Green Choices Wednesday

   
      




                      This..............or This?

Here's another paper vs cloth choice.

Paper napkins are technically a "renewable resource."  However, the production and the distribution chains for paper products expend irreplaceable fossil fuel and create greenhouse gases and other pollutants.  It is true that paper products are biodegradable, so they don't stay in the landfill forever.  My point is that disposable products still turn resources into garbage after a single use, wasting fuel and generating pollution in the process.

Production of cloth napkins also consumes resources, but cloth napkins are used over and over, and may be recyled into rags when worn.  They are commonly available in cotton or linen, and the DIY'er will find "Sew your own cloth napkins" directions widely available on the web.

My family is continuing to look for ways to eliminate "disposable" items from our lives. We've recently started using cloth napkins at our meals instead of paper napkins. 

Consider ways to eliminate "disposable" products from your life!

Think Green and live Green!

Quote of the Week

"Beyond the very extreme of fatigue and distress, we may find amounts of ease and power we never dreamed ourselves to own, sources of strength never taxed at all because we never push through the obstruction."

William James, philosopher

Marathon Training Program: Week 6

Week six was a week of comparitive rest, the second step-back week in the training schedule.  Every third week provides a little recovery to prepare for two more weeks of increasing mileage.  I continued to use a hybrid of Higdon's Intermediate 1 and Intermediate 2 programs, running #1 on weekdays, and #2 on the weekend.  This week reduced the long run distance from 13 miles to 10 miles, and dropped the weekly total by a little more than 3 miles.  This week's total: 29.2 miles.

Next week will be quite a bit tougher.  The mid-week medium run increases from 6 to 7 miles.  If I continue with the hybrid program, Sunday's long run goes to 16 miles.  The total for the week should be around 39 miles.

Six weeks down, twelve to go! 

February Challenge - Food Waste Reduction

Here's an interesting challenge for February-- Food Waste Reduction!

This challenge is posted on the Crunchy Chicken blog, one of my favorite environmental blogs. 

The biggest value of challenges like this is to spur the additional thought process, the additional level of awareness and focus that often leads us to personal discovery.  For information on the challenge, and on the food waste issue, just follow this link, or click on the graphic on my sidebar.

For further information on the issue of food waste,  see Jonathan Bloom's Wasted Food blog.  It is an excellent resource.

Training Tip Thursday

"Tip(s) of the Week: Shoe care is important for success in the marathon, not only your racing shoes, but your training shoes. Here are some quick maintenance tips: 1) Always untie your shoes before removing them. 2) Never wash shoes in a washer, or dry them in a dryer. 3) Don't store them in a cold garage, or leave them in a hot car. 4) Don't use them for other sports. 5) Always wear clean and dry socks while running. 6) Have more than one pair of shoes, so you can alternate, allowing shoes to dry between workouts."

From Hal Higdon's Marathon Training Guide, Intermediate 1 Program, Week 6.
http://www.halhigdon.com/marathon/Oint1-6.htm

Green Choices Wednesday

        This..............or This?

Paper towels are technically a "renewable resource," but the production and distribution chains expend irreplaceable fossil fuel, create greenhouse gases and other pollutants, and the paper ends up in a landfill after a single use.

Production of cotton towels also consume resources and create pollutants, just as does the production of almost any item.  However, a cotton towel is used over and over again, and may be recyled into a rag when worn.

I've been looking for ways to greatly reduce or eliminate "disposable" items from my life.  I've recently started keeping a washcloth or small hand towel in my workplace office.  I'll either carry it to the washroom with me, or return to my office with damp hands and dry them there.

Consider ways to eliminate "disposable" products from your life!

Think Green and live Green!

Marathon Training Program: Weeks 4 - 5

Two more weeks closer to marathon!  The program continues to follow the same cycle as the first three weeks, two weeks of increasing mileage followed by a step back week of reduced mileage.  The pattern  is cross-training Monday, short run Tuesday, medium run Wednesday, short run Thursday, rest Friday, medium run Saturday, and a long run Sunday.

The past two weeks raised the medium runs from 5 to 6 miles, and the long runs to 11 miles and 12 miles.  It  feels pretty comfortable, as it is now getting up to the mileage I was accustomed to in last several months of 2009.  In the past week, with the help of continued strengthening excercises, my sore knee feels almost 100% recovered.  Encouraged by this improvement, I have added just a few miles to my published schedule here and there.  I've been running 4 miles on most of the 3-mile days, and yesterday, I ran 13.1 miles instead of the scheduled 12, and managed to work in some hills.  I'm well aware of the dangers of overtraining; I'm just trying to enhance the training program slightly.

