If you check out the new issue of ABODE that comes out on Tuesday, you’ll see a feature on the home of Mark and Karen Schuyler. It’s a great house, and they couldn’t have been nicer when I came calling with my nosy questions. Mark and I talked not only about the house’s architecture but about how it’s lit. He’s a lighting designer and whenever we’ve had a conversation, I’ve walked away amazed at the powerful effect light has on humans—our health and our happiness.
As we talked, he brought up something that surprised me: CFLs, the light bulbs that everyone (including me) has been saying are a greener choice, may not actually be so great. There are a number of concerns. One is the mercury the bulbs contain, which means they have to be disposed of quite carefully; will the general public actually do it right? (Even if they do, light bulbs sometimes accidentally break in your house.) What’s more, the mercury may also be doing mischief in China, where many bulbs are manufactured; as we know, that country’s reputation for environmental safeguards and, well, regulation in general is kind of a broken bulb in itself. There’s a bunch more info here, and discussion of the big switchover in 2014 here.
Lo and behold, after I returned from the Schuylers’, a conversation on this very topic bubbled up on the E.A.T. Local listserv. Some folks were concerned about mercury. Some said that the CFLs did not last nearly as long as they’re supposed to—a big hole in the argument that it’s worth the extra cost to buy CFLs instead of incandescents. And some just don’t like the allegedly "cold" light. One person responded to that concern like this: "Regarding coloration, seems like a small sacrifice to keep the planet from melting…."
There you have a key environmental debate in a nutshell: Should we be expected to sacrifice comfort and pleasure for the planet?
I think yes, to some degree we should—but I also believe that making everybody depressed by shining ugly lights on them is a bad idea. The Schuylers’ house is really smart about letting in daylight, which reduces their need for electric lighting. I like that solution.
So, folks, what do you think? Have you been happy with the performance of CFLs? Do you find the light acceptable? Should we all make the switch right away, or exercise caution?