The company General Electric is taking bigger strides to cut down on the mercury content of lightbulbs. Mercury is a toxic poison found in thermometers and lightbulbs that is harmful if absorbed by the human body. Eliminating mercury will not only cut down on carbon dioxide emissions but will cut energy costs. The new compact fluorescent lightbulbs use only one-fourth the energy of regular fluorescent lightbulbs and still they produce the same light. The new lightbulbs still contain a tiny amount of mercury but only a trace amount. The issue right now for the company General Electrics is that many of these new energy and environmentally friendly lightbulbs are not being recycled. Many of the lightbulbs end up in the landfills. It is the hope of many of the companies that produce compact fluorescent lightbulbs that they will be recycled. These new lightbulbs are becoming popular all around the world. China has already decided to stop using the conventional lightbulbs as well as Canada and Australia.
The benefits will eventually be seen if more countries decide to stop using conventional lightbulbs. To many this might seem like a small way to help the environment, but if everyone begins to use this as a light source benefits will ultimately emerge. Already many energy efficient lightbulbs are being sold at stores such as Target, Wal-Mart, etc. More common everyday products are trying to “go green” to help save the environment. In the next five years it will not be surprising to see numerous products that have changed to meet safer environmental standards.
Jennifer Collins
http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSN2448675120071025?sp=true
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