I initially wanted to try the Intermediate 2 program, but decided that it might be slightly more than I could manage, and settled on the Intermediate 1.  The main reason I decided against the Intermediate 2 was that the mid-week medium-distance run goes up to 10 miles at the peak of the program, and I just wasn't willing go get up early enough to run that long in the morning before work.  Other than that, the main difference between Intermediate 1 and 2 is that Intermediate 2 goes a couple of miles longer on the Saturday and Sunday runs.  So, I figure that I can add up to 2 miles on my weekend runs and actually run a hybrid of the two Intermediate programs without overtraining.  The feature I liked best in the Intermediate 2 is that it peaks at a 10-mile Saturday run followed by a 20-mile Sunday run!  I think the 30-mile weekend total would be better preparation for the rigors of the 26 mile race than the 25-mile weekends in the Intermediate 1 program.  So, depending on how strong I feel as the schedule progresses, I may stretch the weekend portion of the #1 to either equal or approach the #2 program.

The coming week brings the second step back week, and will reduce mileage slightly. 

Five weeks down, 13 to go!

Quote of the Week

"Free your mind, and your feet will follow."

Kevin Nelson, The Runner's Book of Daily Inspiration

Training Tip Thursday

"Tip of the Week: Runners sometimes find it difficult doing the long runs, particularly on hot days. One secret is to stop frequently to walk, even if not forced to do so. Walk, grab something to drink, then resume running again. It will make the miles seem much easier plus you'll train yourself to go from running to walking to running during the race. Drinking is important too."

From Hal Higdon's Marathon Training Guide, Intermediate 1 Program, Week 5.
http://www.halhigdon.com/marathon/Oint1-5.htm

Green Choices Wednesday

This?

or This?

It's nice to add a fresh, pleasant aroma to any room in the house, and there are several options to do this.  The plug-in uses electricity, the generation of which adds greenhouse gases to the atmosphere.  The plug-in unit is based on a disposable scent bottle that must be replaced regularly. 

The reed diffuser works very well, the scent lasts a long time, and the components are used over and over.  After a quick web search, I found that there are scented oil recipes available online that help the DIY'er to make diffuser refill scent at home!  Most home-made substitutes for common commercial products can be made more economically, and ingredients may be purchased in bulk, which reduces product packaging. 

I cringe at the thought of the word "disposable!" So many products are disposable, or dependent on a disposable component. Advertising makes it sound so easy. Just use it and throw it away! Well, there is no such place as "away." Everything has to go somewhere. That "somewhere" is usually a landfill that is filling up with wasted resources!

Consider ways to eliminate items that use unnecessary electricity!  Consider ways to eliminate as many "disposable" products from your life as possible!

Think Green and live Green!

Quote of the Week

"Every moment of life is precious and magical. We experience this not by striving to be happy, but by focusing, in a relaxed way, on the present moment. Most unhappiness comes from regrets about the past or worries about the future, both of which are greatly diminished by gently focusing on the present moment."

(from Yoga Demystified - The Wonder of Being Alive, http://yogademystified.com/)

Training Tip Thursday

"Tip of the Week: If you are training through the summer, one way to avoid hot weather is to run early in the morning. The days are longer. Use these extra hours of daylight to get out before the sun rises too high. Temperatures are cooler, the air cleaner and the scenery prettier in the hours around dawn. If work schedules force you to run midday, be sure to wear a cap to protect against the sun--and drink plenty of water! If you are training through the winter, midday may be the best time for you to run."

From Hal Higdon's Marathon Training Guide, Intermediate 1 Program, Week 4.
http://www.halhigdon.com/marathon/Oint1-4.htm

Green Choices Wednesday

                          This?......................... or this?

                           This?.......................... or this?

(Click on photos to enlarge.)
More and more people are getting into paper recycling.  That's great!  There is also a growing awareness that, even if all paper is recycled (which it isn't), reducing unnecessary use of paper is environmentally beneficial.  Reducing use reduces demand, which reduces consumption of resources, energy use, and pollution that result from the production and distribution chain.  Many people are using paper twice before recycling! Doing this could greatly reduce paper use, proportionally reducing the environmental effects.
 
