Mozilla started 2022 thinking it would be good to do on Twitter a call for donations, seemingly harmless, in the form of cryptocurrencies. Mozilla was wrong.
Jamie Zawinski and Peter Linss denounce Mozilla
A few days later, Jamie Zawinski and Peter Linss responded to this tweet by denouncing the organization.
“Hello, I’m sure the person running this account has no idea who I am, but I founded Mozilla and I’m here to tell you that fuck you and fuck that”, s’ wins Jamie Zawinski. “Everyone involved in this project should be fiercely ashamed of this decision to join forces with Ponzi scammers who are cremating the planet. “
Peter Linuss was no less harsh in his criticism. “Hey Mozilla, I guess you don’t know me either, but I designed Gecko, the engine your browser is built on. And I’m 100% with @jwz [Jamie Zawinski] on this point. It is. what. this. mess. Your destiny was to be better than that, ”he denounces.
Before the end of the week, Mozilla was changing course.
Change of course for Mozilla
“Last week, we recalled on Twitter that Mozilla accepts donations in cryptocurrency. This tweet led to an important discussion about the environmental impact of cryptocurrencies. We are listening and we are taking action ”, replied the organization.
“So, starting today, we will be examining whether our current policy regarding cryptocurrency donations is compatible with our climate goals. And during this review, we are suspending this possibility. “
Mozilla explains that decentralized technology will always be an area to explore, but that “a lot has changed since we started accepting donations in cryptocurrency.” The organization adds that its review will be transparent and that it will post regular updates.
Cryptocurrency mining and energy consumption
There is growing concern about the energy consumption associated with the process of making computers howl numbers, also known as “proof-of-work cryptocurrency mining”.
In November, Swedish authorities called for the practice to be banned across the European Union. “It is currently possible to run a mid-size electric car 1.8 million kilometers using the same energy it takes to mine a single bitcoin,” they say. “This is the equivalent of 44 laps of the planet. 900 bitcoins are mined every day. It is not a reasonable use of our renewable energy. “
Earlier this week, Kosovo banned cryptocurrency mining in an effort to reduce energy use and alleviate short- and long-term energy shortages.
The annual consumption of electricity used to power bitcoin would amount to 134 TWh, roughly the same production as Argentina, and would be enough to offset the carbon savings achieved globally through the use of electric vehicles.
The makers of the Vivaldi browser, based on Chromium, responded on Twitter on Wednesday to a user imploring them not to follow Mozilla’s example: “we are not really fans of cryptocurrencies and NFT”.
Source: ZDNet.com