Jevons Paradox One thing that must be noted about making things more efficient is that it doesn't always work as we expected it to because of the Jevons paradox: «the proposition that technological progress that increases the efficiency with which a resource is used, tends to increase (rather than decrease) the rate of consumption of that resource.» (treehugger.com)
Humankind's relentless consumption of resources such as timber, oil and minerals is continuing to destroy natural habitats around the globe. (populationmatters.org)
Let's remember first of all that consumption of resources in the population - declining «first world» far surpasses consumption in developing countries with high population growth. (dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com)