Most CFLs you buy in the store anymore aren't blue in the slightest. In fact our house is entirely CFL (or just flourescent) and none of the lights have a blue tint to them. With the exception of the "warming up" some of the bulbs require to get at full brightness, everything looks just as it did back in the incandescent days.
In fact here's an article from NPR while detailing the dangers of CFL mercury, shows that the energy savings over a standard bulb contribute to overall less mercury in the environment.
Here's the link.
Here's the quote
And if you're concerned about the color temperature here's a quote from the same article that shows how to avoid the bluer bulbs.She says that even though fluorescent bulbs contain mercury, using them contributes less mercury to the environment than using regular incandescent bulbs. That's because they use less electricity — and coal-fired power plants are the biggest source of mercury emissions in the air.
"The compact fluorescent light bulb is a product people can use to positively influence the environment to… prevent mercury emissions as well as greenhouse gas emissions. And it's something that we can do now — and it's extremely important that we do do it," Reed says. "And the positive message is, if you recycle them, if you dispose of them properly, then they're doing a world of good."
According to this website here are average color temperatures of an.MYTH: CFLs have a harsh, cold light quality.
Increasingly, this is less of an issue. Over the past few years, manufacturers have worked to provide a warmer color. Some people say they still notice a difference, but the gap is narrowing. For a warmer, white light, look for a color temperature of 2,700–3,000K on the package.
100-watt incandescent 2870
40-watt incandescent 2500
And as far as LED technology goes, it's way more expensive right now than standard CFLs or incandescent. And most of the home use ones produce the same bluish tint that people still accuse CFL's of producing. If you get a chance go to wal-mart and compare the lumen output of their LED bulbs compared to a CFL. They're nowhere close considering the price.
Anyway what was this thread about again?