I recently read an article which stated that the incandescent light bulb, you know, the one Thomas Edison invented in 1880, is being phased out starting next year.
By 2014, only a few specialty incandescents will be available like three-way bulbs and lights for plants and appliances.
No more simple incandescent bulbs that cast that warm, cozy glow over the pages of your book as you curl up reading each evening in your favorite chair!
The incandescent bulb is being slowly but surely rooted out by the cold, impersonal light of the compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs).    There is another option, called the LED bulbs, but as of this writing are virtually unknown in American stores.
So, at least for now, this leaves us with the CFLs.
My main beef with the CFLs is not the Antarctic light they cast.  While I don’t like CFL light nearly as much as the warm glow of incandescents, I could probably get used to it after a while.   I’ve also noticed some of the newer CFL bulbs cast a much warmer glow than a few years ago.
My issue is with the small amount of mercury present in each CFL bulb not to mention the amount of dirty electricity your family is exposed to when you use fluorescent bulbs around your home.
Supporters of CFLs say that the small amount of mercury in the bulbs is less than the mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants and CFLs use a lot less electricity than incandescents thereby significantly reducing those emissions.
My take is that mercury is a neurotoxin and is not safe in any amount, certainly not in your home.   What if that adventurous toddler knocks over a lamp and breaks one on your living room carpet?
The result is not just a pile of broken glass like what would happen with an incandescent bulb. The result is exposure to a potent neurotoxin.
I don’t personally derive any level of comfort from claims that the small amount of mercury from a broken CFL would not contaminate a home or require an environmental crew to clean up the mess.  The FDA makes similar claims about dental amalgams too, but the fact is that people are experiencing toxic effects from them just the same.
CFLs Not Recycled by Most People
Another worrisome problem is that most people throw CFLs in the trash rather than recycle them despite laws against this in many areas of the country.    Not only does this potentially expose sanitation workers to high levels of mercury from multiple broken bulbs but it has the likelihood of turning our landfills into toxic waste dumps.  What’s more, CFLs that break near homes can contaminate the soil.
Adding to the problem is the lack of participation by big retailers such as Wal-Mart in assisting with the recycling effort.
Even General Electric, which has manufactured CFLs for about 20 years, says the small amount of mercury in each CFL bulb could add up to big contamination problems once incandescents are no longer available and sales of the toxic bulbs rapidly increase.
Incandescents still represent about 80% of the market for bulbs in America with CFL bulbs accounting for only 17% of sales.
It seems to me that the switch from incandescent bulbs to CFLs represents a classic case of robbing Peter to pay Paul.   I, for one, will not be embracing the CFL trend.   I’ve got quite a stash of incandescents that should last me a good long while and when those run-out, hopefully, this new LED bulb technology will offer a decent non-toxic solution for my home.
Source
National Public Radio, CFL Bulbs Have One Hitch:Â Toxic Mercury
Why is there mercury in lightbulbs anyway? Why is such a toxic substance allowed in a common household item that could easily be broken or misplaced?
Well, I’m going to miss that soft glow that incandescent bulbs give off and always disliked the pale green glow of CFL lights, but I guess thats the way it is.
What a disempowered attitude. In my world it is not just the way it is. There is ALWAYS an option….regardless of what the government THINKS they can do to you. I WON’T be going along with this. CFLs have caused me to feel ill in the past and it won’t be coming into my home. If you don’t like it then don’t settle for it.
Years ago, we used CFLs to keep the heat down in our home. After much trial and error we discovered the CFL bulbs were giving three of us migraines. We switched back to incandescent and the migraines went away.
I guess I need to stock pile incandescent bulbs. Even if they make an environmentally friendly CFL, it wouldn’t solve the migraine problem. Maybe we need to start going to bed with the chickens.
This law is completely ridiculous! I agree with everything said. I don’t want mercury in my home, I don’t want to be told what lightbulbs I’m allowed to use and I hate the light given off by CFLs- it’s cold and it makes the house and everyone in it look dreary and dull. I also experience more migraines from fluorescent lighting. Not to mention, the EMFs put out by these bulbs…. Plus, they are not environmentally friendly from a manufacturing standpoint either (in addition to the landfill and soil toxicity Sarah mentions). Crazy!! I’ll be stockpiling some incandescents myself. Dr Mercola talks about full spectrum lighting as an alternative- it’s just VERY pricey!
I have one of the lightbulbs that Mercola sold long ago when he debuted the full spectrum information on his website. It gets used as my main light source every evening and all day when it’s cloudy outside, and I’ve had that bulb at least four years, maybe five. It’s still doing well. In my book, it’s been a great investment!
