Glowing trees to replace street lamps!

Biologically based LEDs could be used to make trees illuminate sidewalks

What an awesome idea! Imagine the possibilities this could have in landscape architecture with other plant species and flowers. I just hope there is no crazy effect from this in the future though on an environmental level. Weird soon our planet will look like the set of Avatar.

MSN News

That's wicked cool

The best part is there's no downsides to this. The most important reason is that it will save a ton of energy. But it's also great because it will cause people to appreciate nature more, especially people who live in the middle of cities and never even considered the beauty of a tree. Plus it would make for great scenery - a perfect bled of nature and industry.

It'll confuse the trees, they won't know when it's time to sleep. Then you'll end up with a load of really grumpy trees, and none of us want that.

(other than that, it's a cool idea)

This is cool and everything but what is the big need to have street lights these days.
Light pollution is terrible as it is and we should be looking at cutting light numbers not replacing it with something different. As an amature astronomer both trees and streetlights are terribly annoying, combining the two would drive me completely mad.
We have had the street lights off here recently due to storm damage, it was brilliant.

Erm...don't we do that already right around christmas time?

meh...festive at least.

What would be far more cool would be a biolumincent harmless bacteria coating the sidewalks...look super awesome, sort of natural, and possibly convert carbon into oxygen as a side benefit..it would need to be mostly transparent however so not to cover up things like lines and signs...otherwise, what a neat breakthrough that would be.

harmless would be the key though considering it would grow out of control (unless of course it could only survive on some specific chemical that the city needed to spray now and then, else they die out)

reply to post by Acidtastic


very very very important point most likely

plants are photosensitive, they rely on light for pretty much everything, who knows how this will effect them

personally i would be against this, sort of a 'hippy' stance but i just think we don't need to be doing this kind of thing to plants...

It won't be very good for birds, it'll mess with their body clocks, they won't know when to roost and more than likely die of exhaustion.

reply to post by nicolee123nd


Lol would not jump on the "No downside" wagon just yet.


I am sure this will have a profound effect on many aspects of biotechnology, but the ramifications are already in sight.

reply to post by NonKonphormist


You are right, but I don't think I would want a glowing tree on my front lawn in a residential area anyway.
In cities animals seldom use natural means to live, urbanized pigeons seek more enclosed shelters to the natural ones (that is why architects go to great lengths to pigeon-ize buildings). Cockroaches, bedbugs, rats, squirrels, alligators, cats, dogs, etc. all become urbanized in these contexts and seek human structures to there natural ones. Deer seldom live next to the highways, but yes they do cross them. I wouldn't advocate using this technology in a natural setting but like all other inventions it has its good and bad points.
Roads, highways, cities, airports, dams, telecommunication towers, electrical transformers, etc., etc, etc. these are all obtrusive on the environment. So if we are not arguing principle, are we now haggling over price?

There's too much light around the place already.

Bring on the night.

reply to post by AnteBellum

Weird soon our planet will look like the set of Avatar.

A blue screen? No seriously. The set was a blue screen.

reply to post by Acidtastic


it wont confuse the trees if you use the colour green. Green is the part of the light spectrum that leaves (photosynthesis) on tress cannot absorb. Thats why we see the colour green. So giving the leds a green colour wont effect the trees in anyway

reply to post by NonKonphormist


This would really be no different than normal street lights in regards to impact on trees and critters. Glowing trees could actually be better, providing a lower-intensity but more diffuse source of light (it would be 'softer').

look, just need the "light trees",

really don't need every tree to glow.


that will solve the bird/bat prob and things won't get out of hand.

we are talking bio-lum, right?

reply to post by AnteBellum


Nice find.

This type of news really inspires me.

Thanks against S&F.

I believe the future revolves around bio-engineering.

We will probably design fully biological houses one day.

Or maybe biological airplanes

The possibilities are unlimited.

reply to post by Watcher-In-The-Shadows


I think you meant green screen, blue went the way of the dinosaurs years ago.

Oh I get it, it's very clever. Thank you. How's that working out for you? Being clever. Great. Keep it up then...

I would love glowing trees on the sides of streets, on the one hand you have the monotony the hustle and the bustle of city life and then you look and..... wow a glowing tree, how peaceful.
I like it.
Something kind of..... I don't know.....elven about it.
Seems peaceful.
Wonder if the community housing board would let me put one in my yard. Maybe if I explained it would greatly increase the effectiveness of the neighborhood watch if the trees glowed.