Help needed for a presentation.

Hi all,

I should explain here, I'm studying Environmental Science and Have to
pass communications by creating a 15 minute presentation to the class on
a topic of our choosing. My topic is essentially on the viabilty of the
of the modern LED, being able to largly replace their incandescent counter
parts.

I'm going to do something of a hands on presentation to demonstrate
what the modern LED is capable of, including differences in colour
temperature, bulb life and the benefits of using rechargeable batteries.
I won't cover HIDS in this as they are largly outside the realm of the
average user.

My argument is that given incandescent house lighting is being phased
out, then maybe the same should be done in torches. For the obvious
reasons of far greater life span and in the end less land fill.

Can anyone suggest maybe a key points that I can use. I'm using my
lunch break to write this, so I won't be able to look at responses for
awhile.

Thank you.

http://inhabitat.com/2010/05/12/philips-unveils-worlds-first-led-replacement-for-most-common-bulb/

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/07/led-streetlights-anchorage-alaska-16000.php

hope these help.

Just make sure you demonstrate some examples; most people still equate LEDs with dim blue 5mm devices, so having at least one serious LED light would be a very helpful example, even better if you have several LED lights with different color temperatures/power sources, and maybe a large Maglite for comparison..

It looks like your topic is "Replacing incandescent bulbs in handheld lights with LEDs will save energy and reduce waste." I'd argue (against your topic) that handheld lights make little environmental difference in (flashlight) waste and energy use.
However, with LED and battery tech going the way they are, well...the only cheap lights I see are really crummy "XENON!!!" flashlights, Mag solitaire, and showerhead LEDs. Low-end LED lights tend to be of generally low quality (it'll break in a few weeks, don't fix it, buy a new one). My advice? Focus on battery waste.
You might spend a bit of time on: Battery disposal is awful, batteries in landfills are toxic and strangle baby rabbits in their burrows, and using more of them is murdering future generations of children in pools of mercury. Next, perhaps compare (equally-priced) LED and incandescent lights, noting how well you can see and how long given batteries last. I would calculate this into "Incandescent to LED" battery conversion factor (I dunno, it'll be less than one). Finally, one might multiply by the ten batteries purchased per person per year in the US and claim those environmental benefits. Do cite figures; teachers love that and it shows that you aren't making things up.
A more exciting topic is rechargeable batteries; which already perform better for longer and more cheaply than alkalines in most fun gadgets.