I switched to these bulbs because my present home has some electricity issues that were blowing out conventional bulbs at an astounding rate. I literally had one last 3 hours before a local surge popped it. Ah, the wonders of aluminum wiring.

I gave them a try on a recommendation from a relative and I was amazed. I put the first one in over a year ago and haven't had to replace it yet. About 6 months ago, I replaced them all and started tracking my electric use. It dropped by a little over 15%. Now, I cook and heat my home and water with propane, so this may not be typical, but my electric bills in the short winter we have here are regularly under $100. The short-term cost was more, but in the long run, these were a great switch here and have noticeably reduced my energy use (and the midnight trips I used to have to make for light bulbs).

I have to say yes, these are green. If nothing else, they've saved (in my case) the shipping, packaging and manufacture of a dozen conventional bulbs a month.

For those worried about the mercury in these bulbs, this link http://lamprecycle.org/ will give you a list of north american recycling centers.

I refitted my whole house when I moved in just for the savings, but if you think about it, the less money I spend on electricity(coal generated) those CFs are as green as grass. I'm not sure about the possible toxins or recycling but it can't be much worse than traditional bulbs.