The "green" argument- that CFLs save the burning of coal and the net effect is less mercury floating around - has some merit. Where I live, we don't have coal fired plants and don't buy from the grid, so they do more harm winding up in landfills.
Some people throw away batteries and other electronics that contain all sorts of nasties (arsenic, heavy metals). I try to recycle whatever I can. Why not, it can only help.
And yes, those substances come from the ground, but they're not supposed to be in contact with our drinking water. As we become more aware of what is harmful, we should adjust accordingly.
My body has been drug down from over exposure to mercury and lead (primarily through my own ignorance), so I'm happy to be ridiculed by a few sarcastic know-it-alls (not meaning you rb22 - just starting to see the "tin foil hat commentators" starting to rise up without any science, just sarcasm), if someone else becomes informed and prevents them from making my mistakes. Like I said, I use CFLs, but wisely and safely, and I'll do my best to keep them out of our landfills. We've got enough chemicals to deal with - from our food - to cheap-ass Chinese products we're inundated with.
“Some people throw away batteries and other electronics that contain all sorts of nasties (arsenic, heavy metals). I try to recycle whatever I can. Why not, it can only help.”
Where I live, if I throw something nasty into the garbage it goes about 20 miles and ends up in a state-of-the-art lined landfill where nothing decomposes, nothing leaks out, etc. (At least for a few hundred years I suppose with the liners, clay, etc.)
If I send a nasty something to the recyling box at the office supply store it gets on a truck and/or train to the nearest port. Goes on a container ship to China. Gets on a truck/train where it ends up in some village where the kids wearing flip flops and maybe a rag over their nose burn the plastics and casings off to get to the useful parts. Discarding the bits and pieces behind their shack and the into the contaminated ditch.
So yes - it could hurt.
I tested them (CFLs) and saw that they saved huge on my electricity bill. I save about $300 annually because of them and I don’t have to change them—well ever so far. I really don’t care about the so called environmental impact of them. I think they are wrongly vilified by conservatives and praised by liberals. Sorry to hear about your exposure to mercury and lead! I’m waiting for when LED lights are bright & cheap. Right now they are super expensive and I haven’t been impressed by the light quality.