CFL's cost/benefit

Since I touched on Compact Fluorescent light bulbs yesterday, I thought I'd take a moment to explain.
All of these things in the green arena have a cost/benefit to them. CFL's, for instance, cost more to purchase. Supposedly they last longer and use less energy to burn. True or not is a matter of facts that won't be argued here. The light they put out is different, as we all know. Another fact but one that's lost in the glamor and the feeling good part. Having your home lit up like an office is an individual choice. It comes down to what I call the offsets. We deal with them all the time. If I see it as a benefit I might pay more or do more. If I don't, I won't. If I like the way it looks or the performance then great. If not, oh well. Everything has an offset. None of these things are perfect and they'll be different for different people.
The other part that is often overlooked in the glamor and good feelings is what is the production cost of such items as CFL's. What is the impact on the environment from the production? And so on. I mean really, these things are manufactured in China, they contain Mercury, and we are supposed to feel good about spending more money to buy the darn things. Do you really think China handles their production waste the same as we do? When did mercury become safe to put back in homes? What happens when a bulb breaks? Should children be handling them? And on and on. What I say is that all we have really done is traded the impact around the globe a little. The environment in China is damaged (and here when these things are disposed of in our landfills), we spend more money to purchase, less to operate, have an undesirable effect, and all to what gain. Have we really lessened our "footprint"?
What we should really be doing is increasing our energy efficiencies as they exist. This is what we HAVE been doing in our industry and at Paulson's. There are so many ways and things to discuss that this forum does not have room for but a few are related to energy efficient appliances, furnaces, air conditioners, dimmer switches, lower wattage bulbs, etc.
So, are you green because you changed some light bulbs? I think not. It's a lot more than that. Thanks for reading. Send your comments through at www.paulsonsconstruction.com