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Mercury thermometers went out of popular use by parents with the ease and safety of the tympanic thermometer. Most any one that has ever raised children knows that what can go wrong will. We install latches for cabinets, refrigerators and ovens, we lock away medicines, we put bumpers on table corners, and much more to provide a safe environment for our young children. Quite frankly, any type of glass light bulb is dangerous to a certain extent. Having said that, I would much rather minimize that danger by using a standard light bulb rather than maximizing it by now including the threat of a harmful substance. It may be an overprotective way of looking at it, but with the many dangers already prevalent in our homes, it seems to me to be the most prudent.
I must also admit that I am not convinced that changing the light bulbs in my home (or in all the homes for that matter) will actually make a significant change in our planet's environment. Conserving energy and looking for alternative sources of energy are, indeed, things that need to be accomplished. Government mandating a change to an alternative form of light bulb could be a good thing, if done for the right reasons, such as improved efficiency and safety. Not because the politicians want to show their constituents that they have jumped on the "Save the Planet" bandwagon.
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