  Proof of Work (PoW) blockchains burn a lot of energy. Proof-of-work
algorithms are expensive by design and often only serve to compute blockchains.
In some sense, carbon-based and non-carbon based regional electric power is
fungible. So the total carbon and non-carbon electric power mix plays a role.
Thus, generally PoW algorithms have large CO$_2$ footprints solely for
computing blockchains. A proof of technology is described towards replacing
hashcash or other PoW methods with a lottery and proof-of-VM (PoVM) emulation.
PoVM emulation is a form of PoW where an autonomous blockchain miner gets a
lottery ticket in exchange for providing a VM (virtual Machine) for a specified
period. These VMs get their jobs from a job queue. Managing and ensuring, by
concensus, that autonomous PoVMs are properly configured and running as
expected gives several gaps for a complete practical system. These gaps are
discussed. Our system is similar to a number of other blockchain systems. We
briefly survey these systems. This paper along with our proof of technology was
done as a senior design project.