The photos above illustrate what I've been doing in my office.  Instead of using post-it notes and pads, I use the back sides of printed pages, making homemade "pads" of two sizes by cutting the 8 1/2" x 11" sheets into quarters or eighths, and keeping together with a binder clip. If a note just has to stick to something, a very small peice of tape works well.

As an alternative to consuming new resources, consider ways to use existing resources a second time! 
Then recycle!
 
Think Green; Live Green!

Marathon Training Program: Weeks 1 - 3

I began my marathon training program on 28 December, 2009, 18 weeks from my scheduled race, The Gusher Marathon, in Beaumont, Texas, May 1, 2010.  I've been using Hal Higdon's Intermediate 1 marathon training program, and set it up on a Google calendar, embedded in this blog. (See the "Marathon Training Calendar" post from 9 December). 

The program consists of 5 running days per week.  The structure is: easy cross-training (no running) on Monday, a short run Tuesday, a medium-distance run Wednesday, and another short run Thursday.  Friday is a rest day to prepare for a medium-distance Saturday run, followed by a long Sunday run.  So the cycle is short-medium-short-rest-medium-long-easy.  That alternates the stresses up and down, and brackets the back-to-back medium and long with rest and easy.  The structure makes a lot of sense.  The mileage builds from an early weekly low of 22 miles to a weekly peak of 44 miles.  The weekly mileage increase follows a cycle, also.  In each three-week period, two consecutive weeks increase mileage, and the third week steps back a little to provide a little recovery before the next push upward.  Mileage tapers off in the last 3 weeks to allow recovery from the training.  The process will culminate with the marathon race at the end of the 18th week.

At the end of three weeks, my training has stayed on track.  I've had two weeks of increasing miles, and last week was the first stepback week.  Next week adds 7 miles.  So far, I've missed one 3-mile run on one occasion to give a sore knee an extra day of rest, but have also added an extra mile here and there when I was really feeling good.  So far, so good--  3 down, 15 to go!

In the future, I'll blog less about individual run details, and instead post more of a summary (like this post).  If you want to look at the plan, it's in the calendar in the footer below all of the posts on this page.  If you click on the title of a daily run, the full description of that day's plan will pop up.  A second click will minimize it.  I've recently started using dailymile.com to log workouts, so if you want to see individual workouts, click  the dailymile widget on my sidebar.

Quote of the Week

More than enough is too much.

(from Tai Chi Heartwork, http://taichiheartwork.blogspot.com/)

Training Tip Thursday

"Tip of the Week: Be flexible with your training, particularly while traveling. Don't be afraid to modify workouts occasionally when it seems appropriate. The general pattern of the program--the steady buildup--is more important than what you do on any one day. Don't get so hung up on your training schedule that you are unwilling to make adjustments when an opportunity for an interesting run develops."

From Hal Higdon's Marathon Training Guide, Intermediate 1 Program, Week 3.
http://www.halhigdon.com/marathon/Oint1-3.htm

Training Tip Thursday

"Tip of the Week: Easy days are as important in your training plan as hard days. You won't get the full benefits of the progressive long-run buildup on the weekends, unless you rest before and after. Resting on Fridays and Mondays allows you to run harder on Saturdays and Sundays, when you will have more time for your workouts. The marathon is 17 weeks away, but your success depends on the steady base that you are building now."

From Hal Higdon's Marathon Training Guide, Intermediate 1 Program, Week 2.
http://www.halhigdon.com/marathon/Oint1-2.htm

Try living No Impact for a week

Try living No Impact for a week!

Check out the links in this post!  The No Impact Project is signing up participants for another No Impact Experiment, a "one-week carbon cleanse."  It will begin on 10 January, 2010.

I read about the first one in October, and was intrigued.  I signed up for the second one in November, and found the process to be enlightening.  Even though I already participated in many Green activities, I found that simply focusing on the program for a week and trying new suggestions described in the How-To Manual heightened my awareness of additional waste that could easily be eliminated from my life.

Most participants won't be able to use every suggestion.  I wasn't able to.  But the value of the exercise is that it enables us to discover that there are additional things that each one of us can do to reduce our impact on the Earth.  Was I able to live zero-impact for a week?  No.  However, the process did help me learn how to further lower my impact in certain areas.

"No impact" is probably not doable for the vast majority of people, but "low impact" probably is.  And the collective effect of many people lowering their impact would be powerful.

