According to Jevons it is in regards to coal consumption and efficiency improvements in steam engines, believing that economical use of fuel is equal to diminished consumption, and in fact it is the opposite.In conservation, energy economics and green marketing it refers to the behavioral or other systematic responses to the introduction of new technologies, or other measures taken to reduce resource use. These responses tend to offset the beneficial effects of the new technology or other measures taken. The rebound effect is generally expressed as a ratio of the lost benefit compared to the expected environmental benefit when holding consumption constant. In Jevons paradox the actual resource savings are negative, the rebound effect is higher than 100%, this is also known as ‘back-fire’. An example is when the computer was invented there was a belief there would be less use of paper but in fact the use of using paper to print increased drastically. Also an increase in battery storage technology and efficiency improvements in production leads to an explosion of digital technologies increasing the demand for more energy and resources.
What would happen if consumers stop spending so much? There is a great emphasis on consumer spending because it is important to keep the economy going and also it controls the supply and demand of products. Consumer spending is necessary to preserve the economic cycle. There will soon be an economy based on debt peonage, with a great surplus and a lack of incoming. There can be a complete collapse which also affects our technological advances, and resulting in the US losing its title as a powerhouse country.
In Adam Curtis documentary Century of the self he mentions the concept “sea of selves”. I believe by this he means now people are so competitive and concerned with themselves and only helping themselves that they forget what it means to be a community. Especially in the corporate world where people continuously step on others toes to get to the top they often forget everyone else or their concerns, and never realize they may need those people once they get to the top. It’s as though we have conformed to this lifestyle of zombies in suits and we never realize they people around us, or those “below” us.
F.G. Bailey mentions there are 5 aspects of the human life and they include tactical, moral, silly, civic, and divine. As for civic he believes this is what brings people together, and what we are suppose to do as our existence on this earth. It is what makes us all the same, but yet and still different. The divine is the higher power, and the belief that our actions affect not only us and our lifestyles, but those that surround us and everyone else. It sets our responsibility for our actions at a higher level. Not only do we have to answer to ourselves but to a higher power. But these are both needed to keep stability and control in a society.
This essay was rather interestingly true and because of it truth it also frightens and saddens me. When mentioning the “sea of selves” concept it scares me that the society we live in is very self-centered and we all live in this box as to where we believe life to be. The sense of family and community has lost its meaning and we have become a society of soldiers where we take orders from machines and believe that we are supposed to live luxuriously at the cost of the “little people”. We’ve lost this sense of responsibility as a country, as America and continue to blame others and make others suffer the consequences. Because corporate America is such an important aspect to us Americans, we never realize what we’ve become, people on wall street look like a sea of blue suits and zombies, and though we are all for self there lacks individualism. It makes me question what have we turned into? And what has made us that way? We are more concerned with the tactical and moral aspect of life rather than the civic and divine. And I believe it starts from childhood when we are taught that we are wrong for being different, or just the idea of being wrong continues to separate us, but from what? Our level of intelligence? And whose to say what makes things right and wrong, because they are far from the normal. We have simply become selfish zombies.
Veterans day is a day we celebrate those who have served our country. I believe this article was presented to us on Veteran’s day because of the idea of war and where war stem’s from. War is based upon the fear of losing power and status, and the idea of “self-interest”. We no longer look to our neighboring countries for help and assistance but rather fear that they may be ahead of us, or become more powerful. Also with the economic aspect and the need of the consumer market. Because war is very expensive to a country we need people to continue to buy so we don’t fall into a greater debt especially in time of warfare when the economy usually falls into a slum. Hence, why many stores during veteran’s day conduct major sales to encourage people to continue to buy. And as for the soldier they are fighting for us all not for themselves. They’ve lost the sense of just self and understand their responsibility as a person and the power they hold and how it affects not only them, but the country as a whole.
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