There is no doubt about the energy savings associated with CFL's. However, the recycling requirement, which will undoubedly be ignored by the vast majority of consumers, is too big of an issue to ignore. If it weren't for the huge companies pushing these products we wouldn't be having this discussion at all.

The next generation of lighting is LED technology. It's extremely energy efficient and clean. Yes the transition will be more difficult, due to the fact that you just can't screw them into current outlets. But again, the long term environmental impact of millions of CFL's in junk yards is too hard to ignore.

If you want to make a serious improvement, push that all new commercial buildings use LED lighting. Let's jump to the future head first, rather than keep one toe in the 19th century!