diff --git a/content/blog/2022/03/post-7/index.md b/content/blog/2022/03/post-7/index.md index f9d03bb1c..6d146ee01 100644 --- a/content/blog/2022/03/post-7/index.md +++ b/content/blog/2022/03/post-7/index.md @@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ extra: authorImg: /images/people/hannah_cordes.jpg imgPath: images/blog/weekly_vol_12.jpg date: 2022-03-29 - isFeatured: "true" + --- *We have a new format for ThreeFold Weekly, now on our blog. If you'd like to review any of the first eleven editions, please find them on [our forum](https://forum.threefold.io/c/ecosystem-developments/41).* diff --git a/content/blog/2022/04/post-8/index.md b/content/blog/2022/04/post-1/index.md similarity index 100% rename from content/blog/2022/04/post-8/index.md rename to content/blog/2022/04/post-1/index.md diff --git a/content/blog/2022/04/post-9/index.md b/content/blog/2022/04/post-2/index.md similarity index 100% rename from content/blog/2022/04/post-9/index.md rename to content/blog/2022/04/post-2/index.md diff --git a/content/blog/2022/04/post-10/index.md b/content/blog/2022/04/post-3/index.md similarity index 100% rename from content/blog/2022/04/post-10/index.md rename to content/blog/2022/04/post-3/index.md diff --git a/content/blog/2022/04/post-4/index.md b/content/blog/2022/04/post-4/index.md new file mode 100644 index 000000000..290c3cc12 --- /dev/null +++ b/content/blog/2022/04/post-4/index.md @@ -0,0 +1,78 @@ +--- +title: "ThreeFold Weekly! April 19th, 2022 (Vol 14)" # Quotation marks allow colons, semicolons, etc. +description: "Welcome to the 14th edition of ThreeFold Weekly. Here’s what happened in the ThreeFold universe since last time." # Quotation marks allow colons, semicolons, etc. +date: 2022-04-19 +updated: 2022-04-19 # Comment-out this line with a # if content is unchanged +draft: false # Make it "true" if you don't want Zola to "publish" yet +template: blogPage.html +taxonomies: + categories: ["Foundation"] + tags: [threefold_grid, community, farming, update] + +extra: + subtitle: "" # Quotation marks allow colons, semicolons, etc. + author: HANNAH CORDES + authorImg: /images/people/hannah_cordes.jpg + imgPath: images/blog/weekly_vol_12.jpg + +--- + +## Major ThreeFold News: + +* **ThreeFold was hand-picked as one of [5 top Web 3 startups](https://www.startus-insights.com/innovators-guide/web3-startups/)** by StartUs Insights – standing out from about 300 startups analyzed for this report! + +### Community updates: + +* Are any of you in Amsterdam this week? [Join](https://amsterdamblockchainweek.org/events/all-the-nachos-margaritas-threefold-decentralized-layer-0/) the community-organized ThreeFold gathering during **Amsterdam Blockchain Week**! + +
+ +* Members of the ThreeFold community gathered in Miami during **Bitcoin 2022** to evangelize the People’s Internet with the Blockchain space and the Americas. + +
+ +* Weynand participated in the **Fair Data Initiative** hosted by [Solidaridad](https://threefold.io/partners/solidaridad) along with about 25 agricultural innovators, NGOs, banks and large tech companies. Read the full update [here](https://forum.threefold.io/t/solidaridad-revival/2158/6?u=hannahcordes)! + +
+ +* Get to know **[Nelson](https://twitter.com/threefold_io/status/1512418985844916227?s=20&t=9jr1BAtpKT6zsWxW9euMGA)** and **[Dan](https://twitter.com/threefold_io/status/1513150808036061185?s=20&t=9jr1BAtpKT6zsWxW9euMGA)**, both ThreeFold Farmers and soon-to-be Validators, a little better. Also check out [this unique node setup](https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6915127377786253312/?actorCompanyId=13594159) from **Athus** in Brazil! + +
+ +* Another star Farmer **Mik** (aka idrnd) and other ThreeFolders built a second part of FAQs [here](https://forum.threefold.io/t/farming-faq-zero-os-v3-part-2/2620). + +
+ +* We invite you to learn more about our [outreach strategy](https://forum.threefold.io/t/targeting-projects-communities-with-powerful-threefold-solutions/2646) and to share how you can support ThreeFold in reaching new frontiers in cyberspace. + +
+ +* Only **7 [L2](https://forum.threefold.io/t/procedure-to-register-your-l2-validator-node/1864) validator spots remain**. L0 validators are oversubscribed, so hurry up and follow the [verification process](https://forum.threefold.io/t/the-threefold-validators-verification-process/2276) to secure your spot! + +
