its overall impact shifts from negative to positive. It is our hope that Bitcoin will one day become a sustainable and climate-saving network.





The Bitcoin network currently has an estimated annual carbon footprint (https://digiconomist.net/bitcoin-energy-consumption) of approximately 27,000 kt (kilotons of CO₂). The most cost-effective climate change charity can protect one acre (0.004 km²) of rainforest for approximately $85, which locks in 270 tons of CO₂. Therefore, offsetting the network's annual output of 27,000,000 tons would require 27,000,000 / 270 = 100,000 acres (405 km²) of protected rainforest. This would cost 100,000 * $85 = $8.5 million







Here are a few statistics* that demonstrate why this goal is absolutely attainable:

• $8.5 million is 0.005% of Bitcoin's total market cap (https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/bitcoin/) ($170 billion)
• $8.5 million is 0.002% of the total cryptocurrency market cap (https://coinmarketcap.com/) ($400 billion)
• $8.5 million is 0.15% of the total amount raised through ICOs in 2017 (http://uk.businessinsider.com/how-much-raised-icos-2017-tokendata-2017-2018-1) ($5.6 billion)
• On average, each ICO held in 2017 raised $12.7 million (http://uk.businessinsider.com/how-much-raised-icos-2017-tokendata-2017-2018-1)
• In 2017, charities received at least $70 million in cryptocurrency donations (http://fortune.com/2018/02/14/bitcoin-charity-donations-soared-10-fold-last-year-fidelity-says/)

*Please note that the numbers provided above are estimates and subject to change based on market fluctuations and further research.







Step 1: Offset the Bitcoin network through donations to the world's most effective organization(s) working on climate change mitigation.

To ensure that the Offset Bitcoin project has the greatest possible impact, it is important that all donations go directly to the most effective climate change organization(s). Thanks to Effective Altruism (https://www.effectivealtruism.org/), a research field that uses high-quality evidence and careful reasoning to determine the most effective ways to do good, the most effective climate change organization has already been identified. That organization is Cool Earth.

CoolEarth is a non-profit that works alongside rainforest communities to combat deforestation and climate change, protect ecosystems, and provide employment for local people.




















At this time, Cool Earth does not accept cryptocurrency donations. We are currently in the process of scheduling a meeting with Cool Earth, so that we can convince them to start doing so. We expect this initial meeting to take place within the next two weeks.




Step 2: Devise, propose and foster other initiatives that help turn Bitcoin into a sustainable and climate-saving network.

This step represents a long-term, multifaceted process that will require a lot of community input and collaboration, as well as input from experts in various disciplines. We will particularly require insights into the areas of climate change mitigation, energy production and consumption, decentralized network infrastructures, and decentralized application development. Eventually, we hope to be able to put together a global think tank that can establish a clear path as we move forward in our endeavor. If you believe you know someone who could help make Offset Bitcoin a success, please do share this project with them.







1. Express your support by copying and posting the following message in this thread:




What does this do? By demonstrating that you are willing to make a cryptocurrency donation to Cool Earth, you strengthen our argument when we speak to Cool Earth about the benefits of accepting cryptocurrencies. With each individual supporter, we increase our chance of success.






We are very excited to announce that the initial meeting with Cool Earth was a huge success! Cool Earth has decided to start accepting Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency donations, making it the first major climate change charity to do so and, importantly, the most effective one. Furthermore, the organization's director and fundraising officer have shown strong interest in the Offset Bitcoin project.

Now that Cool Earth has decided to accept crypto donations, it's time to start promoting Offset Bitcoin on a much larger scale. We will soon find out whether Cool Earth will be directly involved with the project and will start promoting it within its existing network. Either way, we will need all the help we can get to promote the project throughout the crypto space. Please have a look at the various ways in which you can help:



2.   Share your thoughts, skills, resources, contacts or anything that you think may be beneficial to this project. Here are several things that you can do:

• Share your ideas/insights and your opinions/criticisms of this project (in a constructive manner, please)
• Tell other people about Offset Bitcoin and follow the project on social media (links will be added soon)
• Wear the Offset Bitcoin forum avatar and/or signature (see below)
• Translate this thread into your language and post it in your local Bitcointalk section
• Write about Offset Bitcoin on your blog or on other websites/platforms
• Design materials for the project's website and its other outreach channels

3.   Donate in FIAT currency

Despite the fact that Cool Earth does not yet accept crypto donations, they do accept credit card donations. Yes, we understand that you don't like banks or credit cards and neither do we, but a credit card donation is of course better than no donation at all, it still supports the cause.