Why not give it a try?

Running: December 22 - 31

I'm a little behind catching up on the blog.  I began last week running fairly well, knee feeling stronger, and getting some distance and pace back. On the 26th, a twinge in the knee returned, which got a little worse as the week progressed.  I began my planned marathon training schedule on the 28th with a light cross-training day, which provided a little recovery time, and ran again on the 29th and 30th.  I decided to take an unscheduled rest day on the 31st to add to the scheduled January 1 rest day.  I'll try to get back on schedule on January 2nd.

• Wednesday, December 30 - 3.0 miles, 28:59, 9.66 pace.
• Tuesday, December 29 - 5.0 miles, 50:25, 10.08 pace.
• Monday, December 28 - Began Marathon Training Schedule: Light cross-training.
• Sunday, December 27 - 4.0 miles, 40:06, 10.03 pace.
• Saturday, December 26 - 4.0 miles, 37:38, 9.41 pace.
• Friday, December 25 - 2.0 miles, 19:42, 9.85 pace.
• Thursday, December 24 - 4.0 miles, 38:08, 9.53 pace.
• Wednesday, December 23 - 6.0 miles, 58:55, 9.82 pace.
• Tuesday, December 22 - 4.0 miles, 39:52, 9.97 pace.

Training Tip Thursday

"Running Tips: With the marathon 18 weeks away, plan the training now that will permit you success. Marathon training works best if you start easy and build gradually: A long run of 8 miles in June becomes 20 miles in September. Most important at this time is to establish a goal, whether that goal is to finish or to run fast. Once that goal is chosen, everything else will fall in place."

From Hal Higdon's Marathon Training Guide, Intermediate 1 Program, Week 1.
http://www.halhigdon.com/marathon/Oint1-1.htm

Weekly Training: December 15-20 -- I'm Back!

After a week of resting my knee, I'm back!  I ran a week of reduced mileage, 24 miles total, running cautiously and at moderate pace.  Any pains were slight, and subsided shortly after running.  I'm planning a similar week for this week, and next week will begin Week 1 of my marathon training schedule. 

• Sunday, December 20 - 8.0 miles, 1:23:37, 10.45 pace.
• Saturday, December 19 - 6.2 miles, 1:06:15, 10.69 pace.
• Friday, December 18 - 2.0 miles, 20:00, 10.00 pace.
• Thursday, December 17 - 2.0 miles, 19:59, 10.00 pace.
• Wednesday, December 16 - 4 miles, 43:01, 10.75 pace.
• Tuesday, December 15 - 2.0 miles, 20:52, 10.44 pace.

Cold rain was the weather feature of the week, raining almost continuously through Thursday.  Friday through Sunday were cool and sunny, with early morning run temperatures in the 30's and 40's.

2010 Goals

• Run 1,800 1,500 miles.
• Complete a Marathon Race.
• Remain Injury-Free Avoid Serious Injury.

On November 17, I posted Running Goals for 2010.  However, I'm revising Goal #1 from 1,800 miles to 1,500 miles. 

After recent feedback from my body, I feel like 1,500 miles for Goal 1 is more consistent with ensuring I meet Goal 3, which is necessary to meet Goal 2.  Breaking it down, 1,800 miles averages about 35 miles per week.  At the beginning of 2010, I'll be on an 18-week marathon training schedule that starts me at 24 miles per week, and doesn't pass 35 miles until week 7.  It will peak at 44 miles and average about 33 miles over the 18 weeks, including the 26.2 miles for the actual marathon.  That automatically puts me behind over the first 18 weeks, and also doesn't account for several recovery weeks after the marathon.  So, I'm going with 1,500 miles, which averages about 29 per week. 

It looks like I'll finish 2009 at around 1,200 miles. My goal was 1,000.  In 2010, I'd rather exceed a more cautious goal than hurt myself trying to attain a more difficult goal.

Green Living Feature of the Week - Sending a Message to Polluters

Have you seen someone driving a car that is pouring smoke from the exhaust, or throwing trash from their car, and wanted to tell them how they are hurting the environment? 

Yesterday afternoon, on my drive home from work, I observed a car ahead of me that was billowing a huge cloud of noxious smoke.   (GASP!)  This was on a busy six-lane city street, and other cars were either staying far behind this car, or going around it as quickly as possible.  I moved over a lane, to not be directly behind the smoking car, and slowed down a little to increase the distance between us.  As the car turned right at the next intersection, I was able to note the license plate number, and later reported it online.

