Sure, we talk about plastic in the oceans and CO2 and electricity usage at a general level. But I think the commenter you are replying to is basically right that there isn't a sustained cultural conversation targeting the wastefulness of very particular forms of applied electricity usage.
And I don't think a one-off article changes that since you can find one-off articles about practically anything. It seems weirdly specific to talk about bitcoin's energy cost this way when we don't single out, say, Clash of Clans or facebook posts about the Ice Bucket challenge and lament their specific energy costs. And I think the reason for the difference has to do with the idiosyncratic culture surrounding bitcoin rather than bitcoin being a unique harm in terms of electricity usage.
>> U.S. homes have about 63 million video game consoles, and together they use about as much energy as San Diego does in a year, according to a 2008 study by the Natural Resources Defense Council
