By Siel

These days we’re constantly bombarded with media messages touting the latest and greatest eco-saviors. Compact fluorescent light bulbs save the polar bears! Bamboo clothes redefine eco-agriculture and couture fashion! Mineral makeup pretties-up your face and the planet too!

And to be honest, we’re all probably more than a little susceptible to latching onto any new idea that could protect the planet from impending eco-doom. That is, at least until the honeymoon ends and the media backlash begins, undermining our most well-meaning intentions to green up our lives with these products. CFL bulbs contain neurotoxins! Bamboo clothes are carcinogenic! Mineral makeup will give you emphysema!

How do you separate the hope from the hype? Despair not, intrepid econista. Allow us to assist you in sidestepping the spin, wading through the warring headlines, and maybe even tipping a few eco sacred cows. While we can’t promise that what you’ll learn will single-handedly stop global warming, create world peace or even ease rush-hour traffic, at least you’ll know what real green hopes these products provide — and what kinks they still have to work out.

CFLs: Bright Idea or Dim Fancy?

Energy-efficient compact fluorescent light bulbs might be the most beloved eco-product on the market. After all, CFLs use less energy, which is a boon for both your electric bill and the environment. Sounded like a really great thing until a bunch of news outlets started reporting that CFLs contain the environmental bad boy mercury, a potent neurotoxin. Should we now fork over our hard earned greens to bring this poisonous element into our house?

The short answer is yes. CFL bulbs do contain a little mercury, but provided that you dispose of these bulbs properly at a hazardous waste facility near you, they shouldn’t pose environmental concerns. In fact, the mercury in a CFL bulb is far less than the mercury emissions released from a coal-burning power plant lighting up a regular, less energy-efficient light bulb.

And even if you accidentally break a CFL bulb in your home, don’t panic. Just follow the simple, clear-headed cleanup instructions provided by the Environmental Protection Agency, and get yourself a new CFL bulb.

Locavoring: Delectable or Delusional?

Local food has gotten a lot of eco-love of late, with the help of Michael Pollan, Barbara Kingsolver, and the 100 Mile Diet crowd. Eating local enables you to support local economies, ensure food security and enjoy yummy food. Really, where’s the downside?

Leave it to The Economist to ruin a good dinner. A late 2006 article deflated farmers’ market enthusiasts, asserting that locally produced food requires more energy and creates more greenhouse gas emissions than products sourced from far-flung lands. In the wake of that article, the New York Times and a whole slew of smaller publications reported on similar “revelations” about the un-eco-ness of local food.

The problem with these reports? Often the figures are distorted to make for a controversial story. The articles usually compare the most eco-friendly product from a faraway place — say, sustainably raised, pasture-fed lamb from New Zealand — to the most un-eco local product — like feed-fed lamb from a nearby factory farm.

Perhaps there is the rare misguided Missourian who considers the St. Louis-headquartered, genetically modified food advocate Monsanto a good source for local eats. However, most locavores seek out food that’s not just local, but also organic and sustainable. So don’t bother comparing organic lettuce from China to conventional U.S. lettuce, and just opt for organic lettuce from your nearest farmers’ market instead.

Hybrids: Hope or Hype?

A hybrid car won the 2007 LA Auto Show’s “Green Car of the Year” award — and elicited groans from environmentalists around the world. Why? The winner was the 2008 Chevy Tahoe Hybrid, a huge SUV that gets a dismal 20 miles per gallon.

While the much-beloved Prius really is quite green, many hybrids on the market are not — even if they’re marketed as eco-friendly. Many of these so-called green hybrids, especially those huge SUVs, have worse MPGs than conventional cars. Instead of improving fuel efficiency, these cars use hybrid technology for added power — unnecessary power, considering most urbanites will be stuck in traffic staring at the bumper in front of them, not creating new mountaintop paths as advertised in car commercials (an act that is decidedly un-eco, in case you’re wondering).

Somewhat fortuitously, high gas prices are making consumers MPG-conscious. So if you’re in the market for a vehicle, don’t just fall for the word hybrid. Instead, use tools like mpggenie.com to see exactly how fuel-efficient a car is, and even to calculate what the cost of your commute will be as gas prices rise.

Of course, an even better option is to get out of the car altogether. Walk, bike, or take public transportation as much as possible — and encourage more compact, pedestrian-friendly urban planning in your town.