ECN recently published a piece slamming Texas for passing a law
that "allows Texans to make and sell the old-fashioned
inefficient kind of bulbs". The author further states that the
goal of the national law Texas is opposing "was to lower U. S.
energy usage." It will do no such thing. It will increase
electrical usage. We have known this since Economist William
Jevons discovered the principle in 1865. From the Wiki: 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 his coal-fired steam engine, which greatly
improved the efficiency of 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 improve