Never mind SUVs, everybody knows the real energy hogs of our modern culture. Street lamps. Those insipid gas guzzlers may look inconspicuous, but they are standing there all night every night. Ruining the world one flicker at a time. Philips Simplicity has had enough of that. They’ve unveiled their Light Blossom, a self-sustainable street lamp that is filled with energy-efficient LEDs. It powers itself via solar panels located on top of the lamp. You may have noticed it also looks like a surreal blossoming flower. Once they get enough of these on the streets the world will finally look like a Willy Wonka wonderland. Thank goodness for that.

love Europe in that special way only someone who’s lived exclusively in the United States for 25-odd years really can. Yet another fabulous reason to love Europe are these solar powered light trees, spotted last October in Vienna (as well as in Milan in November and December). Designed by Ross Lovegrove, each tree has 10 branches, and each branch has a solar cell (artemide polycrystalline solar cells by Sharp) “petal” on top. During the day, the petals charge built-in batteries, and as soon as the sun goes down, LEDs under the petals light up, providing efficient and cost effective street lighting, especially since the installation costs are minimal (no wiring necessary). The trees are able to provide light even after several consecutive cloudy days, although there aren’t any specifics on how much power the panels generate.

thanks Evan!

For centuries now, the Moon has complained–to deaf ears, until now–that it could be providing all the street light we need, most of the time. No need for gas or electric streetlights, no sir, not unless there were clouds and such. Finally, someone’s listened, and developed Lunar-Resonant Streetlights, which use LED lamps that adjust lighting as necessary based on the available moonlight. Energy savings would be significant, up to 95%. We’ll just have to se if/when they move beyond he conceptual stage. Hang tight, Moon, your day will come soon!

2000 Lumens. Check. 20 lithium batteries. Check. Battery life of 1.5 hours. Check. Pricetag of $7000. Check. if you need to shine a light equivalent to 130 "normal" flashlights, then the Surefire Beast II LED is for you. I’m trying to think of an application for this monster, and I’m failing. But I’m sure there’s someone out there who needs more light than I do.

Look out, because here come cops with flashlights that will make you hurl. Intelligent Optical Systems has created this weird flashlight that’s so bright it temporarily blinds you, and then it gets you all disoriented and dizzy. Using special types of really bright LEDs, the flashlight’s beam pulses and flashes while quickly changing its color, and all this somehow makes you feel like you’re going to throw up. Neat.