I will not be claiming that Bitcoiners are protecting the environment, but it is a fact that the blame of exploiting the nature is tagged upon the BTCitcoin community for a while even though majority of the big miners are using renewable energy and it is sad to see that we still have a tag and gets blamed.
I always say that Bitcoin is at the bottom in terms of how much it contributes to environmental pollution, but surprisingly it is always at the top when someone should be blamed for rising temperatures, endless masses of plastic and waste in the oceans, or perhaps cutting forests in the heart of the Amazon or around the world. This imposition of guilt will not stop even if mining is switched to 100% renewable energy, one should not be deceived about it.
EU nations has to find a renewable energy source and majority of the countries should follow Iceland as they have the highest share of renewable energy in Europe and hopefully we will stop hearing the blame game in the future.
Iceland relies on hydro and geothermal energy, and the EU, as far as I know, has long since given up the construction of large hydropower plants, because regardless of the fact that they produce clean energy, the construction of such existences directly affects the environment, because large accumulation lakes have to be built, and that in most cases means relocating people from their homes - which is always a very sensitive issue.
As for geothermal energy, it is true that it has huge potential, especially in some parts of the EU - but the gas/oil lobby still does not allow this resource to be exploited.
The countries of the Pannonian basin, namely Hungary, Slovakia, Austria, Romania and Croatia sit on huge potential for geothermal energy that is so far very much untouched. While there are various geothermal heating plants in Hungary, and one power plant, the wider application of geothermal be it for heating only or also for power is so far very much underrepresented. The Pannonion basis provides higher temperature gradients than the average of Europe, actually around 10 degrees Celsius per 1,000 meters of depth.