MY GREEN BLOG

Having had a wonderful lunch with my good friend and eco-consultant 'slash' eco-everywoman, Julie Beall, the discussion about CFL bulbs came up. For those that are unaware, CFL bulbs are Compressed Fluorescent Light bulbs. They are those bulbs that curve around in a spiral. Wiki "CFL" and it'll tell ya all about it.

Anyway, our conversation centered around the safety or overall impact of CFL bulbs as they are the a hot green item. "Of course they're GREEN!!!" I said and focused on the following statistics:

 - CFL uses 75% less energy and lasts 10 times longer

 - Saves the user $45 over the lifetime of JUST ONE BULB!!!

 - Reduces Carbon Emission by 67lbs of CO2!!!

All good...well ALL GREAT... RIGHT?.... WRONG. Though CFL bulbs are great for the environment and our energy savings, there is 1 factor that makes them not so great... MERCURY!!

According to Brown University, a CFL bulb's Mercury content exceeds the EPA's safety standards, BUT... and this is a big BUT... if disposed of properly and handled properly, CFL bulbs are WAY better than incandescent. I have a house full of them. They don't break easily and are easy to recycle. Make sure you recycle yours properly too. Go go Earth911.com to find the nearest place to recycle your old CFL bulbs.

Till Next Time,

Jeff