Thread by @level39

🧵THREAD: The @BulletinAtomic and @jessimckenzi want to create moral panic over a few dozen orphaned wells being mined for #Bitcoin, while ignoring the larger problem of ~2M orphaned wells in the US and ~29M orphaned wells worldwide leaking methane (CH₄). /1

The @EPA estimates that leaking methane (CH₄) emissions from over 2M inactive, unplugged wells range from a CO₂ equivalent of 7-20 million metric tons per year—approximately the emissions of 2 to 5 million cars. /2 edf.org/orphanwellmap

Per @Reuters, the number of abandoned wells around the world could be 29M, with emissions of 2.5M tonnes of CH₄ per year—the carbon equivalent of three weeks of U.S. oil consumption. /3 reuters.com/article/us-usa…

Capping and plugging abandoned/non-productive wells is best, but it costs ~$25,000–$75,000 to decommission each well. It would cost ~$100B to plug and cap all the orphaned wells in the US. Or ~$1.5T to cap all the orphaned wells worldwide. /4

Methane (CH₄) has over 80x the warming power of CO₂ in its first 20 years. As well infrastructure ages, CH₄ levels are rising faster than ever before, setting new records monthly. Any conversion of CH₄ into CO₂ is better than leaking CH₄. /5

Given the nearly impossible task of capping and plugging millions of orphaned wells, that are constantly leaking CH₄ into the environment, why is the @BulletinAtomic creating moral panic over such an infinitesimal number of wells being mined into CO₂ by #Bitcoin? /6

It seems @jessimckenzi is more interested in creating moral panic over #Bitcoin's ~0.19% of global emissions—about ⅓ the emissions of the global sports industry. She is quite literally a distraction from real environmental issues that need awareness. /7

Unfortunately, such a blatant and irresponsible appeal for moral panic leaves one with the impression that the @BulletinAtomic isn't actually interested in solving real environmental issues. Nevermind that #Bitcoin can effectively monetize leaking CH₄ into CO₂. /8

One can only assume that there is an ulterior motive behind such moral panic and junk reporting. It wouldn't be the first time, and certainly won't be the last. Add it to the list. /9

bitcoinmagazine.com/business/quest…

One more thing @jessimckenzi. 1.2 billion people live under double or triple digit inflation and 4.3 billion people live under authoritarianism. The economic freedom and financial inclusion afforded to #Bitcoin users worldwide is, unapologetically, worth every joule. /10

States need to cap the wells one way or another. Obviously the top priority is to get the industry to decommission millions of orphaned wells. Failing that, states must do it themselves. No funding? Use the orphaned wells to mine until funds are sufficient. /11

As mentioned above, states lack the $25K–$75K and incentives to decommission each orphaned well. #Bitcoin can fix this. A state could empower a “Bitcoin Hellfighting” agency, to turn the incentives around /12

A state could empower this agency to go out and mine on orphaned wells, and each time the agency accrues the $25K–$75K needed to decommission a well, it would sell the Bitcoin for dollars and hire a contractor to perform another decommissioning. /13

Effectively, this team would be decommissioning a well with its own fuel, significantly cutting down on the long term emissions of methane. /14

It’s curious that it didn’t occur to @BulletinAtomic or @jessimckenzi that an age old technique, of fighting fire with fire, could be applied to the serious problem of decommissioning millions of orphaned wells. They would rather create moral panic than solve real problems. /15

It is disappointing that the people who claim to be advocating for solutions to real problems are wasting the public’s time with infinitesimally inconsequential issues. Bitcoin allows stranded energy to be monetized and used for any purpose—including decommissioning wells. /16