Milt Reynolds: Thinking Out Loud

Mercury: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, Part 2 The Good : CFL bulbs cost less in the long run and they consume less energy. The Bad : CFL bulbs contain mercury, and mercury weakens, sickens, and kills people. The Ugly : In five years, the citizens of Hermiston, Oregon, my hometown, will have a ship-load of burned out CFL bulbs, over 210,264 bulbs, containing a total of 841,056 milligrams of mercury . Where are we going to throw them? Here's what I've found out: I called our community sanitary service and asked them if they recycle CFL bulbs. After explaining what they are, and what they contain, they said they can only take bulbs that are green-tipped , the ones that contain low levels of mercury, about 4 milligrams per bulb. That's great. Only later did I realize that the staff of Hermiston Sanitary Service will not comb through the mountain of trash they unload daily for green-tipped CFL bulbs. The ordinary Hermistonian will likely throw their b...

Mercury: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, Part 1 I'm green. My green is pale, but it's slowly growing darker. The more green I become, the more I dislike careless use and management of harmful chemicals in our water, food, medicine, and now...our light bulbs. Dislike is too wimpy. I am growing angry with careless regard for hazardous chemicals. My lightbulbs contain mercury. Your lightbulbs contain mercury if they are fluorescent, including the new Compact Fluorescent Light bulbs (CFL). They require 75% less energy than regular incandescent light bulbs, and they last up to 10 times longer. My electric utility company gave everyone in Hermiston a free box of ten CFL's. They're great . But they contain mercury. I've told you the good : CFL bulbs cost less in the long run and they consume less energy. Here's the bad: Mercury, the elemental mercury in the CFL bulbs, can cause: Tremors Mood swings Irritability nervousness Excessive shy...