Lighting Up the World: an Exemplification of Jevon’s Paradox
This week in class, we discussed the concept of Jevon’s Paradox. As technological advancements are made, societies develop methods of increasing the efficiency of tools and objects that we use. Take the revolutionary telephone, for example: the original landline sparked the ability to directly speak with someone who was 3 miles away. Today, we hold the power to send a call across the globe in our mobile phones that require only a brief recharge for a day’s worth of usage. On that note, the coalescence of convenience and energy efficiency create desirability, sparking new demand. As a result, advancements in reducing our energy consumption are often offset by the increased use incited by the added demand. To contextualize this issue in an economic perspective, I will be illustrating the rise of LED lights and how their growing influence contributes to light pollution.
The rise of artificial lighting is an example of a development that has seen substantial elasticity in its demand as prices fluctuate. When the price of lighting is low, demand grows significantly. The introduction of LED lights underscores this idea. In the past few decades, LED technology has proven to be more affordable and energy efficient while delivering long-lasting sources of light. In a report from Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, however, the issue becomes clear. Recently, the Singaporean Land Transport Authority has led an initiative to replace over 95,000 street lamps with LED bulbs while adding LED screens to many commonplaces. In the city that is ranked #1 in the world for light pollution, the prevalence of overusing lighting has highlighted critical issues. In the country, many trees are planted along highways to combat the emissions of vehicles, an area where streetlights are also abundant. That said, prolonged exposure to the bright light of LED bulbs can lead to trees over-absorbing harmful pollutants and losing water. In a sense, the over-implementation of these more energy efficient lights is creating a new issue as a key combatant of carbon emissions becomes weakened.
As can be seen by this case, the matter of Jevon’s Paradox shows that the increase in efficiency of one item can create rebounding effects that have large consequences due to increased consumption. As we move to the convenient, more energy efficient LED light, we may harm the planet’s greenery. On that note, cognizance for the issue can lead us toward the development of solutions, and the contributions from Nanyang Technological University include propositions that can address the aforementioned matter of harming plant life. For instance, using light covers to control the direction in which light travels, preventing it from being directly cast onto trees and alleviating the issue of overexposure.
All in all, the existence of Jevon’s Paradox is something which the world must be aware of before making any major decisions in relation to sustainability innovations. In this instance of LED lights, we can enjoy cheaper lighting costs, but at what cost if we are reckless with implementation? If we are not considerate, the long-term consequences brought about from unintended or indirect effects of increased efficiency could create a rebound that creates more harm than good.
