While there are elements of truth in the store you give — I believe this might explain a bit more http://www.snopes.com/medical/toxins/cfl.asp.
Appearantly the main problem was the first person she contact was unfamiliar with the CFLs and knowing mercury to be hazardous went for overkill rather than reasonable on his advice.

Benji — so are you saying that there is no benefit and no use to go green? I don’t understand your rant. Also, a family can live ‘paycheck to paycheck’ and still be environmentally concerned. Families, like people, are multi-faceted.

Using CFLs can make a big difference as trish over at blogging away debt found out. convinced me. After reading that I went out and bought a bunch. Helped they were on sale as well.

tinyurl.com/2shu2z

I agree about the bureaucracy, but I would have to attribute environmentalism with at least part of the blame in this case. :(

I am all for being a good steward of our resources. I just don’t agree with much of what is done in the name of protecting the environment.

I wish I had more places to use CF bulbs. I if I did, I would give them a serious try. But we have so many ceiling fans/lights in the house that I don’t really have a place for such.

Brad

Thank you for the information on the mercury clean up story. Although I stand by my assertion that it’s not the bulbs, it’s crazy government bureaucracy. :)

And yes, if you’re replacing four bulbs with four CFL’s then you can’t do a 2 for 1 swap. For me, I was replacing a desk lamp so I could change the configuration for a different lamp.

GJ

My test involved replacing the 4 lights in a ceiling fan with 4 “ceiling fan” CF bulbs. They gave out a lot less light and I would have no way of putting in two of them instead. Is this what you are saying?

Not flying to Vegas was probably a great financial decision as well. :)

Brad

I really don’t get this. One day you come from a working family that lived paycheck to paycheck – next you come from a family thats reading “Mother Earth” magazine and concerned about their “environmental footprint” – I weep for you.

He didn’t change, Benji. He just mentioned something he never had before. Maybe the phenomenon you are seeing is not what you think it is. Maybe it’s not Trent feeling the need to “seek approval from other writers”. Maybe it’s realizing that he has more to say than he originally realized.

Maybe you should consider the possibility that Trent is the deep thinker, and not you.

Incidentally, I believe the word you want in the first sentence of your longest paragraph is “relegated”, not “regulated” — although even that word would be not quite right. This is noteworthy because, as it happens, hysterical rhetoric turns quaintly comical when paired with poor command of the chosen language.

Why is it that when people start writing and getting an audience they feel the need to seek approval from other writers? It never fails, the need to be liked and have the “right” people say good things about you overcomes any desire to be original instead of a bobble-head seeking approval from his peers. Thats how this whole movement got started.

For starters even if someone attempted to do everything you suggested to allow them to “go green” it would all be negated with a single computer purchase. Mining, manufacturing, shipping, advertising, and labor for that one purchase alone would be enough to cancel out changing every bulb in your house for a lifetime. You going to give up that laptop anytime soon?

This whole scam of going green is regulated to a few industries that are deemed “evil.” Its a shame its the very industry that we depend on for EVERYTHING. Its as if all the “good” industries and “good” people exist in an alternate self-sustaining universe. Then again these are the same people that created “carbon-credits” so that they could continue to use regular lights, fly cross-country, heat/cool massive amounts of space, and use up massive amounts of fresh water on acres of landscaped property – and then get greeted to cheers when they speak at a fund raiser that gathers up enough money to pay for the spectacle. Environmentalism/anti-humanity really is the new religious belief of the day.

I really don’t get this. One day you come from a working family that lived paycheck to paycheck – next you come from a family thats reading “Mother Earth” magazine and concerned about their “environmental footprint” – I weep for you.

Why not just say hey, here are some traditional things that our grandparents/parents did to save money – why not give it a shot!

I hope this whole “green” thing has reached its critical mass already. Hell, its outlived the macarana already….

Basically the lady called the place she purchased the bulbs, they referred her to the local govt, who then referred her to a poison control, who put her in touch with the EPA, who sent someone out to evaluate the “spill” and found 10x higher than “recommended” levels of mercury in the room. They recommended a hazardous waste cleanup team, who quoted her $2k for the cleanup of the area.

I think the moral of the story is that we need better education about how to clean up CFL bulbs (don’t vacuum the area, use masking tape to stick the mercury, use gloves and eye protection and seal all of that in a plastic bag before disposal).

I’ve read elsewhere that the average person with fillings has a way higher level of mercury than that room did, however it can be dangerous to children and pregnant woman. They just need a bit more care than regular bulbs.

I doubt the CFL clean up story. At 2k, this sounds like internet myth material. However, the item you mentioned about their lighting is true. I ended up replacing one regular bulb with two CFL’s in order to get the same light. I still saved energy though, but then I also had to consider other types of waste such as packaging and the materials themselves.

Finally, the computer item is more applicable to home PC’s since those are not backed up as often. I back up mine once a week and I do it during the day. That way I can always turn them off completely at night.

GJ