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The 1g Insight's 144V battery, power inverter, and assorted electronics are mounted in a sheet-aluminium Faraday cage in the cargo area, and the IMA motor is mounted in a thicker, cast aluminium Faraday cage (the transmission bell housing + engine block assembly). Either cast aluminium is insufficient to block the EMF in question, or the source lies outside the IMA system. In any case, you can buy a "Dr Gauss" EMF meter for $35 and test for yourself. If a copper foil lined firewall is what it takes to get you into the most fuel efficient vehicle, then I'm in favor of it.
Actually, I am in favor of prudent avoidance, when it's convenient. Case in point: I chose to wire my home with Cat5e, not just for performance, but also to reduce my chronic exposure to radio waves. Yet I do own a microwave oven, because the alternative is too inconvenient. If you come up with some inexpensive, lightweight mods to reduce Insight owners' exposure to EMFs, I'd probably implement them on my own car.
Btw, those straps are just to provide an electrical path from the car's frame to the ground to prevent static electric buildup. They do not constitute a Faraday cage because they do not enclose anything.
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