The Sierra Club Hypocrisy, Part 1

Sierra Club to distribute light bulbs
Sunday News
Published: Sep 21, 200800:03 EST
Lancaster
By JON RUTTER, Staff

Members of the Lancaster Group of the Sierra Club will go door to door in the city's southwest section Sunday, Sept. 28, giving away compact fluorescent light bulbs.

The club expects to hand out about 1,000 energy-saving bulbs, said Ellen Milligan, the group leader.

Each household will be offered one free bulb, according to Milligan, who added that the club will cover Prospect, Fairview, Laurel, Dorwart and Filbert streets, among others.

"We wanted to do something in a different part of downtown" from center city, she said.

The purpose of the event is to spread awareness about compact fluorescents, which use less electricity than conventional incadescent bulbs.

Electric lights typically use power from coal-fired plants, Milligan said, and a compact fluorescent bulb "can save up to 450 pounds of carbon dioxide" over its lifetime. Read More

As the article mentions, mercury is used in these light bulbs. This is the same mercury that has the Sierra Club trying to stop coal fired power plants from being built. If you break one of these bulbs in your house, the recommendation is that you evacuate your house for a period of time before you go in to clean it up. Also, these bulbs will end up in a landfill someday. So can the Sierra Club have it both ways when it comes to mercury?