New light

Lighting accounts for approximately 50 percent of electricity consumed in homes, and homes account for around 30-40 percent of total electricity consumed in most cities. All of which makes the move to more efficient lighting imperative. CFLs and LEDs. While the former is disadvantaged by the mercury it uses, the LEDs are still to become commercially viable.

But is the mercury in CFLs really a concern? The European Commission cautions people to air out rooms and avoid using the vacuum cleaner if a CFL bulb with mercury in it gets broken. Although the quantity in the average CFL is no larger than the small tip of a ballpoint pen, direct contact with mercury can cause brain and kidney damage in humans and their animal pets.

CFL manucturers are adapting to this need. Some companies sell the light instead of the bulb; another prevents mercury contamination when broken.

But it is important to remember that fossil fuel based power generation also spread mercury in the air!

It has been estimated that with current U.S. power generation (which comes from more than 50 percent coal), switching to compact fluorescent bulbs in a big wave will reduce the amounts of mercury getting into our environment. At coal-fired plants (the biggest source currently of mercury emissions), 13.6 milligrams of mercury is emitted just to light up an incandescent bulb, while a CFL only would lead to (if incinerated, tossed out, or broken instead of recycled) 3.3 milligrams of mercury being emitted into the environment.

The mercury in a CFL is approximately one-quarter the amount emitted if an incandescent was used in its place, and that is if the CFL isn't recycled.

The answer lies in recycling of CFLs. Only 2 percent of CFLs have been recycled. The mercury in the bulbs also needs to be recycled given the need to stock on the mineral and prevent further mining. As nations switch to CFLs, it is necessary to have in place a recycling regulation. Does your nation have one?