Jevons Paradox and Green IT

I just heard about Jevons Paradox today. More details at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jevons_paradox . It describes the paradox that, as the efficiency of a technological process goes up, the more it is used, not the less. By making something cheaper, it becomes more usable. This paradox was first described in 1865 when the use of coal became more efficient/cleaner and led to more use of coal, thus more pollution.

We are moving to the need to consider Green IT. IT may cause about 3-4% of energy consumption, similar to the avaition industry. IT use will go up. It is becoming a bit greener, but not nearly enough. Check out the Green IT and Cyberinfrastructure blog http://www.green-broadband.blogspot.com/ for more info. Bill St. Arnaud from CANARIE in Canada is one of the leading thinkers in this area.