+ +* A community-led ThreeFold [Discord channel](https://discord.gg/PaQtT7A72E) was recently launched – join in! + +### ThreeFold Grid:  + +* **A deadline has been set for the 1st of May for V3 migration**, so make sure your 3Nodes are all migrated asap. Simply follow the [migration process](https://forum.threefold.io/t/farming-migration-grid-v2-v3/2143?u=hannahcordes). + +
+ +* Titan orders continue to be delivered, although there is a delay in Europe due to provisioning delays. In case of any specific questions, please reach out to the support team. + +
+ +We shared new videos of our **Knowledge Base series** explaining ThreeFold and the technology behind it. [Watch](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AuegcGK1CSc&list=PLTGQlepPqwUXsvHsrm4pbQj0-DCa-Ud0c) the latest additions on Zero-OS, TF Chain, the Planetary Network and more! + +
+ +See you next week, ThreeFolders!  🙌  + +
+ +*If you’re a community member interested in [sharing your story](https://forum.threefold.io/t/looking-for-farmer-stories-to-share-with-the-world/2398?u=hannahcordes) or [being featured](https://forum.threefold.io/t/looking-for-people-to-feature-in-threefold-content-its-super-simple/2636/3) in ThreeFold content, please reach out!* + +
+ +*You can find the previous editions on [our blog](https://threefold.io/blog). For older editions of ThreeFold Weekly (Vol 1-11), go to [our forum](https://forum.threefold.io/c/ecosystem-developments/41).* diff --git a/content/blog/2022/04/post-5/index.md b/content/blog/2022/04/post-5/index.md new file mode 100644 index 000000000..f235d2e55 --- /dev/null +++ b/content/blog/2022/04/post-5/index.md @@ -0,0 +1,109 @@ +--- +title: "Farming – A Greener Alternative to Crypto Mining" # Quotation marks allow colons, semicolons, etc. +description: "ThreeFold Farming is about so much more than crypto mining. It's a decentralized, energy-efficient and meaningful alternative." # Quotation marks allow colons, semicolons, etc. +date: 2022-04-21 +updated: 2022-04-21 # Comment-out this line with a # if content is unchanged +draft: false # Make it "true" if you don't want Zola to "publish" yet +template: blogPage.html +taxonomies: + categories: ["Foundation"] + tags: [threefold_grid, farming, threefold_token, why] + +extra: + subtitle: "" # Quotation marks allow colons, semicolons, etc. + author: HANNAH CORDES + authorImg: /images/people/hannah_cordes.jpg + imgPath: images/blog/farming_a_greener_alternative_to_crypto_mining.png + +--- + +In [October 2008](https://cointelegraph.com/bitcoin-for-beginners/the-history-of-bitcoin-when-did-bitcoin-start), when the financial crisis was in full swing, an anonymous individual or group under the pseudonym ‘Satoshi Nakamoto’ published a [white paper](https://bitcoin.org/bitcoin.pdf) on Bitcoin, a “peer-to-peer electronic cash system” that ended up disrupting the financial system and sparked the creation of an entirely new industry: crypto mining. + +
+ +Considering that many people view Bitcoin as a commodity, similar to gold, it only makes sense that the process of generating new Bitcoins would become referred to as ‘mining’. In a way, mining is an incentive mechanism to reach consensus in the verification of transactions in a decentralized network. While crypto mining originated from Bitcoin, the system has spread quite widely across the blockchain space. + +
+ +More than a decade later, Bitcoin keeps intriguing individuals and organizations all around the world, and has become [one of the most popular](https://cointelegraph.com/news/is-bitcoin-a-waste-of-energy-pros-and-cons-about-bitcoin-mining) financial assets. Nevertheless, criticism and doubts around Bitcoin and crypto mining remain. The most popular cryptocurrency is also frequently brought to the spotlight around its potential affiliations to money laundering, financing of terrorism and cybercrime, as well as the energy the mining process of its cryptocurrency consumes.  + +
