I always thought the anti btc argument based on energy usage was flawed. Why not go after Walmart? They use a ton of energy. Or tv sets. People don't need those, they use lots of power. Why not computers in general? Or Ford motor company, or air conditioning, etc. To single out bitcoin seems strange. Lots of stuff uses lots of power, and yet this one thing is singled out. I think it has more to do with the traditional banking system putting out negative stuff about crypto, although I don't know how I would prove such a thing. But, many media outlets are owned by just a handful of people.

Technology in general is creating more electricity demand. Look at the insane policy in California, where they want all cars to be electric? But where will this electricity come from? They already have rolling blackouts in the summer. The electricity prices, already some of the most expensive in the world, will become even worse. But that's just an example. In general tech will require more energy, so I think we need better ways of making that energy. In the usa we still use some pretty old school stuff like coal power. Time to invest in new power, rather than attacking a particular technology.