"James Sweet" writes:


In my opinion, they should be outlawed world-wide. Period. Suddenly, just
as the government here in the UK looks set to ban sales of incandescents,
a movement is rearing up to bring to the attention of the great unwashed
( and the dumb politicians ) the potential hazards of using, accidentally
breaking, and safely disposing of CFLs. I sincerely hope that it gains
sufficient momentum to cast enough doubt over this dreadful knee-jerk
technology, to knock its viability as a direct replacement for
incandescents, firmly on the head ...



I don't want to see either one banned. Most any ban is a knee-jerk reaction
from politicians who know little or nothing about the subject at hand.
There's ways to encourage use of more energy efficient technology where
possible, but there are some applications where incandescent is still the
most suitable, and some climates where the waste heat they produce is not
really waste. Likewise, I feel that much of the hysteria over lead and
mercury in CFLs is unfounded, fluorescent lamps are not the only source of
mercury in the environment, and they are not impossible to recycle or
dispose of properly. I do feel that any store that sells them should accept
dead ones for recycling though, just as is the case with rechargable
batteries.

How much mercury is there in a single 40 (or 34) watt normal fluorescent
lamp? They are often tossed in the trash to break.....

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