Ann Arbor Goes Green With LED Streetlights

Ann Arbor, Michigan already has some pretty big bragging rights. After all, it’s the home to the University of Michigan and quite a few high tech companies (like JSTOR, Pfizer, and Arbor Networks). Now it will have a new claim to fame to go with those tech savy companies – Ann Arbor will be the first city to replace its streetlights with more energy friendly LED lighting.

LED lights cost about half the energy as standard light bulbs, and last about five times as long as a traditional bulb, so by replacing its standard streetlights with fancier LED lights puts Ann Arbor at the front of the recent “green” movement, conserving energy at a city level. Saved energy is also saved money, costing taxpayers less to keep the cities lights burning (according to NewLaunches.com the city expects to recoup the expense of the new lights within four years). It’s a move that’s responsible both to the citizens and the environment.

Although Ann Arbor will be the first city to make this transformation we all hope it won’t be the last. With the green movement rolling forward so strongly in 2007, there’s no reason more cities shouldn’t embrace this concept.