Editing Jevons paradox (section)

==History==
[[File:PSM V11 D660 William Stanley Jevons.jpg|right|thumb|upright=1|alt=Engraving of William Stanley Jevons|[[William Stanley Jevons]], after whom the effect is named]]

The Jevons paradox was first described by the English economist [[William Stanley Jevons]] in his 1865 book ''[[The Coal Question]]''. Jevons observed that [[England]]'s consumption of [[coal]] soared after [[James Watt]] introduced the [[Watt steam engine]], which greatly improved the efficiency of the coal-fired [[steam engine]] from [[Thomas Newcomen]]'s earlier design. Watt's innovations made coal a more cost-effective power source, leading to the increased use of the steam engine in a wide range of industries. This in turn increased total coal consumption, even as the amount of coal required for any particular application fell. Jevons argued that improvements in [[fuel efficiency]] tend to increase (rather than decrease) fuel use, writing: "It is a confusion of ideas to suppose that the economical use of fuel is equivalent to diminished consumption. The very contrary is the truth."<ref name="Coal Question"/>

At that time, many in Britain worried that coal reserves were rapidly dwindling, but some experts opined that improving technology would reduce coal consumption. Jevons argued that this view was incorrect, as further increases in efficiency would tend to increase the use of coal. Hence, improving technology would tend to increase the rate at which England's coal deposits were being depleted, and could not be relied upon to solve the problem.<ref name="Coal Question"/><ref name="Alcott2"/>

Although Jevons originally focused on coal, the concept has since been extended to other resources, e.g., [[water use|water usage]].<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Dumont|first1=A.|last2=Mayor|first2=B.|last3=López-Gunn|first3=E.|title=Is the Rebound Effect or Jevons Paradox a Useful Concept for Better Management of Water Resources? Insights from the Irrigation Modernisation Process in Spain|journal=Aquatic Procedia|date=2013|volume=1|pages=64–76|doi=10.1016/j.aqpro.2013.07.006|doi-access=free|bibcode=2013AqPro...1...64D }}</ref>  The Jevons paradox is also found in [[socio-hydrology]], in the safe development paradox called the ''reservoir effect'', where construction of a reservoir to reduce the risk of water shortage can instead exacerbate that risk, as increased water availability leads to more development and hence more water consumption.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Di Baldassarre |first1=Giuliano |last2=Wanders |first2=Niko |last3=AghaKouchak |first3=Amir |last4=Kuil |first4=Linda |last5=Rangecroft |first5=Sally |last6=Veldkamp |first6=Ted I. E. |last7=Garcia |first7=Margaret |last8=van Oel |first8=Pieter R. |last9=Breinl |first9=Korbinian |last10=Van Loon |first10=Anne F. |date=November 2018 |title=Water shortages worsened by reservoir effects |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-018-0159-0 |journal=Nature Sustainability |language=en |volume=1 |issue=11 |pages=617–622 |doi=10.1038/s41893-018-0159-0 |bibcode=2018NatSu...1..617D |s2cid=134508048 |issn=2398-9629}}</ref>