In 1865, a British economist named William Stanley Jevons noticed something strange. As steam engines became more efficient, Britain didn't use less coal. It used dramatically more. Better technology lowered the cost of energy, which created so many new uses for it that total consumption exploded. It became known as the Jevons Paradox: efficiency doesn't reduce demand. It multiplies it. I've been thinking about this a lot lately, because I think it's the most important idea nobody is talking...