Despite the alarmist headline on the second story, CFLs do not actually release toxic gases while on. They contain toxic gases and are a real problem if you break one, but they won't kill you just by lighting up.
Personally, I'm waiting for LEDs to get cheaper. It's happening. They're already an order of magnitude cheaper than they were a decade ago and manufacturing processes are getting more and more efficient.
You have to remember that the total environmental impact of any product includes the "cost" of production as well. In this sense, CFLs have never been really better than incandescents (though they haven't really been much worse either because incandescents aren't exactly clean to produce). These new incandescents with the halogen lighting element are probably just as bad as CFLs when you take their production into account.
LEDs are the most promising technology in this arena so far. They're not there yet, but they will be. They're getting brighter and cheaper with each iteration. It's only a matter of time.
Also, shouldn't this be in Off Topic?
