From Knowledge Problem: Do you have a smart phone? If so, list
the functions you use on it: phone, camera, video camera, alarm
clock, calculator, notepad, address book, maps, music player,
and so on. This list scratches the surface, and your list
probably differs from mine. One small device that fulfills many
roles, substituting for several devices. As Marian Tupy points
out today in a Cato@Liberty post, the smart phone is a
versatile, powerful device that is also good for the environment
because its substitutability for so many things contributes to
dematerialization. Dematerialization is the process of using
fewer physical resources (materials and energy) per unit of
output or unit of economic activity. As she notes,
Dematerialization, in other words, should be welcome news for
those who worry about the ostensible conflict between the
growing world population on the one hand and availability of
natural resources on the other hand. While opinions regarding
scarcity of resources in the future differ, demateri