Reserved.

The initial meeting with Cool Earth has been scheduled on Thursday the 22nd of March at 2 PM (GMT).

Very interesting project, I hope you will succeed in convincing Cool Earth to start accepting Bitcoin donations.
I'm tempted to write an article about this project on Steemit, but I'm not sure if it would have that big of an impact if I'm being completely honest.

The numbers you've presented do seem very attainable, I hope this gets enough support in the long run!

I want to make a cryptocurrency donation to Cool Earth.

Thank you very much for your kind words and for expressing your support. It would be phenomenal if you would publish an article on steemit. No impact is too small.

It's a good cause to try and reduce the carbon footprint of bitcoin mining. There is a lot of negativity about the waste of electricity just to crunch some numbers and in many cases use more electricity to cool them down. Some are using renewable fuel which is more environmentally friendly and also cheaper in some cases like biofuel.

Thank you for your insight. We are actively looking into ways to create incentives for Bitcoin miners to use renewable and sustainable energy sources.

Bitcoin Magazine article about sustainable Bitcoin mining:


Eco-Friendly Bitcoin Mining Can Reduce Carbon Footprints (Yes, Really)

https://bitcoinmagazine.com/articles/eco-friendly-bitcoin-mining-can-reduce-carbon-footprints-yes-really/

That's great to hear that you were successful in convincing Cool Earth to start accepting Bitcoin donations!
Do you have any idea when it'll be implemented?

I've already sent this in pm to you, but I will go ahead and write that article for you ;-)

Oh yeah, I'd like to ask for your permission to use some of the images in your OP in my blog post, as well as some of the data you've provided.

We've just responded to your PM but wanted to thank you again publicly for publishing the very first article on Offset Bitcoin, excellent work.

Thank you Daan (https://steemit.com/@daan) for publishing the article Offset Bitcoin: A Project Designed to Make Bitcoin Carbon Neutral (https://steemit.com/bitcoin/@daan/offset-bitcoin-a-project-designed-to-make-bitcoin-carbon-neutral) on Steemit.

Thank you Ethan Smith (https://steemit.com/@ethandsmith) for mentioning the Offset Bitcoin project in Episode 15 (https://steemit.com/dsound/@ethandsmith/20180323t220122051z-the-steem-engine-express-episode-15) of The STEEM Engine Express (https://steemit.com/@thesteemengine) podcast on Steemit and YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPPy1obIl1k).


We greatly appreciate your efforts.

this is what the industry needs and if you can have success with this project I believe most concerns about electricity and environment would be shut off leaving no room for excuses.

Thank you for your comment. We agree and believe that turning Bitcoin's environmental impact from negative to positive will require both preventive and reactive approaches. The preventive approach seeks to reduce the network's energy consumption and CO₂ emissions by making mining more sustainable, for example (there are already numerous projects working on this), whereas the reactive approach seeks to offset (i.e. counteract) the network's current, past and future CO₂ emissions by raising funds for effective climate change charities and possibly convincing exchanges, wallets, payment processors, etc. to give their users the option to automatically make a donation with each transaction. As far as we're aware, Offset Bitcoin is currently the only project with a reactive approach to Bitcoin's energy problem.

A second meeting with Cool Earth has been scheduled on Monday the 26th of March at 3:30 PM (GMT).

We had another very successful meeting with Cool Earth today and made some excellent progress. After first reviewing current legislation on cryptocurrency donations within the UK (which we know is favorable), Cool Earth intends to start accepting Bitcoin (and other cryptocurrency donations) as soon as possible. The organization has again shown strong interest in the Offset Bitcoin project and will decide on the extent of its direct involvement during a general meeting on Wednesday, March 28th.

Good news! Cool Earth will be setting up its very first wallet today.

Really good idea. thanks for caring about mother earth. yes we also want better future with blockchain technology and we will help you by donating to achieve the goal.

Thank you for your kind words and support. Please do send in a donation once Cool Earth has provided a wallet address, each donation makes a difference. We will keep you updated in this thread, on our website, and on our social media channels.

Stanford's Center for Social Innovation released its landmark study on the benefits of blockchain technology for social impact:


Blockchain for Social Impact: Moving Beyond the Hype

https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/sites/gsb/files/publication-pdf/study-blockchain-impact-moving-beyond-hype.pdf