+ +According to the [Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index](https://cbeci.org/) of the University of Cambridge, the annual consumption of Bitcoin is currently estimated to amount to nearly 140 TWh. The United Arab Emirates (113 TWh) or the Netherlands (109 TWh) had a lower annual energy consumption than Bitcoin [in 2020](http://blog.zorinaq.com/bitcoin-electricity-consumption/). Moreover, news outlets like [The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/nov/27/bitcoin-mining-consumes-electricity-ireland) or [BBC News](https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-56012952) reported on Bitcoin exceeding the energy consumption of further countries, including Ireland and Argentina. Within the last year, headlines like “[Bitcoin Uses More Electricity Than Many Countries](https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/09/03/climate/bitcoin-carbon-footprint-electricity.html)” in the New York Times or “[Bitcoin’s growing energy problem: ‘It’s a dirty currency’](https://www.ft.com/content/1aecb2db-8f61-427c-a413-3b929291c8ac)” in the Financial Times were in no short supply. + +
+ +Among the most popular quotes on the topic is Bill Gates’ statement in the New York Times in [March 2021](https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/09/business/dealbook/bill-gates-bitcoin.html): "Bitcoin uses more electricity per transaction than any other method known to mankind, and so it's not a great climate thing." Not that this statement or the awareness of the issue would have prevented Microsoft from launching [ION](https://identity.foundation/ion/), a decentralized digital identity system, to run on the Bitcoin network. + +## But why is Bitcoin mining so energy intensive anyways? + +At the heart of Bitcoin’s energy-intensive model is the [Proof-of-Work (PoW)](https://www.coindesk.com/learn/2020/12/16/what-is-proof-of-work/) protocol. [Bitcoin mining](https://www.investopedia.com/tech/how-does-bitcoin-mining-work/), the process of creating new Bitcoins using PoW, requires solving complex cryptographic equations to receive the rewards associated with the creation of the next block in the blockchain. PoW is carried out by computers, known as ‘miners’.  + +
+ +In the early days, a simple computer was enough to mine Bitcoin. However, the difficulty of the mining algorithm increased as the network grew larger and more people started competing to earn the next block’s rewards. On average, it takes [about 10 minutes](https://bitcoin.org/bitcoin.pdf) to solve such an equation and to mine a new block. Today, Bitcoin mining has become a costly and elaborate endeavour – accessible only to large investors that can support powerful supercomputers – at the cost of [local communities](https://www.technologyreview.com/2022/04/18/1049331/bitcoin-cryptocurrency-cryptomining-new-york/). + +
+ +It’s only sensible that miners are beefing up their machines to increase their chances. In fact, the sector became so competitive that [Intel created](https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/sustainable-crypto-mining-becoming-reality-nameet-potnis/) dedicated chips and specialized manufacturers for mining servers like [Bitmain](https://www.bitmain.com/) were established. With up to 32,500 Watts indicated by manufacturers, the power consumption of such devices averages 28,470 kWh per year if operated continuously. In comparison, the annual consumption of a freezer is estimated between 200 and 500 kWh per year.  + +
+ +Additionally, operating a single mining machine is hardly the way to succeed. The biggest Bitcoin miners have fleets of hundreds of machines in so-called ‘mining farms’, carefully maintained and constantly ventilated, to prevent them from overheating. Some of the largest, like [Northern Data](https://www.rockdalemdd.org/news/whinstone-us-breaks-ground-build-world%E2%80%99s-largest-bitcoin-mining-facility-rockdale-texas) in Texas, have an energy consumption of 1 GWh per year, the equivalent of the energy produced by about [3.1 million](https://www.energy.gov/eere/articles/how-much-power-1-gigawatt) photovoltaic (solar) panels.  + +
+ +In critical times where humanity is facing serious global challenges in relation to climate change and the collapse of biodiversity, we must rethink the basics of how to decentralize our world.  + +## Are there more energy-conscious solutions? + +[Proof-of-Stake (PoS)](https://www.coindesk.com/learn/2020/12/30/what-is-proof-of-stake/) mechanisms have proven to be [less energy intensive](https://www.investopedia.com/tech/how-does-bitcoin-mining-work/#toc-downsides-of-mining) than PoW. With PoS, miners lock up (‘stake’) a blockchain’s cryptocurrency on escrow accounts to be granted mining rights. In exchange for this participation, miners receive an interest proportional to their stake as reward.  + +
