COCHRAN: Well, yes and no. I mean, they’re burning less carbon or creating less carbon. But when you get rid of them, there’s a little bit of mercury in them.

WRAGGE: Got it.

COCHRAN: So you’ve got to be very careful about how you dispose of them. So I wouldn’t say they’re necessarily better for the environment, at the end, if you break them. Sometimes they have to be recycled or your city or your county may require a certain method of getting rid of them. So, mhmm, yes and no.

[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: CFL Light Bulbs; Contain Mercury & if Broken, Clean Up Carefully]

WRAGGE: And you also have to be very careful of them, with the insulation, with the handling, because they’re very sens – they can break very easily.

COCHRAN: They can break.

WRAGGE: You want to be careful.

COCHRAN: Yeah, you don’t want to, maybe, use them in your kids’ room where they can knock it over and the mercury inside can possibly – you know, mercury is not something you want to play around with.

WRAGGE: Alright, let’s talk about the LED right now, Light Emitting Diode. And these are really, really pricey though, aren’t they?

COCHRAN: Yeah. See, but this is the thing, they cost maybe about $40 a bulb.

CBS’s Early Show Touts Government Banning Incandescent Light Bulbs

At the top of the 7:30AM ET half hour on Monday’s CBS Early Show, co-host Chris Wragge happily proclaimed: “After 130 years, [Thomas] Edison’s invention is basically being phased out….The government is replacing the incandescent bulb with a much more energy efficient light.”

Wragge portrayed the government ban as a new “choice” for consumers: “Consumers will now have a choice of two different kinds of bulbs, the CFL and LED and we’re going to tell you the difference and which one is better for you, which one’s going to be a little more cost effective.” Co-host Erica Hill lamented: “It’s a tough transition….It’s hard to let go.” Wragge reassured her: “Well, we’re going to hopefully make that process a little easier for you.” Hill concluded: “It’s been a good run, Thomas Edison.”