I'm trying to green up like a lot of Americans and walk the talk
including at home. You can ask my wife, I can be a pain as I look for
ways to reduce my—our!—carbon footprint.

Yet it seems like there are downsides, often major, to every green
option. For example, I purchased a rechargeable mower this summer
despite reading some arguments that the production of the rechargeable
batteries can offset some or most of the enviro-benefits of switching
from a gas mower. Although I'm an analytical kind of person, things can
get pretty complex trying to quantify and compare enviro benefits on a
choice like this, but my instincts told me this was a win in even if the "score" was close.

Consider also the compact fluorescent light (CFL), a darling of home
greening because CFLs are a simple, cheap, and—this is
important—cost-saving way to green your electrical usage. Only problem
is that each CFL bulb contains 3 to 5 mg of mercury, a neurotoxin that
can be released as a vapor when broken, including after disposal. I'd
agree that sounds like a serious problem.
Now researchers are looking to packaging to overcome that major
shortcoming, as reported in this recent article
http://www.scientificblogging.com/news_releases/new_mercury_absorbent_pa...
at www.scientificblogging.com. A team at Brown's Institute for
Molecular and Nanoscale Innovation has created a mercury-capturing
lining attached to the inside of store-bought CFL packaging. The
packaging can be placed over the area where a bulb has been broken to
absorb the mercury vapor emanating from the spill, or it can capture
the mercury of a bulb broken in the box, according to the article.

Brown applied earlier this year for patents, and expects to soon begin
discussions with companies on manufacturing the new technology.
While many consumers may consider packaging part of the environmental
problem, it can also be part of the solution as in this example. Thanks
to packaging, we could all feel better—and safer—when we turn on the
lights in the future.