+ +PoS-based blockchains are faster and much more energy efficient than PoW-based blockchains. However, the implementation of a PoS protocol poses its own challenges. For example, it is known for incentivizing hoarding, rather than utilization, and driving centralization. The mining industry is attempting to shift perceptions and move away from its climate-polluting, power-hungry image by powering large mining activities with renewable energies or by offsetting their emissions with carbon credits. + +
+ +While this might sound great at first, it does not resolve the underlying issue of incredibly high energy consumption. Should we really allocate relatively scarce renewable energy resources to such energy-intensive endeavours? Or should we rather look for more efficient alternatives – considering we have all the technology to create more energy-efficient models from scratch – and then support what energy consumption remains with renewable energy?  + +## ThreeFold Farming offers a greener paradigm + +[ThreeFold Farming](https://threefold.io/blog/post/what_is_farming/) is a decentralized, energy-efficient and meaningful alternative to mining. [ThreeFold Tokens](https://forum.threefold.io/t/the-potential-of-the-threefold-token-tft/1796) (TFT) are minted whenever new Internet capacity in terms of compute, storage or network is added to the ThreeFold Grid by connecting computers, known as 3Nodes.  + +
+ +By contributing decentralized Internet capacity to the ThreeFold Grid, independent people and organizations called ‘farmers’ earn TFT in return – based on a [Proof-of-Capacity](https://library.threefold.me/info/threefold#/tfgrid/farming/threefold__proof_of_capacity?id=why-proof-of-capacity)  (PoC) algorithm. PoC is autonomously carried out by ThreeFold’s [extremely efficient](https://threefold.io/blog/post/for_our_planet/) operating system. First, Zero-OS scans the computer’s resources. Then the operating system registers the computing power and Internet storage on the [ThreeFold Blockchain](https://threefold.io/blog/post/tf_chain/), making the resources available to the entire network – thereby creating a [decentralized model](https://coincheckup.com/blog/threefold-is-the-decentralized-web-the-future-of-the-internet/) for Internet capacity provisioning. The [energy consumption](https://threefold.docsend.com/view/wsru3f9tmeaq62wq) of a 3Node can vary, depending on the amount of Compute Units (CUs) and Storage Units (SUs) it holds. “The average consumption for a Titan 3Node is around 26.71 KwH per hour”, says ThreeFold’s [Alexandre Hannelas](https://threefold.io/people/alexandre_hannelas/).  + +
+ +Farming supports the realization of an open-source peer-to-peer Internet free from centralized servers and authorities. Similarly to Bitcoin, the management of transactions and the issuing of TFT is carried out collectively by the network to create a decentralized Internet economy. In a way, what [Bitcoin did to money](https://threefold.io/blog/post/bitcoin_threefold/), ThreeFold does to the Internet – while using much [less energy](https://threefold.io/blog/post/for_our_planet/).  + +
+ +*"By using blockchain for what it's good at and other pioneering technologies, such as peer-to-peer networking, to complement it, we built the most efficient Internet infrastructure in the world, and by far." – Kristof de Spiegeleer.* + +
+ +Developing sustainable solutions for our planet is essential to ThreeFold’s ethos which puts our planet and people first. A famous quote, we love and frequently refer to at ThreeFold, is Albert Einstein’s “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we create them.” + +
+ +Our planet needs regenerative solutions at a large scale, and ThreeFold aims to deliver on our promise providing better solutions for our planet and people through our technology. Based on the ThreeFold Grid’s average energy consumption, we’re planting trees with our partner [Take Action Global](https://forum.threefold.io/t/driving-regeneration-with-tag/2120?u=hannahcordes) to offset the Grid’s carbon emissions three times in the form of [Voluntary Carbon Credits](https://forum.threefold.io/t/threefold-on-track-to-be-planet-positive/2097?u=hannahcordes) (VCC). Our VCC system was implemented in the PoC algorithm, so every 3Node mints additional TFT to offset its own carbon emissions based on the power utilization of the individual 3Node per month. The [process](https://forum.threefold.io/t/threefold-on-track-to-be-planet-positive/2097) is fully automated and executed by the ThreeFold Blockchain. + +
