Image via Make

A clever designer has come up with great ways to get us to conserve energy. They built switches that keep us from wanting to, or being able to turn the electricity on in the first place.

Photo: Flickr, CC

First U.S. Retailer to Phase Out the Bulb
Starting August 1st, 2010, IKEA will start phasing out incandescent bulbs (which are a lot more effective at producing heat than light) from its U.S. stores, with the goal of having completely eliminated the bulb by January 1st, 2011.

Induction Lamp photo: EcoLivingCentre

The Alternative Technology Association has been enlightening readers with Renew magazine on technology for a sustainable future now for 30 years, albeit with a name change from Soft Technology magazine back in 1996.

Their

Photo via Joel A Funk Jr

Turning off lights when we're not using them is an old, well-known way of saving electricity. So old, in fact, that it's become a bit cliche to mention it as a way of trimming energy consumption.

Images via Victor Vetterlein

We've all heard of cradle-to-cradle design, which is design that mimics natural life cycles during which something is made of materials, runs its useful life cycle, and at the end of that useful life cycle, becomes material for something new. Trash Me lamps by Victor Vetterlein bring a new spin to that design concept, starting at the grave. Pulling trash out of the rubbish bin, Vetterlein creates a bright idea.

All Images by B. Alter: The Cloud Project

Clerkenwell is an edgy part of London's east end where many of the design showrooms, architects and design professionals hang their hats.

We have been fans of Seattle's Graypants for a while; Seth, Jonathan and Jon "strive to come up with designs and ideas that are thoughtful and have an impact, whether it be furniture, lighting, architecture or graphics." Most of the work we have shown to date has been made of cardboard, but this year they introduce Steplight, a new lamp made of aluminum

Digital design and fabrication makes things possible that could only be dreamt of earlier. Dwell shows a lampshade that is not only designed using computers, but students at Ball State's Institute for Digital Fabrication wrote a program that modifies every single piece into a slightly different shape.

Image via GadgetGrid

Oasis has put out a beautiful solar powered lantern. It's stainless steel, has high and low settings, and can charge up via sunlight - though it takes 12-24 hours of light to get a full battery.