The state of Texas has two programs that can be used to send a message to polluters and litterers: theTexas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) Smoking Vehicle Program, and the Texas Department of Transportation Report a Litterer program.   Since these are based on anonymous reports, neither of these programs result in enforcement activities, but instead encourage citizens to act in an environmentally responsible manner.

Upon observing a smoking vehicle, one can make note of the following information: Texas license plate number, date and time observed, city and location observed, and submit the information to TCEQ online, by mail, fax, or phone. TCEQ mails a notification letter to the registered owner of the vehicle. The letter notifies the owner that their vehicle was reported to be observed emitting excessive visible exhaust emissions. It also encourages them to make repairs, if needed. It also informs vehicle owners that law enforcement authorities  observing smoking vehicles on Texas roadways may issue citations for up to $350. Since the program started, the TCEQ has sent more than 160,000 letters to smoking vehicle owners. Thousands have replied saying they fixed their cars!  Repairs have ranged from minor adjustments to major engine repairs.

Upon observing litter exiting a vehicle, intentionally or accidentally, one can note the following information:  license plate number, make and color of vehicle, date and time, location, who tossed the litter and what was tossed, and submit the information online. TxDOT compares the information to the vehicle registration database and sends the litterer a "Don't Mess with Texas" litterbag along with a letter reminding them to keep their trash off of our roads.

A quick search online showed me that most states have similar programs.  If you are interested in sending a message to polluters, there are probably versions of these programs in your area.

Weekly Training: December 7 - 14

This week, I continued to nurse a sore knee, resulting almost no running mileage.  Monday morning, I set out to try an easy 2 to 4 mile run.  The soreness returned before I completed the second mile, so I ended the run at 2 miles.  I rested Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.  Friday morning, I decided to resume with easy cross training and no running, and allow plenty of recovery time.  I walked 2 miles, and then bicycled 1/2 hour.  A little soreness returned, and remained the rest of the day.  Saturday morning, I walked 4 miles, with less soreness than Thursday.  By Sunday morning, the soreness was further reduced.  I went for another 4-mile walk, and felt good enough that I couldn't resist testing myself with several short jogging intervals mixed in, followed by very little soreness.  Monday morning, my leg and knee felt pretty strong, but I rested again anyway. 

I feel like I'm about ready to gradually ease back into a regular running routine. :-)

Marathon Training Calendar

I've been running for quite a while using bits and pieces of various different training programs.  After registering for a May 1 marathon, I decided it was time to find a formal, structured program to follow through to race day.  After reading the details of a few training schedules, I decided to use one of Hal Higdon's marathon training programs.  Hal has 6 programs published on the Hal Higdon's Marathon Training Guide website, two each in the Novice, Intermediate, and Advanced levels.  He recommends the Novice programs for first-time marathoners, but I wanted a slight additional challenge and selected the Intermediate I schedule because I think it gives better preparation for the 26-mile distance by using a weekly medium-distance run  on the day before the weekly long-distance run.

Of course, the schedule is written in terms of "Week 1," "Week 2," etc., not in terms of an actual calendar or dates.  After plugging my race day into the end of the schedule and working backward for a day-by-day schedule, I looked for a convenient way to set up and follow a daily schedule.

During this process, I discovered Google Calendar.  This turned out to be a pretty good tool for the purpose.  I was able to set up a custom calendar for the 18-week progam.  The header on each date tells me exactly what is on the schedule, i.e., the miles and the pace.  The Description field let me copy and paste the full detailed workout description from Hal's website.  So, I can see at a glance what is scheduled for the date, and a single click on the header title brings up the full description.  A second click returns it to the header view.  It also let me embed the calendar in this blog, which is a very convenient place for me to keep up with it.  Pretty cool.

The calendar is completely filled in now, and is at the bottom of this page. 

Green Living Feature of the Week - Wasted Food

I recently came across an enlightening blog, "Wasted Food," by way of Sharon Astyk's blog, "Casaubon's Book."  The author, Jonathan Bloom, has researched this topic for almost 5 years, and is currently writing a book on wasted food in America.  On some level, I'm sure we all realize that a significant amount of food is wasted.  However, after seeing the details, it's the magnitude of the waste that is so shocking. 

