Indeed. They are probably perfectly good for photometric applications too, where it doesn't matter if it takes some time for the cell to adjust to the illumination. And as far as environmental issues are concerned, it would certainly be much better to get rid of CFLs. There has actually been some coverage in the news here about CFLs being thrown in glass recycling containers instead of being handed in as toxic waste (there are reasonably easily accessible places that accept toxic waste everyhere here as well, but nowhere near as many or as accessible as glass recycling containers) and causing problems at the recycling plants. LED lighting is being promoted instead. So far, there has been no discussion about environmental issues with semiconductor manufacturing... /Jonas