Mercola is a hypocrite. Talks about toxins all the time, how bad mercury is (even in amalgam fillings) yet he pimps his mercury filled lightbulbs because he can make money on them. Nice that a fragile glass bulb vaporizes mercury into your home and contaminates everything it touches. I know we’ve had tubes forever in kitchens etc. but I’d like to see a toddler go get the ladder and climb up to the ceiling, take the cover off and smash a tube. My toddler knocked over a lamp and the “tough cfl glass” broke. We didnt know they were this bad. They should have warnings all over the package.
I agree completely. I’ve had concerns about CFLs since they came out and am worried about the after effects of completely phasing out regular incandescent bulbs. We are stocking up on incandescent bulbs and looking to convert to LED once we can’t get them anymore. I agree with Audry though… it makes me really mad that the government thinks it has a right to legislate things like this!
We have a place for recycling CFLs at the Home Depot by our house. Also, around the area where I live, you can buy LED light bulbs, they are just insanely expensive!!
My kids actually DID break one, once. Unscrewed it from a lamp one day and brought it in the kitchen — immediately taken away. But they climbed up (they just never stop…all that real food gives them a ton of energy) and knocked it down on my kitchen floor. I got them out and cleaned it up as best I could. It was cold so I couldn’t get them outside really. But it makes me mad. Why should I have toxic things in my home?! Not to mention in most of our lights they don’t even last. They say they last like 5 years, but we’ve had them burn out in just a few months, far sooner than incandescent bulbs. Then what’s cheaper and more efficient??
And I agree with Audry, the gov’t has no place regulating so much of our lives!
Kate, you are so right .. those CFLs don’t last as long as hyped on the packaging. Not by a long shot.
I also think they are engineering the incandescents to fail (like how they do with computers and other electronics). Mine burn out in a matter of months. I have a few fixtures with five lightbulbs and they will burn out one each day after only a few months. Maybe so we will accept the new lightbulbs a little more willingly.
how about the dirty energy?
Guess it’s time to start stockpiling the incandescent bulbs! Thanks for the heads-up. It’s great that you provide info on such a wide variety of topics.
If these light bulbs are so safe, why does OSHA require you to wear gloves and a mask to clean up broken ones? The procedure for cleaning it up looks like something from the movie “Outbreak.”
My biggest beef with this isn’t with the mercury, but with the fact that the government thinks it’s its place to make legislation like this! This ban of incandescent light bulbs is completely unconstitutional and outside the authority of congress, and yet, there it is. And this is only one minor symptom of an enormous problem. Why is our government being allowed to run amok like this, passing legislation to regulate every minute part of every person’s life? We’ve been stocking up on incandescent bulbs – a few at a time – since this bill was passed a couple years ago.
This is a good point, Audry. I hadn’t thought about it that way before.
Not to imply that the mercury isn’t a big deal or anything
We had mostly made the switch to these for economic reasons, but now I’m totally with Audry. It blows my mind the things the government is controlling these days. Light bulbs and food now? What’s next? Yikes!
And FYI those toddlers/children certainly have and do break those bulbs because you can clip their lamps a lot closer to their pillows with out risk of fire…never mind the NEROTOXIN they are consuming…thanks guys. :p
I’m with you on this one! It kind of just confuses me as to why they would tell us we are no longer to get a certain type of lightbulb. Why? Lightbulbs? Come one.
What’s wrong with the old ones? Is it really about electricity consumption? I can’t imagine that those bulbs are really what’s sucking the electricity up. Isn’t there a better use of time and resources to reduce electricity consumption? I really don’t know. I’m a bit ignorant on this one.
And also, the mercury does scare me. Why are the bulbs that contain the mercury going to be the ones that are legal? That seems backwards to me.
Had to chime in here. Why lightbulbs? It’s an area that seems insignificant that they can make us do something and they will see how willingly we comply. Then they’ll step it up a bit and on and on until the bloated government big brother is in every facet of our lives. It’s got to be done a little at a time so we don’t notice or put up much of a fight and just stay complacent.
Why mercury? I think they want us to become more and more stupid. Why GMO and soy and dirty water and depleted soil and HFCS? If we are dumbed down we’ll be easier to control. See the first paragraph.
This might sound far fetched to some, but this is the only conclusion I can draw.
Give this woman a prize.
100% agreed… stop telling me what to buy, what to use, where to go and how to live.
It boggles my mind how much crap people put up with from these political shills.