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Light. During the day we of course take it for granted because there’s plenty of it provided by the sun, but at night we would literally still be living in the dark ages if not for the invention of a single household gadget that all of us humans also take completely for granted; the incandescent light bulb. The invention of the incandescent light bulb led to the complete transformation of most of the first world and a big transformation in the rest of the world.  It allowed cities to be built, it allowed the vast migration to the suburbs afterwards, and it lights every facet of our lives completely every night (and for a good part of the day). The problem; it’s extremely inefficient.  The simple fact is that incandescent bulbs waste a LOT of electricity.  The majority of the waste is due to the heat that they create when they are lighted. That heat, which actually is quite significant, is used for…nothing.   (With the exception of the Easy Bake Oven, of course.) It’s completely wasted and the electricity that is used to light them is also. A true double-whammy of waste. Today however there is a movement worldwide to replace these inefficient electricity wasters with newer, more energy efficient bulbs like LED’s.  They last longer, use less electricity and need less maintenance that the older bulbs and have scientists thinking that they may be the key to seriously reducing electrical consumption in cities worldwide. This movement has even been seen in the art world. It was recently announced that the renovations that are going to be made to the Classic Center in Athens, Georgia will include an art installation with LED lighting. The sculpture, which will measure 35 feet by 68 feet, will be a mélange of artistic styles that include the use of metal, wire cloth and as mentioned LED lights. These types of things are happening all the over the world as the new technology is being embraced and the old, inefficient ways pushed to the side.  It will need to happen on much bigger scale of course to make a difference but the fact is that, as the newer bulbs are slowly but surely replaced by the older we will hopefully start to see a steady drop in energy ‘situations’ in all of our cities, with the artists of the world leading the way.