> when I hear Bitcoin advocates dismiss environmental concerns as irrelevant or shift the blame onto government tax policy
... You know, when you put it that way, there's another problem with this argument. "Bitcoin is good because governments shouldn't be interfering with my ability to give money to Julian Assange. They shouldn't even know that I'm paying him. And if it hurts the environment, well, that's the fault of governments not taxing energy usage appropriately. They should be paying close attention to what people spend money on and dissuading uses that have harmful effects for society, as determined in their sole opinion."
... You know, when you put it that way, there's another problem with this argument. "Bitcoin is good because governments shouldn't be interfering with my ability to give money to Julian Assange. They shouldn't even know that I'm paying him. And if it hurts the environment, well, that's the fault of governments not taxing energy usage appropriately. They should be paying close attention to what people spend money on and dissuading uses that have harmful effects for society, as determined in their sole opinion."