Basically yes you should call a Hazmat team to clean these bulbs up when broken.
http://www.epa.gov/mercury/spills/index.htm#fluorescent
It is IrishMike who needs lessons in economics, not Mr. Jackson. What IrishMike missed is that the author made a distinction between economic efficiency and technical efficiency. As a graduate in economics I can assure IrishMike that this is standard economics. Mr. Jackson’s use of time preference to explain consumer behavior regarding light bulbs is also standard economics.
The author’s argument is a simple one. Whether or not a good is economically efficient is determined by the consumer. Underlying this approach is the role of price. If fluorescent lamps are truly economically efficient in that they satisfy consumer wants then there will be no need for the state to intervene.