It's not nit-picking. A layman presented with this explanation might get the impression that a "problem" is being "solved", which implies there is some utility to the PoW algorithm, rather than energy being wasted for the sole purpose of proving that energy has been wasted. In fact, even the word "Work" in "Proof of Work" implies the same. Proof of Waste would be a much more apt description of what is actually happening.