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While ABC's Ned Potter was driving round suburban Detroit in a prototype Ford Escape hybrid, NBC's John Larson was warning us about compact fluorescent light bulbs. The new plug-in hybrid car adds batteries that can be recharged with an ordinary household extension cord overnight when off-peak electricity is cheap. The electricity costs 3c a mile; gasoline 10c a mile--and the hybrid's fuel efficiency would be 80 mpg. Meanwhile Larson reminded us that many of the 400m CFL bulbs sold each year are made by his network's corporate sibling, General Electric's lighting division. He gave us the good news that they last ten times longer than incandescent bulbs and conserve electricity. Then the bad: "The bulbs contain a small amount of mercury, one of the most poisonous substances on Earth. Break one of these in your home and you have got a problem" requiring a federally-authorized eleven-step toxic clean-up kit. Furthermore when they eventually burn out they must not be thrown into the trash: "Too poisonous."
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