+ +ThreeFold’s global community of farmers is on a mission to regenerate our planet through the planet-positive ThreeFold Farming which supports tree planting and other [impact initiatives](https://forum.threefold.io/t/supporting-initiatives-to-regenerate-the-planet/2110?u=hannahcordes) by default. We’re on track to provide a planet-positive Internet and support our partners in their initiatives in fields like climate education, climate action and economic inclusion worldwide. + +
+ +Farming is about so much more than crypto mining. It’s about building a [better Internet](https://medium.com/authority-magazine/the-future-is-now-kristoff-de-spiegeleer-of-threefold-on-how-their-technological-innovation-will-7acc0e51c365) and shaping the world we want to live in. Together with a community of like-minded people, we’re taking action for a better world. + +
+ +If not us, who? If not now, when? + +
+ +* Join the global ThreeFold [movement](https://t.me/threefold). +* [Start farming](https://library.threefold.me/info/threefold#/tfgrid/farming/threefold__farming_intro) today and become a part of the new Internet while regenerating the planet. diff --git a/content/blog/2022/04/post-6/index.md b/content/blog/2022/04/post-6/index.md new file mode 100644 index 000000000..b02051c53 --- /dev/null +++ b/content/blog/2022/04/post-6/index.md @@ -0,0 +1,83 @@ +--- +title: "ThreeFold Weekly! April 26th, 2022 (Vol 15)" # Quotation marks allow colons, semicolons, etc. +description: "ThreeFold Weekly! April 26th, 2022 (Vol 15) +excerpt: Welcome to the 15th edition of ThreeFold Weekly. Let’s dive into last week’s highlights in the ThreeFold universe." # Quotation marks allow colons, semicolons, etc. +date: 2022-04-26 +updated: 2022-04-26 # Comment-out this line with a # if content is unchanged +draft: false # Make it "true" if you don't want Zola to "publish" yet +template: blogPage.html +taxonomies: + categories: ["Foundation"] + tags: [threefold_grid, community, farming, update] + +extra: + subtitle: "" # Quotation marks allow colons, semicolons, etc. + author: HANNAH CORDES + authorImg: /images/people/hannah_cordes.jpg + imgPath: images/blog/weekly_vol_12.jpg + +--- + +## Major ThreeFold News: + +* We officially released **[ThreeFold Grid V3.0.0 Alpha-5](https://forum.threefold.io/t/threefold-product-updates-tfgrid-v3-a-5-april-2022/2713?u=hannahcordes)**! There are various upgrades, improvements and fixes to different ThreeFold Grid components like the **TFT shop, Zero-OS, the Playground** and more. + +### Community updates: + +* Watch the [recording](https://forum.threefold.io/t/threefold-april-19-2022-community-call-recording-presentation/2714/2?u=hannahcordes) of the April 19th **ThreeFold Community Call**! We covered topics including ThreeFold’s strategic goals, the Paradise Hills model, the latest ThreeFold Grid release, what’s coming soon, and token activities. + +
+ +* Only **7 [L2](https://forum.threefold.io/t/procedure-to-register-your-l2-validator-node/1864) validator spots remain**. As for L0 validator applicants, please follow the [verification process](https://forum.threefold.io/t/the-threefold-validators-verification-process/2276) to secure your spot! + +
+ +* Have you joined our community-led ThreeFold [Discord channel](https://discord.gg/PaQtT7A72E) yet? + +
+ +* We have a few new videos up on YouTube! Be sure to subscribe to [our channel](https://www.youtube.com/c/ThreeFoldFoundation/videos) to stay in-the-know as new content is posted. + +### Technology Developments:  + +* As of ThreeFold Grid V3.0.0 Alpha-5, we are supporting the deployment of **dedicated nodes**. + +
+ +* On the **new TFT Shop** release, we’re giving users the option to **buy TFT with fiat currency** via the integration of a [mercuryo.io](http://www.mercuryo.io/) (third-party) widget. + +
+ +* The new feature release of **TF Connect App** includes new features such as enabling users to sign documents on the app directly, and many other backend improvements. + +
+ +* Read the full **ThreeFold Grid V3.0.0 Alpha-5** update [here](https://forum.threefold.io/t/threefold-product-updates-tfgrid-v3-a-5-april-2022/2713?u=hannahcordes)! + +### ThreeFold Grid: + +* The deadline for **V3 migration is set for the 1st of May**, so we urge you to migrate all 3Nodes asap. The [migration process](https://forum.threefold.io/t/farming-migration-grid-v2-v3/2143?u=hannahcordes) is quite simple and fast. + +
