Environment & Energy
In reply to the discussion: The Jevons Paradox is bullshit. [View all]The2ndWheel
(7,947 posts)That's why we're always chasing our own tail.
Efficiency can be the cause of population growth. Population growth can also be the impetus to increasing efficiency. Same with the overconsumption/overpopulation debate. Which is the bigger issue? Does one cause the other? Which one is the other? We have a lot of people, so we consume quite a bit. We have quite a bit to consume, so we can sustain more people.
Then there is the moral part of the equation. A huge variable. The Black Plague came at a time when nobody could really do anything about it, at least not from any corner of the globe. Had something like the Green Revolution been possible then in relation to the Black Plague, it probably would've been done.
That leads back to the issue of control. Trying to control nature. Trying to control/cure death. Do we do it? How do we do it? Should we do it? How could we even think about not doing it? Can we even stop trying to do it?