I actually agree with you that they're apples and oranges. But I also think it doesn't make any sense to complain about Bitcoin's energy usage as I see it as well worth the investment.
Needless to say, I think that in a world where we are trying to become (as a general rule) more power-efficient in order to combat CO2 emissions, that's not the case. Adding whole new countries-worth of power use just for some new financial geekery really doesn't seem worth it.
But I'm glad we agree the comparison with the existing system is a silly one.
It's not just financial geekery, it's a complete re-configuring of our society including the dissolution of the state. Combating the eco destruction wrought by entities like the US government is a big piece of the puzzle.