+ +* There has been a discussion about farming rewards V2 vs. V3. Take a look at [this post](https://forum.threefold.io/t/comparison-v2-vs-v3-minting/2122) for a comparison. + +
+ +* The new global 3Node marketplace was launched. Check it out [here](https://marketplace.3node.global/)! + +
+ +* The global shipping of Titan orders continues, although there is a pause in Europe due to provisioning delays. For specific questions about your order, please reach out to the support team. + +
+ +Until next time, ThreeFolders!  🙌  + +
+ +*If you’re a community member interested in [sharing your story](https://forum.threefold.io/t/looking-for-farmer-stories-to-share-with-the-world/2398?u=hannahcordes) or [being featured](https://forum.threefold.io/t/looking-for-people-to-feature-in-threefold-content-its-super-simple/2636/3) in ThreeFold content, please reach out!* + +
+ +*You can find the previous editions on [our blog](https://threefold.io/blog). For older editions of ThreeFold Weekly (Vol 1-11), go to [our forum](https://forum.threefold.io/c/ecosystem-developments/41).* diff --git a/content/blog/2022/04/post-7/index.md b/content/blog/2022/04/post-7/index.md new file mode 100644 index 000000000..41ce65b1f --- /dev/null +++ b/content/blog/2022/04/post-7/index.md @@ -0,0 +1,82 @@ +--- +title: "How to stop the Internet from Gobbling the World’s Energy" # Quotation marks allow colons, semicolons, etc. +description: "Oftentimes, the Internet’s significant energy consumption and climate impacts go unnoticed. At ThreeFold, we're leading the way by working on energy-efficient and sustainable solutions for the Internet." # Quotation marks allow colons, semicolons, etc. +date: 2022-04-26 +updated: 2022-04-26 # Comment-out this line with a # if content is unchanged +draft: false # Make it "true" if you don't want Zola to "publish" yet +template: blogPage.html +taxonomies: + categories: ["Foundation"] + tags: [threefold_grid, threefold_farming, farming, why] + +extra: + subtitle: "" # Quotation marks allow colons, semicolons, etc. + author: HANNAH CORDES + authorImg: /images/people/hannah_cordes.jpg + imgPath: images/blog/internet_energy_consumption.png + isFeatured: "true" + +--- + +*Global carbon emissions keep rising. Climate change and the collapse of biodiversity are accelerating faster than ever before. And yet, it’s important to believe in our ability to change our behaviour if we are to secure our children’s future. It’s not about being naive or optimistic, but rather a commitment to change and to do better. Across the globe, movements are sprouting to save our planet. How does ThreeFold take part in this? How are we contributing to making the world a better place?*   + +
+ +Once emitted, carbon can remain in our atmosphere for hundreds of years. To survive climate change, massive amounts of carbon emissions have to be offset – and fast. According to a UN report, [10 billion tons](https://www.technologyreview.com/2021/07/08/1027908/carbon-removal-hype-is-a-dangerous-distraction-climate-change/) of carbon emissions will have to be removed on a yearly basis by 2050 to prevent the planet from moving past the 2 degree Celsius threshold. Allowing the climate to heat by just one more degree would have unprecedented consequences – including the sinking of islands and coastal areas, an accelerated rate of extinction (right now, estimations suggest that about [24 to 150 species go extinct](https://e360.yale.edu/features/global_extinction_rates_why_do_estimates_vary_so_wildly) every day) and much more. Our complacency towards climate change proves that we’re still in denial of the chain reaction and butterfly effects of our past and present actions. + +
+ +Clearly, we’ve already crossed the threshold in the climate crisis where we had enough time for long debates on potential measures and policies. The time for those debates was in the 1960s, when a [report](https://www.climatefiles.com/climate-change-evidence/presidents-report-atmospher-carbon-dioxide/) by former US President Johnson’s Science Advisory Committee first warned about the risks and dangers of excessive carbon emissions. “Climate change is the result of more than a century of unsustainable energy and land use, lifestyles and patterns of consumption and production,” said Jim Skea, one of the IPCC Working Group III Co-Chairs in a [press release](https://www.enviro.or.id/2022/04/ipcc-press-release/) published earlier this month. According to [a report](https://www.ipcc.ch/report/sixth-assessment-report-working-group-3/) published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), we can still achieve our climate goals if we significantly reduce emissions across all economic sectors. However, we urgently need to take action to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. + +
