In an unprecedented move, the administration has granted industrial facilities in 38 states and Puerto Rico a two-year reprieve from federal rules under the Clean Air Act. The president is considering exempting even more.
Richard Shaffer, asset manager at Scrubgrass Reclamation Company, emailed asking for an exemption covering a western Pennsylvania power plant that burns coal waste. A significant portion of the electricity it generates is used to mine bitcoin. Keeping the cost of environmental compliance low was important “for the security of the United States,” Shaffer wrote.
A response came 11 days later in a presidential proclamation. Approved.
I can’t even begin to imagine what horrors “burning coal waste” entails.
I can’t even begin to imagine what horrors “burning coal waste” entails.
And the energy created is used to mine bitcoin?!? There is nothing about this that is useful for anything. God I fucking hate this world sometimes.
None of that sounds like a national security issue.