I was listening to the guest host today and I was surprised to hear of all the concern over the mercury in the "new" CFL bulbs.  I had heard that breaking a single bulb was no huge deal.  But, then that made me think a bit more.

One site says CFLs have 4 to 5 milligrams of mercury per bulb.  But when you have 50 of these in your house do you suddenly become a toxic waste storage facility subject to EPA regulation?  

Is this an indirect attempt to have the federal government regulate every home in the US?  If your home becomes a toxic waste storage facility and subject to EPA regulation and oversight you no longer have any personal property rights.  

These "recommendations" are on an epa site right now that explain what you should do with any mercury you already have in your home.  Guess who can change their regulations at any time without approval from Congress?  

Storing, Transporting and Disposing of Mercury

What to Do if You Have Mercury in Your Home

Many people have containers of elemental mercury in their homes left over from science projects or other sources. If you have elemental mercury in your home, you need to exercise extreme caution with it and package it to prevent any leaks or spills. See the next two sections of this page to find how to package, transport and dispose of mercury.

Packaging Mercury for Storage and Transportation

• All mercury-containing products or containers of mercury should be placed inside a larger container with a tight fitting lid.
  
• Kitty litter or oil-absorbent matter should be placed around the product to protect it from breaking or sudden shocks.
  
• Clearly label storage container as "Mercury - DO NOT OPEN."
  
• If you must wait for a hazardous waste collection day, store products safely in their original containers with the labels intact, and keep them out of reach of children and pets.
  
• Transport container to a household hazardous collection center in a cardboard box. Secure them so that they do not tip over. This will minimize shifting or sliding during sudden stops or turns.
  
• Transport containers in the back of a pick-up truck or in a car trunk. If you must transport in the passenger compartment, make sure there is adequate ventilation.

Visit the epa site here.

I'm not clear on how much Hg the CFL's have vs the amount in those long, tube fluorescents; but the tubey ones have about 12 mg each, and CFLs less than 40 watts have 6 mg at most.

Now, I don't know what a "lumen" is, or how it's measured; but if you replace a 60 watt incandescent with 865 Lumens with a CFL of 865 or more Lumens, you will almost instantly notice that there is definiteley, observably less "light".  If you fill a large living room with these CFL's rather than incandescents -- it's like living in permanent twilight.  I have no idea how this works but, right up close to the bulbs, you can hardly tell the difference -- but somehow the light from the compact fluorescent just doesn't go as far.  It's like anything not immediately adjacent to the bulb is bathed in shadow, or twilight.

Now, I have suffered from clinical depression; but I'm sure that long enough reliance upon these fluorescents would drive anyone into despondency.  It's like living in Limbo.  A Limbo mandated by the Federal Government in blatant disregard for the Free Market.  A Socialist/Communist Limbo of physical/optical dimness.

I've also heard tell that the supposed life expectancy of these CFLs has been greatly exaggerated.  And who knows what the overall cost of these things is in terms of materials and energy needed for production vs that needed for production of incandescents.

The mandated use of CFLs may not be quite as stupid as our ethanol subsidies, or have the same economic impact; but, it seems to me to be a more blatant exercise of communism by our government, and definitely more symbolic of the depressing ultra-socialist shift that our country is suffering

Also, Just a few health problems:

Health issues
If a fluorescent lamp is broken, mercury can contaminate the surrounding environment and poison its inhabitants. A 1987 report described a 23-month-old toddler hospitalized due to mercury poisoning traced to a carton of 8-foot fluorescent lamps that had broken. The glass was cleaned up and discarded, but the child often used the area for play.[5]
Fluorescent lamps can cause problems among individuals with pathological sensitivity to ultraviolet light. They can induce disease activity in photosensitive individuals with Systemic lupus erythematosus; standard acrylic diffusers absorb UV-B radiation and appear to protect against this.[6] In rare cases individuals with solar urticaria (allergy to sunlight) can get a rash from fluorescent lighting.[7] However, no fluorescent lighting technology presents anywhere near the high levels of UV danger to light sensitive persons that sunlight presents. A recent study in the US found that UV exposure from sitting under typical office fluorescent lights for eight continuous hours is equivalent to just over one minute of sun exposure (Lytle et al An Estimation of Squamous Cell Carcinoma Risk from Ultraviolet Radiation Emitted by Fluorescent Lamps; Photodermatol Photoimmunol Photomed (1993))
Elimination of fluorescent lighting is appropriate for several conditions. In addition to causing headache and fatigue,[8] and problems with light sensitivity,[9] they are listed as problematic for individuals with epilepsy,[10] lupus,[11] chronic fatigue syndrome, and vertigo[12] (related to cardiovascular problems, MS, and several other disorders.[citation needed]) Research on this is very limited.

My recommendation:
----  If you find yourself in D.C. in front of the Capitol or the White House; keep your car stocked with CFLs so that you can hurl them onto the Capitol steps or the White House lawn & see how they like that Hg clean-up.

Quinn's Law:  Liberalism always generates the opposite of its stated intent.

Ethanol = food riots, rationing of rice, rising prices of food, etc., etc., etc.

CFBs = millions upon millions of lightbulbs going to the dump seeping into the ground water eventually poisoning the population with mercury.

Did you hear autism has recently been linked to mercury exposure?

CO2 reduction = taking away the gas breathed by plants, eventually reducing the number of plants.  Plants produce oxygen.

Therefore, somewhere down the road, if your nail beds start turning vibrant blue , you are the product of Liberal  Dementia Disorder and have either been poisoned by mercury or the atmosphere is too thin for you to breath.  Either way, you are daid.