Bloom cites a study that shows that in America, we waste around 40% of the food that is produced for consumption.  WOW!  The percentage may seem unbelievably high, until considering that it refers to a broader picture than just consumer waste.  In addition to the food we waste as consumers, the figure also includes waste in production and distribution chains, stores and restaurants.  A portion of crops raised never even gets out of the fields.  In stores and restaurants, items that are perfectly usable go into dumpsters when they reach a use-by-date, or develop the slightest blemish, or just to make space for new stock.  Since consumers are picky, it is understandable that retailers want to maintain stock that is the freshest and most attractive.  However, usable items could be donated, rather than wasted. 

Our culture is accustomed to relatively cheap, abundant food, making the significance of large-scale waste easier to overlook.  However, on closer examination, the effects are far-reaching.  If anything near 40% of the potential food supply is wasted, the ecological impact is huge.  Fuel and other resources are wasted to grow, package and transport food that is never consumed.  Additional pollution results from the needless consumption of these resources.  The wasted food ends up in landfills, further generating greenhouse gases.

Not the least of the issues related to waste is that the cost of raising food that is thrown away is included in the cost of all food, raising prices.  Inflated price may not have huge effect on all consumers, but it is a big deal to the poor.  And in the poorest nations, a slight cost difference may mean the difference between living and starving.

Personally, I try to minimize waste.  My family eats leftovers and makes every effort to use ingredients before they have time to spoil.  Looking at this issue more closely, I resolve to be even more careful about personal waste, and to support organizations that donate and participate in the "rescue" and use of surplus food.

I'm just scratching the surface of the information.  For more detail, check out this blog!

Physical Activity Is Better than Medicine

Want to avoid getting a cold this Winter?  Keep active!

An article published by the American College for Sports Medicine cites studies that show that there is a 25 to 50 percent reduction in illness among active people who complete 45 minutes of moderate-intensity activity most days of the week.

“This reduction in illness far exceeds anything a drug or pill can offer...All is takes is a pair of walking shoes to help prevent becoming one of the thousands predicted to suffer from the common cold this winter.”

Weekly Training: November 30 - December 6

This week I nursed a sore knee, resulting in a week of reduced mileage, 22 miles total.  After two days of running very short distances (2 miles Monday and 4 miles Tuesday), followed by two days of rest, I tested the knee with a slow and easy 2-mile run Friday morning at 11.5 pace.  It still felt fairly good Saturday after I ran 6 miles at 10.0 pace.  Sunday, I followed with an 8-mile run at 10.33 pace.  The last mile of this run brought some returning knee pain.

I will continue for now with reduced mileage and additonal rest, and build the distance back gradually.

Overtraining?

After my first two consecutive 40+ mile weeks, and running hard in a race, I still have a little pain and stiffness around my right knee area.  I feel it just left of my right kneecap, and on the back of my right leg, opposite the kneecap.  My waking heart rate Tuesday morning was 57 instead of the typical 47 to 51.  Maybe I overtrained a little.  I took it easy Monday and Tuesday, only running two and 4 miles respectively, and didn't run at all today.  I'll continue to be cautious for a few days, rest as appropriate, and see how it feels.

Have you ever had these symptoms?  Does this sound like Runner's Knee?

Green Living Feature of the Week - CFL Lighting

One of the easiest ways for environmentally conscious people to make a difference is by using Compact Flourescent (CFL) bulbs for lighting.  I've used them exclusively in place of incandescent bulbs for about 5 years now, and love them.  They are more expensive, but they last 10 times longer than incandescent bulbs.  More significantly, they consume about 75% less electricity.  An incandescent bulb is very inefficient; it is essentially a heating element in a vacuum tube.  Most of the energy is converted to heat; light is almost a by-product.  CFL's run much cooler, converting more energy to light.  Not only do they help the environment, they save the consumer a lot of money.

I saw an impressive statistic, that every household in the U.S. replacing one incandescent bulb with a CFL would result in the same emission reduction as taking 1 million cars off the road. 
Wow-- think of the effect of replacing ALL incandescents with CFL's! 

CFL's do contain some mercury, so they should be recycled rather than thrown in the trash.  I'm taking them to the local Home Depot; all of their stores accept CFL's.   If there is not a store locally, the Earth911.com website shows nationwide recycling locations for almost all recyclables.

The next generation of energy efficient lighting is LED (light emitting diode) lighting.  The LED runs even cooler and uses even less power than the CFL, but is more expensive.  Recent improvements in LED technology should reduce prices as production increases.