Japan's push to keep power flowing after it shuttered its nuclear program may best be illustrated by 73 million light bulbs.
That's the number of LED bulbs sold in Japan since the start of 2012, representing about 30 percent of the total. The LEDs, which consume a fifth of the energy used by standard lights, are key to the nation's strategy to make energy use more efficient, even as it pursues alternative sources such as solar power.
Four years after the Fukushima nuclear meltdown spurred the idling of all its reactors, knocking out 30 percent of the nation's power supply, the drive to reduce energy consumption has sparked a national campaign that includes everything from improved insulation for homes to train stations powered by the braking of subway cars and vending machines that recycle waste heat and generate power with solar panels on top.