Jewish blog, Jewneric made the claim the other day that “Going Green” May Be Hazardous to Your Health. Their argument in a nutshell is such:
Florescent lights contain mercury. Even though they save energy the mercury causes more damage to the environment, due to careless disposal, than the extra energy an incandescent gives off. Therefore they are more dangerous.
This is an important point but I would like to say that I disagree. I would like to recall what I wrote several months ago as Eco-Rabbi that “living green takes the same sort of awareness. Awareness of the beauty of nature, and not to destroy it, awareness of what you wear – was it created by slave labor? Awareness of the food you eat – is it healthy? Was the process for creating it bad for the environment?”
Sure mercury is bad for the environment, but it’s the lack of awareness that makes florescent lights bad. Being green is about living and learning. Becoming aware of possible dangers and properly avoiding them. If people take the time to dispose of their florescent bulbs properly. Problem solved. And we can save energy and not poison our landfills.
Author: Jack Reichert
As far back as he can remember Jack Reichert has been interested in the environment. In the second grade, he rallied all of his classmates to donate one recess a week to cleaning up litter from the schoolyard. That was the same year that a city councilman asked him to help with his campaign because of the letter Jack had written asking him to clean up Boston Harbor. Ever since Jack has followed the development of the international green conscience with anticipation and hope that one day we will treat Mother Earth with the respect she deserves and not turn her into another Giving Tree. For tips, feedback and prophet sightings, Jack can be reached at jack (at) greenprophet (dot) com.
Thanks Raspberry! Great Points!
Research conducted in the USA and Europe shows that on a lifecycle basis, individual CFLs are responsible for releasing less mercury into the environment than incandescent light bulbs. Mercury is a byproduct of coal-fired power generation, and since CFLs use much less electricity than an incandescent light bulb and last longer, they are responsible for less mercury pollution.
From: http://www.environment.gov.au/settlements/energyefficiency/lighting.html#health