Thoughtful Thursdays: CFLs

I want to be green, I really do. I have a reusable grocery bag that I usually forget in the car, and when I do, I try my absolute best to carry all the food in my hands before I answer the "paper or plastic" question. And the more I learn about what not to throw out, the more I try to follow proper protocol. Batteries for instance. I know you can't throw them out, but what are you supposed to do with them? Turns out it's not that hard. A lot of stores take them back. Problem solved.

And then there are the energy-efficient Compact Fluorescent Light bulbs. By this point Wal-Mart and other mainstream retailers have pushed them enough that you all love or hate them. From the cute Dairy Queen shape to the odd buzz and smell they emit, everyone has an opinion. For me it seemed simple. So what, they take longer to turn on and aren't quite as bright. At least I can use them and feel good about myself. Then I learned something that positively terrified me. The fucking things have mercury in them. Yes, I ate so much swordfish as a child that my insides probably look like T-1000. But still. CFLs may contain a very small amount but let's say I put 10 of these things in my house. I live in Los Angeles, an earthquake is quite possible. Generally when earthquakes hit, things break. If 10 CFLs break, suddenly the 5mgs of mercury in each one is let out into the room. 5mgs, not so much. But 50mgs? A bit more.

Sure, I'm being paranoid. I could maybe use one or two in my house and call it a day. Only problem, you can't throw these things in the regular trash can. I assumed I could drop them off at the local Target along with my used batteries, but nothing's ever that simple. Turns out, almost no place that sells these things takes them back. The closest place to my house is 5 miles away. And it's downtown and closes before I get home from work. I think it may be open on the weekends, but the amount of gas and carbon I'll let out in the air driving downtown and back to recycle a light bulb completely defeats the purpose of the light bulb in the first place. So what's the option? I can do what everyone else does and throw the CFL out and saturate our landfills with mercury (then that mercury will go in the water and my sushi will be even more fucked up). Or I can say FUCK THESE ENERGY EFFICIENT LIGHT BULBS. I'm going to choose the latter. It's not because I have the Bush mentality about climate. It's because using these bulbs will cause more pollution. Congress, pass a law that says companies can't sell these things unless they take them back. Then I'll happily put one or two in my house in the least breakable
places possible.