Solar Trees

Switching off the lights as you leave a room helps. It helps your bank account balance as well as the environment.
But what about those lights that illuminate the streets all night long? The good old street lights? They suck energy from the grid for days on a yearly basis and thus contribute to pollution.

Not good, not good. As thought designer Ross Lovegrove when he had the Solar Tree in mind. It's a redesign of the casual streetlight. But as it power source it has got an battery which is charged by some photovoltaic cells. (You know, solar panels). And it looks a bit like a tree, that's all.

Yes the design is certainly awesome. When I thought about the fact that it was inspired upon a tree it occurred to me that 'regular' trees convert light energy into chemical energy (which we digest), and this solar tree converts the light into chemical energy, to convert it back to light again at a later time.

Probably the best part of it all is that the Solar Tree is reality, it tours the world and I hope a city will soon replace the normal street lanterns with the Solar Tree.

-jdh