+ +Now is the time to act. Now is the time for bold moves. As Skea put it: “Without immediate and deep emissions reductions across all sectors, it will be impossible.” + +## The astonishing carbon footprint of the Internet + +While people are legitimately obsessing about the emissions caused by air travel and whether to take that plane or not – bestowing us with concepts like ‘flight shaming’ – other industries’ significant impacts almost go unnoticed. One of them is the Internet. + +
+ +Think about the [chat messages and emails](https://carbonliteracy.com/the-carbon-cost-of-an-email/) you send out every day. How many times do you [‘google’](https://www.fastcompany.com/90171268/internet_impact_visualized) things? How much time do you spend [streaming](https://www.carbontrust.com/resources/carbon-impact-of-video-streaming) music or videos? All of your online activities add to your carbon footprint. There are a couple grams of carbon emissions attached to the energy needed to power your devices and the wireless networks you connect to. On top of that comes the significant amount of energy required to support the infrastructure of today’s Internet, namely millions of data centers and the thousands of servers in each of them. + +
+ +Even though the emissions caused by streaming one song or sending one email may seem insignificant, the accumulated use of the Internet by billions of people all over the world adds up. It actually leads to a collective carbon footprint amounting to a share of roughly [3.7% of global emissions](https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200305-why-your-internet-habits-are-not-as-clean-as-you-think) caused by the Internet and its infrastructure – and these carbon emissions are estimated[ to double](https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200305-why-your-internet-habits-are-not-as-clean-as-you-think) within the next three years. This 3.7% share of global emissions by the Internet almost makes the global aviation industry with its estimated [2.1%](https://www.atag.org/facts-figures.html) emissions look good. + +
+ +The global pandemic – while decreasing emissions in aviation due to travel bans – has already accelerated Internet consumption and the resulting footprint due to increased streaming behaviour, remote work and more. With [1 billion people](https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/solutions/executive-perspectives/annual-internet-report/index.html) and [75 billion IoT devices](https://www.statista.com/statistics/471264/iot-number-of-connected-devices-worldwide/#:~:text=Internet%20of%20Things%20%2D%20number%20of%20connected%20devices%20worldwide%202015%2D2025&text=By%202025%2C%20forecasts%20suggest%20that,IoT%20installed%20base%20in%202019.) expected to join the Internet economy by 2025, a more sustainable infrastructure than power-hungry data centers is urgently needed to meet the future growth of the Internet in an ethical and sustainable way. + +## Data Centers are power hungry + +Big tech corporations like Amazon, for example, have massive carbon footprints with their corporate facilities, power-hungry data centers, complex operations and more. One larger data center alone consumes up to [120 MW](https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/opinions/from-the-sensor-to-the-data-center/) – and there are about 7.2 million data centers worldwide, according to [Statista](https://www.statista.com/statistics/500458/worldwide-datacenter-and-it-sites/). Moreover, a data center’s energy consumption accounts for [about 40%](https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/opinions/from-the-sensor-to-the-data-center/) of its operating costs. In 2020, Amazon emitted more than [60 million metric tons](https://sustainability.aboutamazon.com/environment/sustainable-operations/carbon-footprint) of carbon dioxide up from about 51 million in 2019. Others like Google try to downplay their energy consumption by switching to renewable energy. While renewable energy is an improvement for sure, it does not change the fact that Google’s energy consumption could [power entire countries](https://www.forbes.com/sites/robertbryce/2020/10/21/googles-dominance-is-fueled-by-zambia-size-amounts-of-electricity/). + +
