Web 3.0 Joining the Green Movement
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Web 3.0 hasn’t had the best time in the limelight, often associated with the environmentally taxing, energy-intensive activities of Bitcoin and Ethereum mining. And while the web may exist in a virtual space, its effects are real due to the energy required to power it.
However, the Web 3.0 ecosystem is incredibly diverse, and many projects are focused on direct action towards regenerative projects and combating climate change.
What is Web 3.0?
Before we can explore how new Web 3.0 projects are combating the long-held convictions against blockchain technology, it might help to understand where this bad rep comes from.
During the last 40 years, the internet has seen three iterations: Web 1, Web 2, and Web 3.
Web 1 came into play around the mid-1990s, with mostly static websites and limited scope for engagement. Web 2 came about in the 2000s with interactive websites and UGC (User-generated Content). Unfortunately, web 2 also has a handful of major players like Facebook and Google that own your information and are entitled to sell your data to third parties.
The 2020s became the jumping-off point for Web 3, which represents decentralization. Essentially, no single entity stores your personal data or validates transactions. It sounds much more secure and puts users in control of their information, but it comes with environmental repercussions.
The energy it takes to mine a single Bitcoin is about 86,000 to 286,000 kilowatt-hours, which is about 59 days’ worth of power for a single American household. With more people using cryptocurrencies for transactions, Web 3.0 projects must strictly adhere to sustainability values.
How Web 3.0 will improve society
All said, there are benefits to adopting Web 3.0 and blockchain technology in all sectors of society, from trade and finance to government, healthcare, and research.
- Allows scientists and researchers to classify vast amounts of data relating to viruses and store them securely while tracking the supply and logistics of vaccines to ensure no counterfeits are circulated (as in the case with the Covid-19 vaccines).
- Smart contracts enable users to lend or borrow money in a trustless environment.
- Web 3.0 helps businesses conduct trades and transactions internationally at high speeds with more security and the opportunity to scale up.
- Governments can use Web 3 to provide more targeted information to citizens in case of warnings for natural disasters or local crimes.
- Governments may also make requesting official documents (driving licenses or a Covid test report) easier.
- Greater transparency in transactions since more validators are required to authenticate a transaction before it is added to the digital ledger, making actions like charitable donations and real-estate investments more trustworthy.
- Bringing users closer to art, concerts, movies, and more with NFTs and the metaverse.
How Web 3.0 projects help the environment
The benefits highlighted above barely scratch the surface, and they are indispensable in a constantly innovating world. Keeping this in mind, some of these projects bring users all the benefits of Web 3.0 and blockchain technology without the emissions and negative impact.
Like many social impact DAOs (Decentralized Autonomous Organizations), ClimateDAO is focused on activist investing, but with a twist.
They pool together money from users, purchase shares in publicly traded companies, and use their positions to enact change in these companies through proxy voting, initiating proposals and motions, and advocating for better corporate social responsibility with new sustainability initiatives.
Plastiks is an NFT marketplace that connects plastic producers and recyclers using a smart contract approach. The marketplace merges NFTs with actual recycling data from waste management companies, setting a new standard for traceability and recovery of plastics.
Megatech combines state-of-the-art solar energy technology, revolutionary storage technology, and a dynamic funding model to ensure high profits for its users with low turnaround times. Their solar plants provide high returns to token holders and will continue to grow as Megatech’s Project Beta takes off.
Project Beta is a 60MW solar farm that will include a 100MWh of technology with the opportunity for users to sell green renewable energy at peak rates to blue-chip listed corporations that have already signed on and committed for offtake.
In addition, Megatech works with several entities in the renewable energy space, and their initiative is 100% compliant with ESKOM (National Energy Commission).
Thanks to their partnership with Binance Smart Chain (BSC), users also benefit from smart contract functionality, high speed, and low fees while earning crypto and supporting sustainable energy solutions.
A new, sustainable internet
It’s great to see more and more people becoming aware of the environmental impact specific actions have and speaking up against them. It’s even better to see how these projects have addressed those concerns without losing the essence of Web 3.0 and blockchain technology.
After all, if Web 3 is an evolution of Web 2, it is given that it must be the more sustainable option as well.
