Less is More

We're doing more with less. That's good for planet Earth.

Since 1977 the value of the U.S. economy has doubled, yet the amount of physical stuff it took to supply all the needs and wants of Americans fell from 1.18 trillion pounds to 1.08 trillion pounds. Even more astonishing: the "weight" of the economy fell while U.S. population grew by some 55 million people.

This probably not true for each individual resource, only in aggregate. 55 million additional people will require additional water, and while water can be delivered and used more efficiently, the total supply is not unlimited. The good news is that although the use of water probably went up, that means other resources were probably used less, and those other resources were probably less environmentally friendly than water.

I recommend checking out the other Knowledge labeled posts. As this sort of change is what knowledge economies are good for.

Hat tip to Brian Hollar at Thinking on the Margin. Which is rapidly becoming one of my all time favorite blogs! Not to detract from my extensive respect for the eminent professors at Marginal Revolution & Cafe Hayek. Their sites are much better known.