Many of the current lamp posts are made of concrete and are showing signs of wear, with some at danger of collapse.

BBC: Energy saving hope for new street lights

Sensors attached to traffic lights, lamp-posts and other city landmarks are seen as key to creating smarter cities.

BBC: Researchers work on smart city search engine

In case you are in need of a refresher, this DLP throws out the normal lamp in favor of a cluster of LEDs that will (hopefully) provide better color and a longer life with no brightness degradation.

ENGADGET: NuVision's 52LEDLP 1080p LED based DLP priced and dated HD

"While our results are still very new, our thinking is that the mercury detected by Lamp from the Grail site might be related to an enhancement at the poles caused by mercury atoms generally hopping across the surface and eventually migrating toward the cold polar regions, " said Kurt Retherford, the chief scientist for Lamp.

BBC: Nasa reveals new information about moon probes crash sites

Although each step produces only enough electricity to keep an LED-powered street lamp lit for 30 seconds, Kemball-Cook says that the tiles are a real-world "crowdsourcing" application, harnessing small contributions from a large number of individuals.

CNN: Green sidewalk makes electricity -- one footstep at a time

If your budget does not allow for a 34, 000 euro dandelion lamp, many shops feature a wide selection of more affordable design mementos that are just as special.

BBC: The City of Light becomes the city of design

Films and series about Edwardian upper caste manners which portray the genteels uncharitably are boring, like the steady, unending (until one turns the switch off) hum of a fluorescent lamp.

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