But this is offense—the plan increases overall consumption

In fact, the patent system may actually contribute to the environmental problem by incentivizing economic activities that negatively impact the environment. Such a potential negative impact of the patent system on the environment has not been studied so far. Technological innovation results in the introduction of a wider selection of products and services to the marketplace, and by doing so, it may bring about an increase in the overall level of consumption. Likewise, innovation may accelerate the pace of development of improvements in a manner that leads to quicker obsolescence of existing products. A discussion of the possible manners by which the patent system may negatively impact the environment is outside the scope of this Article’s analysis. It is sufficient, for the purposes of the discussion herein, to acknowledge that the effectiveness of patents as an incentive mechanism in the environmental domain is limited.