Should people go compact?

Are compact fluorescent light bulbs the answer to cutting huge power demands in households?
Well the answer seems to be yes, but there are a number of problems associated with making everyone switch to them.
Recently the Ontario government announced that all incandescent light bulb sales will be banned in Ontario within five years. This was done to cut energy consumption by homes and businesses.
While it will do that the first obstacle I see on the horizon is the huge price gap between them and their predecessor. In some cases one of the compacts costs as much as a dozen of the older lights. Those on fixed incomes surely will not want to fork out so much money to replace their lights.
Another problem is the lumens produced by the compacts. Often they are not nearly as bright as the older ones.
Then how does one dispose of the newer bulbs when they burn out. Apparently they are an environmental hazard.
Perhaps the solution should not lie so much in changing the bulbs but in producing more electricity with renewable sources and encouraging conservation.
I know myself that once I started paying my own light bill I quickly learned that not every light in the house needs to be on when I am the only one there.
–Until then,
Ken