Incandescent bulbs used normally for lighting are actually small heaters that produce a little light on the side. The waste in terms of energy is big and at the same time a lot of pollution is created. According to the Rocky Mountain Institute, USA, residential, commercial, industrial and municipal lighting uses 22 percent of all the electricity generated. In the U.S. alone, lighting accounts for about 39 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions from electric generating plants. So it is not surprising that many governments are talking about trying to switch consumers from incandescents to other carbon neutral technologies.
The most common alternative at the moment is the compact fluorescent lamp (CFL), also called energy-saving light. Compared to general-service incandescent lamps giving the same amount of visible light, CFLs use one-fifth to one-third the electric power, and last eight to fifteen times longer. A CFL has a higher purchase price than an incandescent lamp, but can save over five times its purchase price in electricity costs over the lamp's lifetime. Unfortunately, like all fluorescent lamps, CFLs contain mercury, a neurotoxin especially dangerous to children and pregnant women, which complicates their disposal. In many countries governments have established recycling schemes for CFLs and glass generally.
CFLs radiate a spectral power distribution that is different from that of incandescent lamps. Improved phosphor formulations have improved the perceived color of the light emitted by CFLs, such that some sources rate the best "soft white" CFLs as subjectively similar in color to standard incandescent lamps.