Revelation 3:2 - And the Beast will have seven broken CFLs for eyes...

Compact Fluorescent Lights (CFLs) are estimated to save $47 USD in energy costs over the life of each bulb (as opposed to normal, incandescent lights).

Not only that, they last longer, and they use less than a quarter of the energy of conventional incandescent light (which means less carbon if your electricity source is “dirty”).
Also because they’re much more efficient than regular bulbs, they only get warm during use, posing less of a fire risk.

That’s the good news. The bad news is that they cost much more, don’t work with dimmer-switches, take up to a minute to get “bright” and contain elemental (solid) mercury – a toxic metal.

This means they’re not for everyone, and care must be taken if one breaks or dies. We have this problem at home where one CFL lamp stopped working last year and we’re not sure of a safe way to dispose of it – so it’s been sitting on a shelf for 15 months until we can find a recycler that deals with these.

Even though it’s a small amount, because mercury is cumulative, this poisonous element would add up if all the used and broken bulbs went into a landfill. Instead, the mercury in dead bulbs is able to be reclaimed at certain recycling depots. Major cities have them, I just have to remember to take it with me next time I drive to one.

Throwing the dead lamp into the trash (which would end up in a landfill) would give our future generations even more of a headache than we’ve already created for them. Sure, I don’t like kids crying on a plane but I’m not that vindictive as to destroy their future. Hmmm… Or am I? (I’m joking)

As for the mercury, yes it is dangerous to inhale and/or touch if a CFL lamp breaks in your home, but don’t lie awake at night worrying about it.
The amount housed in each bulb is very small, about 4 or 5 milligrams, which in volume is about the size of a “full stop” at the end of a sentence. See? Like this one.

If a CFL breaks in your home, the American EPA recommends dealing with broken CFLs like this:
1: Open all windows and ventilate the room
2: Leave the room and don’t walk past the breakage area on your way out.
3: Come back in 15 minutes and clean up the fragments into a glass jar or sealed plastic bag.
4: Wipe the jar/bag with disposable wipes, put the wipes in the jar/bag and wash your hands properly.
5: Place the jar/bag outside until the next garbage day.
6: Pray to God

Ok, the last one was perhaps for the more enthusiastic among you but the others are certainly recommended. Whatever you do, don’t use a vacuum cleaner. That would be like farting to put out a fire.

You can also use upturned sticky tape, such as duct tape, to pick up any remaining small glass fragments and powder.

So while they have their downsides, overall CFL bulbs are better. In fact, if every American home replaced just one standard incandescent light bulb with a long-lasting CFL, the resultant energy savings would eliminate greenhouse gases equal to the emissions of 800,000 cars – according to the U.S. Energy Star program.