Request For Clarification On Spell Haste !Follow

I am just getting my first epics for my elemental shaman. The questions I have are these:

#1) Where do I get spell haste gems? I went to ahouse after using thottbot..etc..and there isnt and hasnt been any gems with any type of spell haste on the ahouse for weeks? Did they remove them from the game? ( I know this sounds noobish...but wtf? where are they?)

#2) Does spell haste really work? I have heard different accounts of positive and negative regarding spell haste. Obviously I dont want to trade a large amount of haste for crit% but I need something to speed up this damn lightning bolt...takes an eternity sometimes.

any info is appreciated....