Something to consider. CFL's

I use CFL's. In my house, and in my indoor garden. They're much much more efficient than incandescents, and provide a superior spectrum of light.
As a matter a fact, I cant believe stores are still trying to sell the old incandescent bulbs.
But as these new bulbs gain popularity, there is something to consider that most of us know nothing about. Mercury poisoning.
Now I dont want to rain on anyone's parade or anything like that. Like I said I use these bulbs too, and plan on continuing to do so.
I know most of you are aware that there's some mercury in these bulbs and that its not necessarily a good thing. But they bulbs are perfectly safe. Right?? I mean, they wouldn't make and sell a product that they knew was harmful to you or your environment would they??? The answer is yes. Anything for money, you know how it is.
Anyway it turns out that mercury could be a bigger problem than what they originally thought.
Read for yourself.
Mercury in Compact Fluorescent Bulbs More Hazardous than Previously Thought
I just though you should know. Someone decided for you already, that these bulbs are safe. But you do have the opportunity to find the facts and decide for yourself.
Happy growing!

hmmm thats slightly unsettling...

Yeah ignorance is bliss. Right up to the point that it pollutes the world so bad that humans can't even live here anymore. Then ignorance is not so blissful is it?

A worthy bump...?

This aint that bad as long as you dispose of the bulb the right way, no harm is done. Anyway a different issue is that cfl's have higher UV-C rays that are known to cause cancer. I dont have a link but it basically said that exposure to cfl lights for an extended period of time can cause cancer. It advised workers and such that would be under these lights for a good period of time should switch to a different bulb type. So far these two are the only health risks i know about cfl's

Mr. Bitti said:

This aint that bad as long as you dispose of the bulb the right way, no harm is done. Anyway a different issue is that cfl's have higher UV-C rays that are known to cause cancer. I dont have a link but it basically said that exposure to cfl lights for an extended period of time can cause cancer. It advised workers and such that would be under these lights for a good period of time should switch to a different bulb type. So far these two are the only health risks i know about cfl's

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First of all, there is no "right way" to dispose of toxic mercury. Once the bulb breaks and the mercury is released its here to stay. It will never leave the earth! They currently have absolutely no answer for it!
Also... The UV rays that everyone is afraid will give them cancer, are REQUIRED by your body to make vitamin D. Vitamin D kills cancer.

hey man just saw that comment, and to let you know my brain isn't washed by the government. You can say my brain is washed by the utility of cfl's. anyway i think they are way worth it even if over half of them contain mercury. Salmon has mercury in it, people still eat it and don't die. That mercury in those cfl's had to come from somewhere? Maybe nature? Now i know mercury ain't good for a human being but it doesn't mean its polluting the world cus thats where it came from. Other day i accidentally crushed a cfl. just cleaned it up and kept on living. Do i care if the mercury in my carpet is gonna kill me? nop. Thats just the way i see it, not the way the government told me to see it. And the argument about UV rays isnt that UV rays give cancer. It is that cfl have a different UV-C radiation that is more harmful than others. Hope this clears out a bit on whats on my mind, and i hope you get over the mercury phobia u got ha ha jk man its all peace and love

Who cares.

First of all, cancer? Really? What doesnt cause cancer these days. Heres a list of things that do cause cancer; potatoe chips, chewing gum, well water, weight gain, pet birds, stress, SMOKING (yes even marijuana), the list goes on. The thing is that these things only have the propensity to actually instill cancer if you were to do them all day every day. Cancer is a cell that gets disrupted when going through cell replication, a few billion of these disrupted cells and you have the FIRST sight of cancer.

Second, the environment can kiss my ass. It only produced one useful thing in my book, and ive found a way to take that thing out of the environment and put it in my closet. As for mercury poisoning I think this has been blown out of proportion.

