Compact Fluorescent  Lights have a heavy environmental and health cost and may not even save energy when the total cradle to grave footprint is factored in. CFL’s require 16 times more energy to produce than incandescent bulbs. The majority of electrical energy used to produce CFL’s  comes from coal burning plants in China.  This is where most bulbs are manufactured.

In addition, CFL’s are toxic products containing mercury. China has virtually no environmental or health regulations governing their production or handling. Each broken bulb becomes a toxic spill and millions of them are being thrown into landfills around the globe. This is contaminating the earth’s soil and  air.  The costs in illness and environmental degradation has not been calculated into the true cost of Compact fluorescent lights.