Do the (Micro-Mini) Twist

Chubby Checker made "The Twist" famous with his gyration-celebrating song in 1960, but the coolest twist today may be Osram Sylvania's new micro-mini Twist CFL (compact fluorescent light bulb).

True, "micro" and "mini" are often associated in men's minds with va-va-voom skirt styles, but in this case the words accurately describe a bulb 30 percent smaller than standard CFLs. (The illustration to the left shows a micro-mini alongside one of Sylvania's regular CFL bulbs.)

Like all CFLs, the Sylvania micro-mini Twist uses far less energy than an incandescent bulb. You would need a 60-watt incandescent bulb to get the same lighting power as a 13-watt micro-mini CFL.

In the case of CFLs, helping to save the planet with your lighting choices can save you a little money too, particularly as energy costs keep rising. Since CFLs generally have a longer lifespan than incandescent bulbs, Sylvania calculates that replacing the purchase and usage costs of 12 60-watt incandescent bulbs (1000 hours each) with one 13-watt CFL (12,000 hours) could save $56 over the long run.

Early generations of CFL bulbs often suffered from an annoying brief lag time between when a switch was flipped and the lamp came on. Newer CFLs like the micro-mini Twist now feature Instant-On technology so that the lag time (if it still exists) is unnoticeable. And thanks to its 'Soft White' coating, the light quality of the micro-mini Twist seems comparable to that of an incandescent.

Why buy a Sylvania micro-mini CFL instead of any other CFL on the market? Well, perhaps you own a tiny lamp and need a bulb that fits? More generally, smaller usually equals better from an environmental perspective. Smaller bulbs require fewer raw materials than larger bulbs. So less size equals more environmental benefits.

One drawback to CFLs is that they contain the toxic compound mercury. Most CFLs contains around 5 milligrams of mercury (which Gaiam helpfully compares to the 500 milligrams of mercury typically contained in an old-fashioned thermometer). The smaller micro-mini Twist contains even less mercury - just 1.5 milligrams. Minimizing mercury helps us keep all from becoming Mad Hatters.

Of course, smaller products also requires less packaging. Sylvania has done a good job encasing the micro-mini Twist in 100% recycled paperboard.

Sylvania's micro-mini Twist CFLs come in 13, 20 and 23-watt versions designed respectively to replace 60, 75 and 100-watt incandescent bulbs. You can find 2-packs of the bulbs online at Amazon.com or offline at Lowe's or other hardware and grocery stores.