Will crypto-currencies cost the Earth? Are victims of the Grenfell fire getting justice? And how should people be compensated for vaccine side-effects?
Olly Mann and The Week delve behind the headlines and debate what really matters from the past seven days. With Arion McNicoll, Arion McNicoll and Felicity Capon.
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In this week’s episode, we discuss:
Fuelling Bitcoin
Most Bitcoin mining used to be done in China, until the government closed down the banks of computers used to mint the cyber-currency because of the immense power they were using. Since about 2021, the US has become the industry’s global leader. And their energy needs are astonishing: 34 Bitcoin “mines” are using as much energy as three million homes. According to a recent New York Times investigation, Bitcoin mining worldwide now “emits around the same amount of CO2 annually as a country the size of Greece”.
A Grenfell deal
Survivors of the Grenfell Tower fire, and relatives of those who died, have reached a civil settlement with a number of companies, including the construction company Arconic. The deal involves about 900 claimants, who will receive compensation – but is unconnected with a police investigation and public inquiry, both of which are ongoing. As are attempts to pursue the government and housing developers to rectify other buildings which are clad in potentially flammable material.
Vaccine side-effects
While side-effects from Covid vaccinations were exceedingly rare, a small number of people died or suffered serious injuries after the mass immunisation campaign. The widower of a 44-year-old woman whose death was caused by the Astra-Zeneca vaccine now says that his only recourse is to sue the company, after it and the government failed to respond to his pleas for help. Does the UK need to improve the way it deals with these rare cases of vaccine-related injury – and could the current impasse undermine public faith in the system?