+ +Is that really a desirable way for us to use the still scarce supply of renewable energy? Shouldn’t we rather focus on the root problem and on becoming more energy efficient in the first place? + +
+ +The first step should be to reduce the Internet’s energy consumption and overall carbon footprint. But even then: reducing that energy consumption and transitioning to clean energy will only get us so far – particularly when considering that there simply is not enough clean energy to achieve a complete transition. Those emissions that cannot be cut have to be compensated for. A holistic solution to today’s Internet’s inefficiencies and emissions is needed. + +## An energy-efficient and regenerative Internet + +In December 2021, ThreeFold [announced](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/threefold-and-take-action-global-partner-to-bring-internet-access-to-1-billion-people-across-the-globe-301446693.html) its commitment to achieve a carbon double win for its open-source peer-to-peer Internet infrastructure, the ThreeFold Grid. The ThreeFold Grid is able to scale anywhere electricity and network exist, using about 10 times less energy than any comparable alternative while being more affordable as well. By starting from scratch at the operating system level, ThreeFold was able to build an Internet infrastructure that is highly [energy efficient](https://threefold.io/blog/post/for_our_planet/). This infrastructure is already made up of thousands of 3Nodes that are spread across 75 countries and counting. + +
+ +Together with [Take Action Global](https://forum.threefold.io/t/driving-regeneration-with-tag/2120?u=hannahcordes) (TAG), an expert on climate education and action, ThreeFold aims to make the ThreeFold Grid planet-positive by removing its carbon emissions from the atmosphere three times in the form of [Voluntary Carbon Credits](https://forum.threefold.io/t/threefold-on-track-to-be-planet-positive/2097?u=hannahcordes). While the pilot for this initiative was announced to start in January 2022, ThreeFold and TAG were so eager to take action against climate change, they kicked-off the pilot one month early in December 2021. It is the first step in ThreeFold’s plan to support the use of ‘nature-based climate solutions’ like tree planting to absorb twice more carbon than the ThreeFold Grid emits by 2022.  + +## A silver lining on the horizon + +Every industry and organization has to pull their own weight. There is no way around it. Far-reaching actions and transformations are needed across industries to limit global warming to bearable levels. “The decisions we make now can secure a liveable future. We have the tools and know-how required to limit warming,” said Hoesung Lee, IPCC Chair, in an April 2022 [press release](https://www.enviro.or.id/2022/04/ipcc-press-release/). Together with TAG, ThreeFold leads the way by working on energy-efficient and sustainable solutions for the Internet. The new IPCC report gives us a reason to be optimistic about our future and have hope for the regeneration of our planet. + +
+ +Really, all it takes right now is widespread support and adoption of more energy-efficient, sustainable alternatives across industries like ThreeFold for the Internet – something that is up to each and every one of us. Let us all take action for a fairer, more sustainable world. + +
+ +* Join the global ThreeFold [movement](https://t.me/threefold). +* [Start farming](https://library.threefold.me/info/threefold#/tfgrid/farming/threefold__farming_intro) today and support a greener Internet while regenerating the planet. diff --git a/static/images/blog/farming_a_greener_alternative_to_crypto_mining.png b/static/images/blog/farming_a_greener_alternative_to_crypto_mining.png new file mode 100644 index 000000000..599a62f68 Binary files /dev/null and b/static/images/blog/farming_a_greener_alternative_to_crypto_mining.png differ diff --git a/static/images/blog/internet_energy_consumption.png b/static/images/blog/internet_energy_consumption.png new file mode 100644 index 000000000..0934811ca Binary files /dev/null and b/static/images/blog/internet_energy_consumption.png differ