What is environmentaly friendly lighting?

What has also not been said is that people hate fluorescent lighting, that LEDs represent an immature technology which may never yield great energy savings, or become a general illumination light source, and that no one will be using metal halide in their boudoir. Attacking the incandescent light bulb is easy, but misguided, as it is an inextricable part of modern living.

The incandescent light bulb, yes, the plain old warm, dimmable A-19 lamp is a cultural touchstone. The cool compact fluorescent lamp will never be the intimate friend that is Edison's (and Swan's) lamp. Maybe this is nostalgia, after all commercial and institutional buildings have been lit primarily as fluorescent for more than sixty years. Who needs the bulb? Maybe only eccentric romantics.

It can also be argued that the incandescent bulb is quite environmentally friendly. Unlike higher technology lamps, the simple filament bulb does not require rare earth gases and phosphors, leaches no mercury, and requires no proprietary manufacturing patents. The incandescent light bulb is produced worldwide, and is often a local product, which requires less packaging and less fuel for transport from low-wage factories to high-profit markets. Take a look at your next compact fluorescent package and see if it wasn't made in Hungary, China, or Vietnam. If total embodied energy were included in the calculation, would the compact fluorescent lamp still be the great white hope?