Why Cardano?
Like many millennials, our retirement fund was...imaginary. Let's face it, we have two Doctorate Degrees between us and with them a substantial amount of student debt. When my husband and I began looking into cryptocurrency and NFTs to start thinking about investing, we started with the obvious: Bitcoin and Athyrium.
As researchers, we immediately realized the huge carbon footprint that these cryptocurrencies and blockchains have. We chose Cardano to mint our NFTs because Cardano is the largest carbon-neutral cryptocurrency and blockchain. It seemed hypocritical to mint a National parks-based NFT and increase pollution and carbon emissions in the process.
It seems counterintuitive that the replacement of paper money would actually contribute more to climate change than cash or coins themselves, but it is true! Basically, a cryptocurrency needs to be "mined" or obtained by solving impossibly complex mathematical problems. Because of the complexity of cryptocurrency mining, currencies like Bitcoin or Aytherium require a ton of computer processing power. All of that processing power requires electrical energy, most of which comes from carbon-emitting pollutant sources like coal. Cardano has the same benefits as other blockchains in terms of decentralization and security; however, it mines cryptocurrency differently and is ultimately carbon neutral. Believe it or not, the creator of Aytherium also created Cardano in the hopes of creating a cryptocurrency that is better for the planet.
