(Prevention Magazine)
Lighten Up
The ups and downs of flipping your green switch
If every home in the United States replaced one incandescent bulb with a compact fluorescent lightbulb (CFL), it would prevent the emission of as much greenhouse gases as produced by 800,000 cars in 1 year. And if you made that switch, you'd save some cash, too.
The downside: Each CFL contains 4 mg of mercury, a potent neurotoxin. If one breaks inside your home, follow the EPA's step-by-step instructions on how to clean up safely--scooping up the mercury without touching it, for instance. (Go to prevention.com/links for more.) You also need to keep the bulbs out of landfills. When one finally burns out, check out earth911.org for retailers that accept returns or hazardous waste disposal sites that take CFLs.
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