In a world where green living is at least tucked somewhere in the back of everyone's mind, we have a bit of a problem.
In a year, incandescent light bulbs, Swan's and Edison's magnificent invention, will no longer be available for use. They are (gasp) energy eaters! We have been given a taste of those new, low energy mercury filled twisty-curly delights and now they will replace our old friend.
They last longer (one of mine just burned out yesterday after about a year), we are told, and energy consumption is so small, we are led to believe these will lead to sustainable energy, or at least wise energy consumption.
The big BUT here is that they contain MERCURY! Please read this link and ask yourself why these are being foisted upon us. I took that lightbulb that burned up and put it in a plastic container. When that plastic container goes into the landfill, it will degrade eventually, or be crushed and damaged. That lightbulb will release mercury into the landfill, to end up in our water or in the air. It is so terribly toxic that in this beautiful lake I live near and enjoy, we are cautioned not to eat the fish, especially the bass, who are at the top of the food chain. Children and pregnant women should not eat them at all. We have landfills that have been covered up and built upon, a paper mill, and an incinerator nearby that cannot contain the runoff from cleanup, besides being without its scrubbers.
Add hundreds of millions of these mercury-filled lightbulbs to the mix for which no recycling method is available, and there could be a catastrophe for your children, grandchildren and great grands.
Think about this one.
I am all for green living. I believe in low tech so much that I wouldn't mind sitting here peddling a generator attached to a battery to keep my computer charged. But these lightbulbs have the potential to be very dangerous on a mass scale. Mercury is mercury. Even in miniscule amounts, it is deadly.
It's the old thing about looking good on paper. But it's not so great when it becomes reality. You be careful around the children when one is broken. Ventilate the house. Watch yourself and your animals as well. This is NOT a good thing.
3 comments:
Mayhaps, since Mercury is a naturally occurring substance in the soil, by the time the stuff from the bulbs seep through all the dirt, rocks, gravel, and whatever, it won't do as much damage as we think. Just thought.
Hi! I'm here by way of the Art Show yahoo group!! I liked your comment there and I thought I would follow the link to your blog. As my family and I are trying to be more 'green' I have been researching these bulbs and have made the decision not to use them. I have never been one to jump on the band wagon of an 'idea' that has not been tested enough ;)
Danielle
You should turn yours in to your local hazardous waste facility. We have a dropoff location here in Columbus and I'll be taking my CFLs to it.
By the way, they're developing LED bulbs that have no mercury in them, and they use even less energy than CFLs.
Power plant CO2 is an even bigger danger than automobiles in terms of global warming so I can understand why the government's pushing for people to use less household energy.
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