Seamutt wrote:
CFL have mercury in them and should be disposed of safely. Do a search on how to clean up a broken CFL, its a jaw dropper.
Not as bad as you might think.
Case 1: CFL is used, then carelessly tossed in the garbage, ending up in a sealed sanitary landfill (clay liners and leachate collection systems to prevent groundwater contamination. The small amount of mercury stays relatively contained.
Case 2: Incandescent lights with zero mercury are used instead. Multiple needed for same lifespan and use 4x the energy. Coal burning is still almost half the power generation in the USA. Coal burning emits a small amount of mercury! The total mercury emitted due to the increased amount of coal burned is as large as the mercury contained in the average modern CFL.
Conclusion: BOTH approaches put mercury out into the environment. The CFL puts it in a sealed landfill (unless you break it!), the incandescent causes it to be pumped out into the air. Which is worse?
Better conclusion: Buy LED.
