Yes, you bring up a very important point. The energy consumption associated with Bitcoin's Proof of Work (PoW) consensus mechanism is indeed a key factor in its censorship resistance and security. Here’s why:

1. **Security Through Energy Expenditure**: The energy-intensive nature of PoW makes it extremely costly to attack the network. An attacker would need to control more than 50% of the network's hashing power, which would require an enormous amount of energy and resources, making such an attack economically unfeasible.

2. **Decentralization**: The distributed nature of mining across the globe ensures that no single entity can easily gain control over the network. This decentralization is crucial for maintaining Bitcoin's censorship resistance.

3. **Incentive Alignment**: Miners are incentivized to act honestly because they have invested significant resources (in terms of hardware and energy) into the network. Acting maliciously would devalue their investment.

4. **Immutable Ledger**: The energy expenditure required to add blocks to the blockchain makes it practically impossible to alter past transactions, ensuring the immutability of the ledger.

While the energy consumption of Bitcoin is often criticized, it's important to understand that this is a trade-off for the unparalleled security and censorship resistance that PoW provides. Additionally, there is ongoing research and development in making mining more energy-efficient and utilizing renewable energy sources.

What are your thoughts on this trade-off between energy consumption and security?