Once-Scorned Light Bulbs Are Advancing - Green Blog

In my Pragmatist column in Thursday’s Home section, I describe the latest advancements in energy-efficient light bulbs in response to the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, part of which takes effect next January. Much of that discussion focuses on so-called C.F.L.'s, or compact fluorescent light bulbs. While they have improved in recent years, the technology continues to be hampered by worries about its environmental impact in landfills because C.F.L.'s contain mercury. Environmentally <a href="http://www.boseling.com/"><strong>bose headphones</strong></a> minded consumers who hope to shave a few dollars from their electric bills by using C.F.L.'s can take solace in the fact that some groups consider C.F.L.'s greener than the bulbs they replace. In 2008, for instance, the Natural Resources Defense Council published a paper suggesting <a href="http://www.boseling.com/"><strong>beats by dre</strong></a> that C.F.L.'s do less environmental harm than standard incandescent bulbs. For example, C.F.L.'s require one-quarter the energy from coal-fired power plants that incandescents do, the council wrote. If all consumers changed to C.F.L.'s, the group argued, those plants would send less pollution into the air. The council's paper cites research by the Northeast Waste Management Officials' Association into toxic waste levels from C.F.L.'s. If you choose to buy fluorescents, you'll still need to dispose of your old C.F.L.'s properly when they die or break. Home Depot and Lowe's both accept C.F.L.'s for recycling, and you can find more information about disposal locations, among other <a href="http://www.boseling.com/"><strong>Monster Headphones</strong></a> topics, here. Safety, of course, is another issue, since light bulbs are so easy to break. The amount of mercury contained <a href="http://www.greentownfc.com/blog/blog.php?do=showone&uid=5233&type=blog&itemid=4593 22"><strong>Why to Buy Electronic Gadgets Online : College Preparation for ...</strong></a> in a C.F.L. is roughly equivalent to the amount of ink on the tip of a ballpoint pen and about one-fifth the amount in a watch battery, the council's paper says. But the bulbs can leak mercury vapor when broken, so ventilation is important when cleaning a broken bulb, the council says in its paper. Some manufacturers now produce C.F.L.'s with protective coating; the EcoSmart Shatter-Resistant C.F.L. is one example. So for those proceeding with caution on C.F.L.'s, the light is now green.