Author: John M. Polimeni File Type: pdf The Jevons Paradox, which was first expressed in 1865 by William Stanley Jevons in relation to use of coal, states that an increase in efficiency in using a resource leads to increased use of that resource rather than to a reduction. This has subsequently been proved to apply not just to fossil fuels, but other resource use scenarios. For example, doubling the efficiency of food production per hectare over the last 50 years (due to the Green Revolution) did not solve the problem of hunger. The increase in efficiency increased production and worsened hunger because of the resulting increase in population. The implications of this in todays world are substantial. Many scientists and policymakers argue that future technological innovations will reduce consumption of resources the Jevons Paradox explains why this may be a false hope. This is the first book to provide a historical overview of the Jevons Paradox, provide evidence for its existence and apply it to complex systems. Written and edited by world experts in the fields of economics, ecological economics, technology and the environment, it explains the myth of efficiency and explores its implications for resource usage (particularly oil). It is a must-read for policymakers, natural resource managers, academics and students concerned with the effects of efficiency on resource use.ReviewGiven both the importance of the topic and the analytical and policy vacuum that surrounds it, a book devoted to Jevons Paradox is both timely and welcome... contain(s) a great deal of valuable material. - Steve Sorrell, Science Policy Research Unit, University of SussexThis extraordinary and timely book focuses on a basic problem involved in achieving major energy conservation. As the authors explain, the Jevons Paradox emphasizes that simply reducing energy use in one system actually often results in increasing energy use in another system. The issue of sustainability cannot be handled just by looking for silver bullets ... -David Pimentel, Professor Emeritus, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University Efficiency first does not give frugality second it makes frugality less necessary. But if we seek frugality first we get efficiency second as an adaptation to scarcity. Recognizing the Jevons Paradox, this book cogently argues, is the major key to a rational energy policy. Highly recommended! -Herman E. Daly, Professor at the School Of Public Affairs, University Of Maryland, and former senior economist in the Environment Department of the World Bank This book is the most comprehensive attempt at dismantling the efficiency myth it examines the subject from a variety of practical and theoretical perspectives, and while it may leave an unsuspecting reader rather depressed it leaves all of us better prepared to face the reality. -Vaclav Smil, FRSC, Distinguished Professor, University Of Manitoba, Canada A thoughtful compilation of the best multidisciplinary approaches to modeling energy and resource use, looking at the extent to which energy efficiency leads to increased consumption and if so, how this price-determined effect can be mitigated. - Hazel Henderson, Ethical Markets Truly fascinating... an enlightening, provocative work. - Choice A remarkable and unsettling critique of energy policy. -Crosslands BulletinIn this thought provoking book , the authors follow the Jevrons Paradox from its originator through time to our current debate on resource use and sustainability.-Clean Technologies and Environmental PolicyAbout the AuthorJohn M. Polimeni is assistant professor of economics at Albany College of Pharmacy, US. Kozo Mayumi is professor at Faculty of Integrated Arts and Sciences, the University of Tokushima, Japan. Mario Giampietro is an ICREA research professor in the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology at the Universitat Autnoma de Barcelona in Spain. Blake Alcott received his MPhil in the Department of Land Economy, Cambridge University, in 2006 and is now working as an unaffiliated scholar in Zrich.

Author: Paul le Blanc File Type: epub With characteristic clarity and insight, historian and activist Paul Le Blanc offers a sweeping survey of the key contributions of Marxist theory, exploring its relevance to twentieth-century revolutionary movements and figures. Paul Le Blanc Has written on and participated in the US labor, radical and civil rights movements, and is author of numerous books. **Review Paul Le Blanc is a true organic intellectual, risen from the working class to become a prolific writer, steadfast activist, and exceptional teacher. His lifelong commitment to the struggle for a democratic, socialist revolution. In this wonderful set of essays, he lays out, in accessible and passionate prose, his penetrating analysis of both revolutionary theory and practice. The theory pieces are must reading they give readers, whether they are new to the material or seasoned hands, the essence of Marxism, class, identity, working class culture, and the politics of revolution. The practice chapters probe revolutionary efforts around the world, from Russia and Cuba to Nicaragua and South Africa. These will be especially useful to teachers. We are in a time of renewed interest in socialism, and there could be no better book than this one to help us grasp the immanent need for it and how we might get from this dying society to one that offers us not just greater happiness but our only chance for long-term survival. -Michael D. Yates, Associate Editor of Monthly Review and Editorial Director of Monthly Review Press, author ofThe Great InequalityandWhy Unions Matter In this outstanding collection of essays, Paul Le Blanc deals, with powerful insight, key isssues of revolutionary theory and practice, from Marx and Trotsky to the Sandinista insurrection. Uneven and combined development, labor radicalism and socialist democracy are discussed with great acumen. This is plain - i.e. dialectical - revolutionary Marxism at its best, refusing to give up the struggle for a new world, a society of liberty and justice for all. -Michael Lowy, Emeritus research director, National Center for Scientific Research, Paris About the Author Paul Le Blanc is a professor of History at La Roche College. He has written on and participated in the U.S. labor, radical and civil rights movements, and is author of numerous books, including Marx, Lenin and the Revolutionary Experience and Lenin and the Revolutionary Party.