Cryptographic Carbon Markets

Using carbon is key to decarbonizing economy

Aug 2021, phys.org

https://phys.org/news/2021-08-expert-carbon-key-decarbonizing-economy.html

Instead of burning the hydrocarbons for energy, split them into carbon nanotubes for a materials revolution, and hydrogen for a hydrogen power revolution. 

Graphene and Hydrogen factories for mining electronic money, if you don't think it's going to happen you're not trying hard enough.

(Granted, this project, at Rice University, is related to Shell, the oil company, who would really like to see a future where hydrocarbons are still really important. Then again, if carbon-based nanotubes could replace metals, which use a ton of energy to mine and process, that could be a benefit in itself?)

Post Script:

The Bitcoin saga continues to deliver:

Researchers found a seasonal movement of mining between Chinese provinces in response, it was suggested, to the availability of hydro-electric power.

Mining moved from the coal-burning northern province of Xinjiang in the dry season, to the hydro-abundant southern province of Sichuan in the rainy season.

-Cambridge data shows Bitcoin mining on the move. Jul 2021, BBC News. 

China's ban on cryptocurrency mining has forced bitcoin entrepreneurs to flee overseas. Many are heading to Texas, which is quickly becoming the next global cryptocurrency capital.

-Why China's bitcoin miners are moving to Texas. Sep 2021, BBC News.

"Bitcoin refugees" in the "Great Mining Migration" are looking for more relaxed digital currency policy, a stable regulatory environment, diverse sources of capital, and cheap electricity. (How about a reliable power grid though? Seriously?)

I hope people are taking notes, because the crypto saga is a playbook for the way things are going to be. Bitcoin is doing to the future of energy production and computation what the pandemic did to all things "remote" -- the work-from-home revolution would take another 10 years without the pandemic. 

With or without the climate apocalypse to speed things up, not only will renewable energy production decentralize and redistribute into a splintered scattering of nodes, but those nodes move with the weather. 

Your Data is My Data

AKA Big Datty

Facebook demands academics disable ad-targeting data tool

Jan 2021, phys.org

https://techxplore.com/news/2020-10-facebook-demands-academics-disable-ad-targeting.html

Academics, journalists and First Amendment lawyers are rallying behind New York University researchers in a showdown with Facebook over its demand that they halt the collection of data showing who is being micro-targeted by political ads on the world's dominant social media platform.

The researchers say the disputed tool is vital to understanding how Facebook has been used as a conduit for disinformation and manipulation.

"Ad Observer"....special plug-in for Chrome and Firefox browsers used by 6,500 volunteers across the United States...lets researchers see which ads are shown to each volunteer...the tool violates Facebook rules prohibiting automated bulk collection of data from the Facebook website

The NYU Ad Observatory lets researchers see how some Facebook advertisers use data gathered by the company to profile citizens "and send them misinformation about candidates and policies that are designed to influence or even suppress their vote... .

Image credit: Krzysztof Marczak via Deviant Art - Pine Tree

Brave browser adds peer-to-peer IPFS protocol to combat censorship

Jan 2021, phys.org

https://techxplore.com/news/2021-01-brave-browser-peer-to-peer-ipfs-protocol.html

Bitcoin for websites: The InterPlanetary File System

In what might be the first salvo against the decades-long dominance of the HTTP protocol for internet data retrieval, an open source web browser devoted to privacy has introduced an option that allows for direct peer-to-peer transfers. This means that instead of relying on a massive network in which data are stored on dedicated servers, information can now rest on and be accessed from numerous nodes dispersed globally.

Experian - Credit agency told to stop sharing data without consent

Oct 2020, BBC News

https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-54706066

The two-year investigation was prompted by a complaint from the campaign group Privacy International.

It found that Experian and two other credit reference agencies - Equifax and TransUnion - did a significant amount of "invisible" processing of data, meaning that people did not know it was happening.

The report found that the agencies had access to the data of almost every adult in the UK, which was then "screened, traded, profiled, enriched, or enhanced to provide direct marketing services".

This processing resulted in "products that were used by commercial organisations, political parties and charities to find new customers and build profiles about people", the investigation stated.

"The data broking sector is a complex eco-system where information appears to be traded widely without consideration for transparency, giving millions of adults in the UK little of no choice or control over their personal data," said Information Commissioner Elizabeth Denham.

Digital ad industry accused of huge data breach

Jun 2021, BBC News

https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-57232253

If you momentarily see empty advertising spaces before they are filled on a web page or an app, you are essentially watching yourself being auctioned in that moment...

FYI: Largest Data Breaches in History (Yahoo at #1 with 3 billion in 2013

Post Script:

Ford announces infotainment screens to show ads from local billboards

May 2021, phys.org

https://techxplore.com/news/2021-05-ford-infotainment-screens-ads-local.html

Public service reminder - the first step is admitting you have a problem.