"Studies suggest that a complete conversion to the [light-emitting diode, or LED] lights could decrease carbon dioxide emissions from electric power use for lighting by up to 50 percent in just over 20 years; in the United States, lighting accounts for about 6 percent of all energy use. A recent report by McKinsey & Company cited conversion to LED lighting as potentially the most cost effective of a number of simple approaches to tackling global warming using existing technology."

Elisabeth Rosenthal and Felicity Barringer report for the New York Times May 29, 2009. [2]