it's not FUD, it's a real problem. I think those who deny this are the same people who deny global warming. Bitcoin protocol has an infinite demand for more and more energy. People like to say that banks spend more energy, but what's the difference in scale? Any honest analysis must consider the scale.
It is FUD because you can't compare centralized to decentralized first of all. Centralization requires only a central entity as the main power, while Bitcoin requires everyone to contribute if they want to earn and keep the system up and running while also decentralizing it more and making it more secure at the same time. Comparing decentralized Bitcoin power consumption with what banks consume is useless because if banks were decentralized and each bank had to store their own ledger from zero and each philiale had to verify each and every detail themselves, they'd have to use way more electricity.
This is as useless as comparing BTC power consumption vs how much power is used to mine gold.. we're all going more and more digital
generally, like imagine how much consumption has been lately added in the past few years only by "smart scales", " smart watches" etc which are practically useless vs Bitcoin which truly brings something new, innovative and.. ultimately
useful!
so the best argument is to compare with other things that spend a lot? it's just an excuse. as bitcoin was the last stage of scientific progress. it's not how science works, it's how religion works.