If we want to talk about insignificant facts, mercury in the atmosphere can be increased 4-6 times the average amount with a volcanic eruption, and volcanoes make up over half the mercury content of the atmosphere today...maybe we should cut down on volcanoes. The remaining percentage of atmospheric mercury is broken down into human production which is tabled at:
· 65% from stationary combustion, of which coal-fired power plants are the largest aggregate source (40% of U.S. mercury emissions in 1999). This includes power plants fueled with gas where the mercury has not been removed. Emissions from coal combustion are between one and two orders of magnitude higher than emissions from oil combustion, depending on the country.
· 11% from gold production. The three largest point sources for mercury emissions in the U.S. are the three largest gold mines.
· 6.8% from non-ferrous metal production, typically smelters.
· 6.4% from cement production.
· 3.0% from waste disposal, including municipal and hazardous waste, crematoria, and sewage sludge incineration.
· 3.0% from caustic soda production.
· 1.4% from pig iron and steel production.
· 1.1% from mercury production, mainly for batteries.
· 2.0% from other sources.

Ill grant that CFLs probably fall under the "waste disposal" i guess for lack of better catagory than other, so you get an extra 1%. Even so, eliminating them would do all of nothing for the environment.

Rooter said:

Who cares.

First of all, cancer? Really? What doesnt cause cancer these days. Heres a list of things that do cause cancer; potatoe chips, chewing gum, well water, weight gain, pet birds, stress, SMOKING (yes even marijuana), the list goes on. The thing is that these things only have the propensity to actually instill cancer if you were to do them all day every day. Cancer is a cell that gets disrupted when going through cell replication, a few billion of these disrupted cells and you have the FIRST sight of cancer.

Second, the environment can kiss my ass. It only produced one useful thing in my book, and ive found a way to take that thing out of the environment and put it in my closet. As for mercury poisoning I think this has been blown out of proportion.

If we want to talk about insignificant facts, mercury in the atmosphere can be increased 4-6 times the average amount with a volcanic eruption, and volcanoes make up over half the mercury content of the atmosphere today...maybe we should cut down on volcanoes. The remaining percentage of atmospheric mercury is broken down into human production which is tabled at:
· 65% from stationary combustion, of which coal-fired power plants are the largest aggregate source (40% of U.S. mercury emissions in 1999). This includes power plants fueled with gas where the mercury has not been removed. Emissions from coal combustion are between one and two orders of magnitude higher than emissions from oil combustion, depending on the country.
· 11% from gold production. The three largest point sources for mercury emissions in the U.S. are the three largest gold mines.
· 6.8% from non-ferrous metal production, typically smelters.
· 6.4% from cement production.
· 3.0% from waste disposal, including municipal and hazardous waste, crematoria, and sewage sludge incineration.
· 3.0% from caustic soda production.
· 1.4% from pig iron and steel production.
· 1.1% from mercury production, mainly for batteries.
· 2.0% from other sources.

Ill grant that CFLs probably fall under the "waste disposal" i guess for lack of better catagory than other, so you get an extra 1%. Even so, eliminating them would do all of nothing for the environment.

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ha ha ha this post made me laugh my ass off. +rep for the info

Hey Rooter, I'm going to Quote you saying that the environment can kiss your ass and have that quote delivered to your kids and their kids too. ( If your not already sterile from toxic chemical exposure). They will surely love and respect you for that. Oh, and you ARE the very definition of brainwashed by the government. You fool. You think and act EXACTLY as they want you to.
And if i may remind you...For decades the government, scientists, and even doctors said that cigarettes were GOOD for you. This continued even AFTER they all knew that cigarettes were killers. And they still sell them today. But I'm sure that is an isolated type of incidence. Everything else the government says is safe, must be fine, right? Every product being sold today is perfectly safe for you and can't possibly harm the environment, right?
Here is the latest on CFL's. I'm just offering information.
http://www.naturalnews.com/News_000679_compact_fluorescent_lights_migraines_electromagnetic_pollution.html

what he said has nothing to do with government. yes the government is bullshit, and they are corrupt bastards that only benefit the wealthy. i am with you on that. but rooter was just expressing his view on all the information that is tossed at us about thing being "bad", most of the times this shit has no need to be feared. i believe you are brainwashed by scientists that do tests all day on things like exposure to mercury linked to cancer. like rooter said, what hasent been linked to cancer? and here my final argument why the fuck would you give up cfl's? if the utility they give is far greater than cost of breaking a bulb and maybe inhaling some mercury. something else to consider hps has mercury. you gonna give that up too? we are not brainwashed by the government, in fact the government can kiss my ass. and its not the safest thing in the world but the benefit exceeds the cost in my opinion. wich was not influenced by mr Bush or any other polititian. next time just put your argument on a different focus point like individual views instead of government propaganda.