Jevons paradox, named after a 19th century British economist during the industrial revolution, is based on the observation that even though efficiencies of economy (i.e. newer, more-efficent innovations) can reduce cost and resource requirements per unit item, in reality what happens is the consumer population uses more of the items, thus generating more waste and resource use on a global level. Hence, it is prudent to consider that while going green may be good for the environment, it may backfire because more people than ever before are going to use the green technology.
Take for example lighting. Over the many past decades the cost of lighting a room has decrease dramatically as a result of increased efficiency of light technology. The paradox is that modern lighting technologies are expanding so rapidly over the globe that the resource consumption for making light bulbs is increasing, not decreasing. Thus, going green can spur economic growth. Economic growth will lead to new and better technologies that will evolve to make lighting even more efficient. To learn more go to http://www.next2eden.com/articles_view.php?id=336&cat=2 to learn more.
