>>>From http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=cfls.pr_cfls:
>>>
>>>If every American home replaced just one light bulb with an ENERGY STAR, we would save enough energy to light more than 2.5 million homes for a year and prevent greenhouse gases equivalent to the emissions of nearly 800,000 cars.
>>>
>>>Tamar
>>>
>>>P.S. We've started replacing our bulbs, too.
>>
>>I'm somewhat skeptical of those claims. It's not that I don't think that using CFLs are a good idea. I do, and am using them in my house. It's that without seeing the calculations behind the result, I'm skeptical.
>
>I just worry about the mercury in flourescent lights.

Another case of way way way over-hyping something!
I remember reading about a set for a play in New York City being shut down because someone dropped a thermometer and it broke. They were deadly afraid of the mercury and had hazmat people come in and clean the place up!!!!

Mercury is harmful, and especially so to children, when they have direct exposure to it. When it is in a lightbulb (if CFL's have mercury we can guess that fluorescents sticks do too) there is no danger, and if a lightbulb breaks you don't let your kids near it anyway.

Mercury in paint is bad. Mercury as a component of small metal objects that might make their way to children's mouths is bad. Mercury in injectible medicines - like today's flu shots - to me borders on criminal, yet it is STILL IN THERE.
Silver fillings are mainly mercury. While I understand most dentists have stopped using it, apparently there are still many who use it.

As long as you are sensible about your CFLs (don't let the baby suck on a broken piece of one) I'm sure you are perfectly safe.