The problem here is that there is no possibility of a truly “free market” in the real world. Theoretically, we can create one, but not in reality.

As Aaron stated above, “If what we do does not harm or bother other peoples’ fundamental rights to life, liberty, property, and pursuit of happiness, then who cares?” Our use of coal and other fossil fuels is directly harming people and even causing their death NOW (this is why such measures are needed)

& while there are a few Democrats fighting the clear science, the Republican party as a whole is doing so, even several Republicans who previously had a completely diff view of the matter. they’ve been forced to stand in line

The white powder that comes from the bulb is not mercury, but most likely the phosphors that coat the inside of the glass tube. These are various inorganic compounds and binders, and while they shouldn’t be ingested in quantity, they are not particularly harmful. There will also be broken glass, and of course you should protect your child from the obvious hazard of the glass fragments. There may be some dust from the ceramic cement used to secure the tube into its holder, which is inert.

Depending on temperature, the mercury will either be in the form of a shiny metallic residue on the inside of the glass, or as vapor in the filling gas. Therefore, if this is released, you should leave and ventilate the room (just open the window). Rather than using a vacuum cleaner to pick up the debris, use a damp cloth. You might wish to wear gloves, if only to protect your fingers from the broken glass, but a hazmat suit is not needed. Avoid exposure by anyone who is pregnant or very young; this is man’s work.

There is much less mercury released into the environment than there used to be. Alternative materials are available for dental amalgam, thermometers, barometers, tilt sensors, batteries, grain dressings, ointments, scientific instruments, mining processes, and so on. Your child will grow up being exposed to less mercury than we were.

Reducing electricity consumption by using low energy lamps reduces emissions from coal-fired power stations, which are a source of environmental mercury.

More from the EPA at http://epa.gov/hg/, http://epa.gov/cfl/ and specifically http://epa.gov/cfl/cflcleanup.html

If 70% of the US population are happy with CF bulbs then, in theory, they’d be buying them. What this law impedes is the manufacture of light bulbs for a minority of people who want them. Somewhere there’s a girl with an easybake oven, somewhere there’s a guy with a dimmer switch (CF’s don’t work with dimmers), somewhere there’s a designer who doesn’t like the look of CF’s, somewhere there’s a recording studio that can’t have the ballast in the CF’s near their microphones.

Ultimately, there are tons of reasons why people might need a regular light bulb. And if there weren’t, who are you? Who is the government, to tell a factory to shut down? Who are you to tell someone what to buy? Who are you to tell someone what they can do with electricity they pay for? What sort of deal was struck with people who make CF’s? It’s wrong. You’re wrong. The discussion is appreciated.