And then there is the big one that they do not talk about. What happens if one of the compact fluorescent bulbs breaks? Do you realize that you cannot simply go get the broom and dustpan and sweep it all up and throw it into the trash? Oh no, that will be illegal. Should your toddler pull down a lamp by its cord or the dog knock over your pole lamp and some of these CFLs should break, you have to call a specialist to come and decontaminate your house, or at least that room. These CFLs contain a small amount of mercury, a highly toxic liquid at room temperature and partially gas and liquid inside these CFLs. When one breaks a hazmat team needs to be called to properly clean the environment of even the smallest amount of mercury. It will be illegal under EPA regulations to simply STS, as I like to call it, meaning sweep, toss, and shut up. So, break one of these, as I said before, new-fangled CFL bulbs and it is estimated that initially cost anywhere from $1,000.00 to $5,000.00, until sufficient people get trained. Even after there are sufficient numbers of trained people, since it will take special equipment and detection meters and a fair amount of time to properly dispose of your broken light bulb, it will never be all that affordable, and you have to call a “professional”, it’s the law! So, now those crazies who are stocking up on good old incandescent light bulbs might not be all that crazy after all. My solution is I will simply only buy rather expensive and rather unbreakable LED light bulbs. Nope, no CFLs in my house.